In 2012

a total of eight medical books were compiled from Tianhui medical bamboo slips unearthed in Chengdu

Sichuan

China

which for the first time

recorded

bafa

(

ba

technique) and acupuncture technique.

Bafa

is only found in Tianhui medical bamboo slips. Based on the records in medical bamboo slips

it is believed that the essential theory of

bafa

refers to an outlook of life for the harmony between form and spirit

meaning "the heart mind is the monarch of form". It is the initial view of physique centered on five-

zang

organs. In clinical application

bafa

is used for prevention of diseases in four seasons

specially for

wubi

(five-

bi

disorders) and

wufeng

(five-wind disorders)

covering a extensive parts of the body. Compared with the stone technique

"

bafa

must work on meridian points

while stone on meridians".

Bafa

is often used for deficiency syndrome

while stone technique is for excess syndrome. Hence

these two types of technique should be applied cautiously. It is speculated that

bafa

is an external therapeutic method based on the theory of meridian medicine in the Han Dynasty.