Traditional hand and foot massage originated from diagnostics using the hand and foot in traditional Chinese medicine. In the early developmental stage of traditional Chinese medicine, it was already known that abnormal changes on the hand and foot might indicate pathological disturbance of the internal organs. As mentioned in The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine, the earliest classical medical book, written by various authors between 475 BC to 221 BC: "A hot sensation in the palm indicates the presence of heat pathogens in the internal organs; A cold sensation in the palm indicates the presence of cold pathogens in the internal organs Patients with diseases of the small intestine due to attack of severe cold pathogens may have a hot sensation on the shoulder and between the little finger and index finger." So, as a part of traditional Chinese medicine, diagnosis using the hand and foot appeared as early as other components of ancient medicine.
After traditional Chinese medicine gradually developed into a complete medical system with its own theories, therapies, recipes and herbs, diagnosis by hand and foot was still very limited compared with the more advanced four diagnostic methods-observation, olfaction and auscultation, interrogation and palpation for general diagnosis. Because of neglect by classical medicine physicians with their traditional conservative attitude of superiority, diagnosis using the hand, foot and eye remained a minor branch of medicine and was not accepted and practiced by the majority of physicians and so failed to develop. According to fragmentary statements scattered in a few medical books, hand and foot diagnosis remained in its primitive stage until the Qing Dynasty.
Although diagnosis by hand and foot was overlooked in medicine, it found a place to be carried forward in traditional hand fortune-telling. As a matter of fact, the fortune-tellers made an important contribution to the development of diagnosis as well as hand and foot massage. In Ma Yi Shen Xiang (Linen Clothes Miraculous Fortune-telling), published in the period between AD 960 and AD 1127, the shape of the hand and foot, creases on the palmar and dorsal sides of the hand and their relationship to the maintenance of health by physical and breathing exercises were mentioned in detail, and the 72 types of palmar creases were summarized. This was the first book to accurately describe the shape and creases of the hand and foot in detail, al-though it also contained much superstitious material. However, its analysis of physical and mental health according to hand and foot variation is still informative and useful.
