The Classic History of Ancient China always refers to acupuncture as its method of treating sick people. Almost always, stories about this kind of healing all continue to crop up to the present. In fact, acupuncture has been incorporated into China’s Medical Chronicles. It is widely accepted as another way of promoting a healthy mind and an energetic body. In Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals, there is a paragraph in historical records for 550 BC saying: “Praise pleasant to hear that does an ill turn is worse than advice unpleasant to hear that acts like a stone” (http://www. china. org. cn/english/MATERIAL/185663.
htm). Bian stone is the main component used in acupuncture. The instrument which is famously associated with this kind of treatment technique is the needle or arrow-headed stone. People during the Stone Age in China use these stones to puncture the wound and let the blood out for therapeutic purposes. The Chinese inhabitants who relied on fishing and raising domesticated animals for a living were the early users of the needle stone. Living in cold and windy areas, they easily get hit by diseases. Through experience, these people are able to adapt acupuncture or moxibustion therapy as a healing method.
Hieroglyphs of acupuncture are first seen during the Shang Dynasty. Inscriptions appeared on bones and tortoise shells. “During this period the philosophical thinking of Yin-yang and five elements was formed, and in the field of medicine the ancient physicians had a preliminary understanding of pulse, blood, body fluid, Qi, Shen (manifestations of vitality), essence, five sounds, five colors, five flavors, six Qi, eight winds, etc. , as well as the ideology of relevant adaptation of the human body to natural environment. “Thus germinated the sprout of the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine” (http://www.
china. org. cn/english/MATERIAL/185663. htm). The development of acupuncture continues to rise. During the feudal period in China, the Bian stones are replaced by metallic needles as instruments for treating diseases. Relics belonging to the Han Dynasty are recovered in 1968. Among the items found are the historical records of a doctor named Bian Que. His legendary exploits have been spearheaded by a story which tells about the rescuing of a critically-ill prince. As different dynasties ruled over China, doctors continue to develop acupuncture.
Medical accounts are documented with regards to its progress. The study of acupuncture reached its climax during the Ming Dynasty. By then, the focus of the medical field turned to herbal medication which has been primarily used during the Opium War. The introduction of Western culture in China saw a restriction being imposed on the traditional medical methods. However, with the need to treat sickness and diseases among folk people, the utilization of acupuncture has been revived. When the Communist Party controlled China, acupuncture is given a place in its medical annals.
Its study has been introduced in the Western World. “From the 1970s up to now, investigations have been done on the mechanism of acupuncture anesthesia and acupuncture analgesia from the viewpoints of operative surgery, anesthesiology, neuroanatomy, histochemistry, analgesia physiology, biochemistry, psychology and medical electronics, on the phenomena and nature of the meridians from the viewpoint of propagated acupuncture sensation and other angles, and on the relationship between acupuncture points and needling sensation, between acupuncture points and zang-fu organs.
Now the accomplishments of acupuncture and moxibustion research gained in China including sorting out of the ancient legacy, the clinical effect and the theoretical research by modern scientific methods are in the forefront of the world” (http://www. china. org. cn/english/MATERIAL/185663. htm).