Primitive acupuncture needles dating back to around 1000 BC have been discovered in archeological finds of the Shan dynasty in China. The theoretical framework underlying the practice of acupuncture was first set forth in theInner Classic of Medicineor Nei Jing, first published in 206 BC during the Han dynasty.
As an active and growing tradition, the theory and practice of TCM evolved over the centuries, at times undergoing rapid changes. Acupuncture reached perhaps its golden age under the Ming dynasty in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Subsequently, it took second place to an ascending practice ofherbal medicine . By the time acupuncture came back in vogue in twentieth-century China, it had undergone a major transformation sometimes called the herbalization of acupuncture. Current acupuncture methods given the name Traditional Chinese Medicine are derived to a great extent from this relatively modern revision of the theory. Present-day Japanese acupuncture, however, dates back to earlier versions of acupuncture.
Another major change occurred after the Communist Revolution in 1949. The new leadership, while wanting to carry through a process of modernization, decided to support and preserve traditional medicine. During the Cultural Revolution, the famous "barefoot doctors" were trained in both modern and traditional medicine and sent out to the rural areas to provide medical care for the masses. Today, in the largest and most modern Chinese hospitals, Western medicine and TCM, including acupuncture and herbal treatments, are practiced side by side.
Acupuncture entered France through colonial rule of Vietnam. It was there that, in 1957, the French physician Paul Nogier conceived the notion of auricular (ear) acupuncture. According to his theory, the entire body is “mapped” onto the ear in the form of an inverted fetus. Using this system of correspondence, one can, according to Nogier, treat any part of the body by treating the corresponding part of the ear. This approach was subsequently taken up in China, despite the fact that it had been invented in the West, and had no real foundation in traditional practice. (Classic acupuncture includes only a few points on the ear, and does not refer to any representation of the entire body.) Nogier claimed to have “scientifically tested” his theory, but the methods he used to accomplish this fall far short of anything recognizable as modern science. There are no properly designed studies to support the “little man on the ear” hypothesis, and the one well-designed study on the subject failed to find any correlation between pain in the body and tenderness in corresponding parts of the ear as predicted by Nogier’s theory. 1 Acupuncture was virtually unheard of and unavailable in the US until 1972, when President Nixon made his historic visit to China. Among the accompanying press was the well-known journalist James Reston, who was hospitalized while in China and received acupuncture anesthesia. Upon returning to the US, Reston published an article about his experience, stimulating new interest in acupuncture among the public and the medical community. Although it was later discovered that the drugs used along with acupuncture anesthesia probably played a major role, the perception of acupuncture as a powerful treatment caused it to gain respect in the US. Acupuncture schools began to open in the late 1970s and 1980s. With training available in the United States, the number of acupuncturists in this country began to grow rapidly, and today there are many thousands of certified and/or licensed acupuncturists.
As an active and growing tradition, the theory and practice of TCM evolved over the centuries, at times undergoing rapid changes. Acupuncture reached perhaps its golden age under the Ming dynasty in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Subsequently, it took second place to an ascending practice ofherbal medicine . By the time acupuncture came back in vogue in twentieth-century China, it had undergone a major transformation sometimes called the herbalization of acupuncture. Current acupuncture methods given the name Traditional Chinese Medicine are derived to a great extent from this relatively modern revision of the theory. Present-day Japanese acupuncture, however, dates back to earlier versions of acupuncture.
Another major change occurred after the Communist Revolution in 1949. The new leadership, while wanting to carry through a process of modernization, decided to support and preserve traditional medicine. During the Cultural Revolution, the famous "barefoot doctors" were trained in both modern and traditional medicine and sent out to the rural areas to provide medical care for the masses. Today, in the largest and most modern Chinese hospitals, Western medicine and TCM, including acupuncture and herbal treatments, are practiced side by side.
Acupuncture entered France through colonial rule of Vietnam. It was there that, in 1957, the French physician Paul Nogier conceived the notion of auricular (ear) acupuncture. According to his theory, the entire body is “mapped” onto the ear in the form of an inverted fetus. Using this system of correspondence, one can, according to Nogier, treat any part of the body by treating the corresponding part of the ear. This approach was subsequently taken up in China, despite the fact that it had been invented in the West, and had no real foundation in traditional practice. (Classic acupuncture includes only a few points on the ear, and does not refer to any representation of the entire body.) Nogier claimed to have “scientifically tested” his theory, but the methods he used to accomplish this fall far short of anything recognizable as modern science. There are no properly designed studies to support the “little man on the ear” hypothesis, and the one well-designed study on the subject failed to find any correlation between pain in the body and tenderness in corresponding parts of the ear as predicted by Nogier’s theory. 1 Acupuncture was virtually unheard of and unavailable in the US until 1972, when President Nixon made his historic visit to China. Among the accompanying press was the well-known journalist James Reston, who was hospitalized while in China and received acupuncture anesthesia. Upon returning to the US, Reston published an article about his experience, stimulating new interest in acupuncture among the public and the medical community. Although it was later discovered that the drugs used along with acupuncture anesthesia probably played a major role, the perception of acupuncture as a powerful treatment caused it to gain respect in the US. Acupuncture schools began to open in the late 1970s and 1980s. With training available in the United States, the number of acupuncturists in this country began to grow rapidly, and today there are many thousands of certified and/or licensed acupuncturists.
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