“Burnt needle” and “red-hot needling” are both mentioned in the

Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor

（《黄帝内经》）， although they possess distinct characteristics and are not identical. Subsequent generations have erroneously employed them as interchangeable with “fire needles”， which is an incorrect designation. This article mostly relies on the original text of the

Inner Canon of Yellow Emperor

and provides an interpretation of their significances as follows： “burnt needle” is a broad phrase referring to needles that have been intentionally burned in order to heat them； the term “burnt needle and rapid needling” can be more accurately described as “the act of rapidly puncturing with a needle， without burning the needle if the disease exhibits hot characteristics， but requiring burning if the disease exhibits cold characteristics， and it is appropriate to puncture rapidly before burning the needle”. “Red-hot needling” refers to the process of first burning the needle and then puncturing with it， which is specific. This paper clarified the origins and differences among burnt needles， red-hot needling， red-hot needle， burning needle， warm needles and fire needle， pointing out the doctrinal diagnostic and therapeutic system based on “burnt Needle” and “red-hot needling”， can be a track for the integration of acupuncture and moxibustion.