On The History of Acupuncture.
I have just been reading about the history of acupuncture in a very recent book by Henry McGrath, entitled ‘Traditional Chinese Medicine – Approaches to Cancer’. This is published by ‘Singing Dragon’, London, 2009.
Did you know that acupuncture needles have been found which date back to the Neolithic period?
References to the art of acupuncture are made in the Tsu Chuan commentary on the Chhun Chhiu period, which is dated around the 6th Century B.C. The needles were, at this time, made from stone, bamboo and bone.
It is thought, according to Hugh McGrath, that the early method was not the sophisticated science which we know as acupuncture today, as the needles used would not have been capable of the same degree of accuracy, though this is just an educated guess.
By the 3rd Century B.C., bronze acupuncture needles were being used for acupuncture treatments.
By the 2nd Century B.C., technology had developed in China: Steel needles began to replace the bronze needles. The science of acupuncture became more sophisticated, to parallel technological advances.
The meridian lines were recorded almost 2000 years ago. Detailed anatomical charts of the 12 main meridians and the 8 sub-meridians appear around the 2nd Century A.D.
Mr McGrath tells the famous fascinating story about how students were tested in their knowledge of acupuncture in the 11th C A.D: Life sized models of the human form were made in bronze. These had small holes punched at all the 350 acupuncture sites. The bronze figure was then covered totally in wax, and then filled with water.
The idea, then, was that the student had to locate specific ascupuncture points with accuracy. They had to use their acupuncture needles to locate the points specified by their examiners. If the points were located accurately, then a small spurt of water would spring forth after the wax had been pierced with the needle.
No spouting water meant that the student had failed the examination.
This book by Henry McGrath gives an insight into how acupuncture works, and how it can be used in the treatment of cancer.
more tomorrow