The History and Present
Day Practice of Acupuncture
by Heather
Caunt
June 30, 2000
Introduction
The key
principle that defines and connects all of Chinese medicine is that of Chi, or
vital energy. Chi must be in balance, neither too active nor too dormant,
for a person to be healthy. One of the means of regulating and releasing
Chi is through the use of acupuncture needles, which are inserted into the body
along meridians that the Chi flows through. The practice of acupuncture
has lasted over two thousand years. Despite the Cultural Revolutions
attempt to abolish all of traditional. Chinese culture, traditional
Chinese medicine is still practiced today. How, if at all, have the practice
of acupuncture changed throughout history as a result of cultural change in the
East? How has Western medicine adopted this non-scientific practice into
its paradigm?
Chi and
Taoism
Chi is a
central concept in all of Chinese culture, but it is particularly relevant to
Taoism. Taoism is the way that things naturally flow; it is the way of
the universe. Taoists believe that the world was created out of chaos, and out
of that chaos emerged both the yin and yang. The yin can be seen as the restful
or dark side of things, where there is a lesser flow of Chi. The yang is
the energized, bright side of things, where Chi flows excessively. When
the yin and the yang are balanced, there is a harmony, and Chi flows smoothly.
Someone whose Chi is in balance will live harmoniously, at
one with the Tao. One who has a Chi deficiency, or whose Chi is somehow blocked
from flowing smoothly, will have health problems such as tiredness and loss
of strength. One who has an excessive flow of Chi will be generally
overexcited, and therefore may have anxiety problems, ulcers, or heart
problems. By balancing the Chi within oneself, one will become healthier,
both physically and mentally. While some meditative practices and martial
arts focus on balancing of Chi in both the mind and body, acupuncture deals
with the physical manifestations and manipulations of Chi.
Brief
Description of Acupuncture
Acupuncture is
the manipulation of Chi by inserting needles into key points on the meridians
through which it flows. These needles vary greatly in length and
width. Chinese acupuncture needles are much thicker than Japanese
needles, which can be smaller than thirty gauge.
The Practice
of Acupuncture Throughout History
The
practitioners of acupuncture unanimously say that the earliest acupuncture
needles were made of stone, and were not used to pierce the skin, but rather
to press on acupuncture points. There is no archaeological proof that this
is true, but the unanimity of the oral history convinces most people that it
is so. The first acupuncture needles that have actually been found date to
600 AD. These needles were made of bronze, copper, tin, gold, or silver.
During the Late Chou period, both bronze and bone needles were used.
During the Shang Dynasty, there is no archaeological proof that acupuncture was
being practiced, but historians presume that they perhaps used perishable
substances, such as thorns, bamboo slivers, or sharpened bone, rather than
metal needles.
In the fourth century AD, a Chinese metallurgist invented
steel (for the first time in China, at least) by emerging iron in melted
iron, thus carbonizing it. Once steel was discovered, it became the most
favored material for crafting acupuncture needles. It is the ideal thing
to make needles out of because it is both very strong and can make very fine
needles. It was the discovery of steel that made the Japanese thinner style
needles possible.
Beyond these material changes in the practice of acupuncture,
there were also ideological changes throughout history. Despite its flourishing
in earlier times, acupuncture did eventually decline. By the time that Hsu
Ling-Thai surveyed and documented the history of Chinese medicine in 1757
AD, he treated acupuncture as a lost art. Very few masters remained, and
it was difficult for anyone who wanted to learn to practice to find a
teacher. Proposed reasons for this decline include the prominence of
Confucianism; the body which mother and father bestow upon their children
is sacred, and it is the child's duty to not cause harm to it, which sticking
needles into it could potentially do. In 1822, the teaching of
acupuncture techniques to aspiring practitioners was banned to those studying
in the Imperial Medical College. However, acupuncture never completely
disappeared; there were still a few books about it circulating, even though
the practice was forbidden.
Acupuncture In the West
When acupuncture was first introduced
to the West, it was by people on the medical fringe, who criticized the rational
scientific approach to curing disease and argued that basic human understanding
could be used to heal. One of the first of such scientific dissenters was
Thomas Baker, who pointed out that the Chinese had known about the circulation
of blood for thousands of years, whereas it was a newly discovered phenomena
in the West. The flow of blood that Baker wrote about is clearly the flow
of Chi; he just had a Western perspective, and his scientific mind just did
not comprehend the idea. Western scientists and doctors of that time claimed
that although the Chinese supposedly had no knowledge of anatomy, their system
did work. It was difficult for many to accept that idea that perhaps there
was something they could not explain scientifically that could be of actual,
effective medical use.
Modern
Western Views of and Attempts to Explain Acupuncture
Most Western students of acupuncture, however
adamantly they believe in the effectiveness of the practice, maintain a certain
degree of skepticism. There is a tendency to believe in the effectiveness
of the treatment, but not in the explanation that the Chinese give for why it
works. There is still a desire among Western doctors, and now many
Eastern practitioners who have been influenced by Western skepticism, to
understand and prove the efficaciousness of acupuncture scientifically.
One study that attempts to pinpoint how this practice works
scientifically was done by C. Chan Gunn, after whom the popular Gunn approach
to the treatment of chronic pain is named. Something amusing about this study
is that the word “acupuncture” is never used. Scientific jargon
is used extensively to prove the validity of the practice to a Western audience.
The explanation that is given for why acupuncture works for treating pain
is that it affects the muscles that are causing the pain. There is no mention
of Chi, energy, or Taoist balance anywhere in his explanation.
Conclusion
Acupuncture, although an integral part of the history
traditional Chinese medicine, has been the object of skepticism throughout
recent history. The idea of putting needles in one’s body, which could potentially
be very painful, especially if they are the thicker Chinese needles, is not
one that is easily accepted by people who have not been acculturated to understand
its function in the manipulation of Chi. However, there are people who are
willing to give it a try, but even these people must scientifically prove
its effectiveness before it will be widely accepted. For now, in the West,
acupuncture is viewed largely as an alternative treatment. It is an alternative
worth looking into for those whose ails modern science cannot effectively
cure.
References
Used (suggested readings for more information)
Bowers, John Z.
and Elizabeth F. Purcell, eds. 1974. Medicine and
Society in China. New York: Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation.
Gunn, C.
Chan. 1989. The Gunn Approach to the Treatment of Chronic Pain:
Intramuscular Stimulation for Myofascal Pain of Radiculopathic
Origin. New York: Chuchill Livingstone.
Gwei-Djen, Lu
and Joseph Needham. 1980. Celestial Lancets: A History and
Rationale of Acupuncture and Moxa. Cambridge: Cambridge
University
Press.
Jochim,
Christian. 1986. Chinese Religions: A Cultural Perspective.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Kleinman,
Arthur, Peter Kunstadter, E. Russell Alexander, and James L.
Gale, eds. 1975. Medicine in Chinese Cultures: Comparative
Studies
of Health Care in Chinese and Other Societies. Washington, D.C.: The
Geographic Health Studies John E. Fogarty International Center for
Advanced Study in the Health Sciences.
Leslie,
Charles. 1976. Asian Medical Systems: A Comparative Study.
Berkeley: University of California Press.