Acupuncture

     Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese medical procedure now having spread to many parts of the world, is still quite mysterious. The jing luo or meridian system, on which acupuncture is based, has never been verified by any anatomic substance nor shown in any medical testing image. The numerous oddly named acupuncture points are in fact virtual dots on the smooth skin. The practice, however, can quickly bring about substantive good results, in some cases, instant cures. It is now impossible to find out who invented this miraculous medical technique, and when.

    Historical records of acupuncture link it to the earliest legendary rulers of Huangdi and Fuxi. Zheu flu, the Chinese for acupuncture, actually means both acupuncture (zhen) and moxibustion (jiu). As acupuncture is far more effective than moxibustion, nowadays people tend to regard zhen flu simply as acupuncture.

    Acupuncture was probably invented by accident. Ancient people might have accidentally found that they could relief pain by pricking certain points of the body with a sharp stone, in Chinese classics such as Shah Hai ling (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), Shuo Wen Jie Zi (The Original of Chinese Characters) and Zuo Zhuan (Zuo's Annals), there were records of using a sharp stone to prick the body to relief pain. Later stone needles were made for acupuncture. Needles of other materials were developed afterwards: bone, bamboo, wood, bronze, iron, gold and silver. The earliest gold and silver needles were unearthed from a tomb of the Western Han Dynasty in Mancheng County, Hebei Province.

     In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the technique of acupuncture developed rapidly. In Huangdi Nei ling (The Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine), there were systematic discussions about acupuncture. Zhang Zhongjing and Hua Tuo, two noted doctors of the Han Dynasty, were also experts of acupuncture, and their practices could be found in historical records. In the meantime, there were also excellent acupuncture practitioners among common people. Hou Han Shu (The History of the Later Han Dynasty) tells about an old fisherman in Sichuan who fished on the Fujiang River volunteered to treat local residents with his outstanding technique of acupuncture. This proves that at that time acupuncture was quite popular and widely practiced.

      To understand the theory and practice of acupuncture, it is necessary to know something about ring luo. The ring luo (meridian) system consists offing (channels) and luo (collaterals) and other subsystems, closely related to the five organs of zang and six viscera of fu. The channels are the main conduits for the circulation of qi and blood, while the collaterals are a superficial network connecting the channels as well as all portions of the body. On the channels and collaterals are numerous acupuncture points. By applying a needle or ignited moxa to the points, special sensations will be transmitted along the channels and collaterals, in this way illness or disorder related to the channels and collaterals are treated. Although the induced sensations are real, modern anatomy has never found any trace of the channels, collaterals or acu-points.

     Huangfu Mi (215-282), a celebrated physician of the Jin Dynasty, contributed a great deal to the development of acupuncture. Huangfu once indulged in trying to make pills of immortality and fell into serious illness. After recovery, he devoted all his efforts to medicine, especially the study of acupuncture. He compiled the 32-volume Zhen ]iu Jia Yi ling (A- B Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), which later became a must for the study of acupuncture. The work discusses the physiology of human body, the channels and collaterals, acupuncture points and their functions, methods of applying the needles, and pathology of the human body. It also discusses in detail the clinical treatment of various diseases, gives unified definitions of the channels, collaterals and points, and explains the do's and don'ts in acupuncture. The classic was introduced to other countries quite early. In the 8th century the Japanese began to use it as a medical textbook. There is now English version of the work, and a French version is in preparation.

    In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Weiyi, a master practitioner of acupuncture, compiled the three-volume Tong Ren Shu Xue Zhen jiu Tu ling (Illustrated Manual of Acu- points of the Bronze Figure), and created two bronze figures. The life-size male figures can be taken apart to show the organs and viscera, and on the body are marked 14 channels and collaterals and 657 acu-points. According to legend, the bronze figures were used to teach and test acupuncture students. When a test was conducted, the figure was filled with mercury and the acu-points on the body were covered by wax. When the examinee made a correct puncture, the mercury would flow out of the acu- point. Later more bronze figures were made, and some were sent abroad. Now one bronze figure is kept in a museum in St. Petersburg of Russia and another, in tile imperial palace in Japan.