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Health and Fitness > Alternative > The History of Acupuncture
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Ali Mack
The History of Acupuncture in China can be tracked back to the Stone Age - Bian Shi - sharpened stones dating back to 3000BC when archaeologists uncovered the stone acupuncture needles in Inner Mongolia.
Clearer archaeologist evidence of early acupuncture practice has to exist within the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). Forms of it are also described in the literature of traditional Korean medicine where it is called chimsul. It is also important in Kampo, the traditional medicine system of Japan.
Shen Nung, known as the father of Chinese medicine, is the first known person to have theorized about circulation in the human body. These theories were compiled approximately 5000 years ago, and led to the development of acupuncture.
Shen Nung developed the idea of the Qi, Qi is an energy force that flows through the human body, through channels known as Meridians. Shen Nungs theory is if the human body experiences illness it is due to the Qi is not flowing correctly caused by blocked Meridians which causes unbalanced Qi.
The History of Acupuncture shows that Shen Nung noted that in order for the flow of Qi to be re-established, then certain points of the body where the Meridians contact the surface of the skin
must be manipulated. These points are accessed through the insertion of needles into the skin, a practice known as acupuncture. There are hundreds of contact points in the human body but it depends on what the ailment is as to where the needles are inserted. An in-depth diagnosis takes place first to see where the Qi maybe obstructed.
Initially acupuncture treatment was not accepted by the early Chinese Communist Party, the ridiculed it as superstitious, irrational and backward and claimed it conflicted with the Party’s dedication to science as the way of progress. It was many years later that Chairman Mao reversed this position claiming that Chinese medicine and pharmacology are a great treasure house.
Acupuncture only became widely used in the USA during the early 1970s. A visit by the then US President Richard Nixon, the first US President to have visited China. On this trip journalists were amazed to see major operations taking place with the only form of pain blocker being used on wide awake patients was acupuncture. Prior to that acupuncture had only been practiced within Chinese communities and often the person administering the acupuncture were by personnel who had learnt the art from their forebears.
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