Ancient Chinese Acupuncture History

By U Learn It | January 23, 2010

Ancient chinese acupuncture is an art that was in existence from over 3000 years ago. This itself speaks for the volume of discoveries by China and with an interesting history behind it. Approximately 8000 years ago a Taoist by the name of Fu Hsi formulated the first two symbols that depict a broken and an unbroken line. These lines were symbolic of creation and reception and the interaction of these two lines represented life. Yin and Yan is therefore the backbone of the ancient chinese acupuncture and many other Chinese remedies.

Many objects have been unraveled by the excavations from the old and new stone age. Interestingly enough, while the new Stone Age artifacts consisted of knives made of stone for medical procedures, the medical instruments unraveled from the new Stone Age period consisted of stones that had been carved in to hair thin needles. These were called Bien. It is believed that ancient chinese acupuncture gained popularity in China during the period of the Yellow Emperor by the name of Huang Di (2697-2597). Though hieroglyphic evidence shows that ancient chinese acupuncture not only utilized the bien stone but also developed bronze needles as well. The Warren States era (421-221BC) though unraveled four gold needles and five silver needles in an ancient tomb. This period also boasts of the Nan Jing which is a book that attributes to eight extra meridians found in the body.

The most noted text of ancient chinese acupuncture is reputed to be; the “Systematic Classics of Acupuncture and Moxibustion” written by Huang Fu Mi (260-265AD). Transition however was noted in Ancient chinese acupuncture later. Ancient chinese acupuncture however became a formal branch of medical applications in the ancient china. Many acupuncture schools appeared in this time and essentially being the highlighting part of many texts found. Ancient chinese acupuncture has also been noted in the Ming dynasty(1568-1644).

Between the Ming Dynasty and all the way up to the 1960’s, ancient chinese acupuncture and other traditional medicinal practices took a backseat. Western medicines gained more popularity and were given preference over traditional cures. They were viewed at the time as being ‘primitive’ and ‘harmful’. This gave birth to the emergence of ‘barefoot doctors’. These doctors practiced ancient chinese acupuncture on a small scale in villages and thus helped keep alive this magnificent ancient medical discovery. After the 1970’s though people started to appreciate the merits of ancient chinese acupunture and research it. Therefore still the diamond remains strong as it was with some modernizations.