The evolution of modern acupuncture and TCM
Modern day acupuncture is a healing practice based on Eastern medicine, also known as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is believed to originate in China before migrating to Japan, Korea, and eventually the United States. It is a medicine that has been passed down over centuries leading to what it is today.
The acupuncture meridians, points and methods were originally discovered through meditation and awareness of the body, mind and spirit. Understanding, feeling, and being one with Qi and the flow of the universe forms the foundation of the practice. The actual evidence of where acupuncture began and how it evolved over time to form what it is today is quite interesting.
Early use of needles
Anthropologists have discovered evidence of the use of needle like objects in a medical context as early as 6,000 BC. There is also evidence of a man that was preserved in ice from 3,800 BC who appeared to have tattoo marks on his body that seem to represent meridians and potential acupuncture points. This evidence suggests the use of acupuncture, but it is difficult to pinpoint if these needles and marks were actually used for healing. The archaeological evidence found may have been used for bloodletting and not necessarily acupuncture with the use of meridians and Qi flow.
Since fossil and artifact remains would be difficult to directly prove that acupuncture was utilized for healing, more direct evidence of the practice of acupuncture in a medical context would be best seen by looking at the first recorded evidence of the actual meridians, acupuncture points, and medical use of acupuncture for the healing of disease in text form. However, this doesn’t really allow for an accurate depiction of when acupuncture as a healing modality actually began.
Today, there is archaeological evidence at many different points in time from as early as 6000 BC to early AD that show the use of needles in different cultures throughout China. This would date the origin of acupuncture, if defined by the mere use of needles, to 8,000 years ago. But these findings may have been evidence of the use of needles on animals or humans in the context of surgeries, piercings, or collecting animal remains.
Later on in time, the earliest recorded text, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, is published. This text officially discusses meridians and traditional healing practices that were passed down over centuries through the use of acupuncture needles and dates back to about 100 BC. This would put the more official origin of acupuncture as a medicine and healing modality for disease somewhere between 4,000 to 2,000 years ago.
Hard evidence of acupuncture
This book did not outline or discuss specific acupuncture points on the meridians, but did show proof that the Taoist theory and conceptual framework of acupuncture as a healing practice was understood, practiced, and passed down over time. For the next few centuries, acupuncture was used in Chinese medicine alongside the practice of herbs, massage, diet, and moxibustion.
Acupuncture as we know it today began emerging in a more objective, clear way between the 14th and 16th centuries of the Ming dynasty in China. The published text, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, describes 365 acupuncture points and formed the foundation of modern acupuncture. The book shows that the meridians can be opened and accessed through applying needles to specific acupuncture points on these meridians to treat disease.
The book originally had multiple authors, each section written by a different author from a different time period between the 5th and 8th centuries AD. However, the final text that remains today was revised in the 11th century AD and republished. The practice continued, and between 1644 to 1911 AD, the development of fine steel needles began and led way to modern acupuncture. Acupuncture prior to the use of metal were made of animal bones or bamboo.
The rise of modern acupuncture
Acupuncture meridians and points were discovered through meditation and the application of the Taoist philosophy in healing disease. This philosophy is based on yin and yang, balance, harmony, reincarnation, and the connection between us as living beings and the universe. Early Chinese medicine practices believed all living beings were connected to the stars, the universe, and other souls - living and deceased. As a result, acupuncture theories first emerged as a way of reconciling the living and ensuring the dead did not reinhabit or possess the living spiritually. Therefore, early acupuncture practices from the 17th century onward were used on the living to expel or release ‘ghosts’ and past ancestors and on the dead to restore life.
Over time, this practice was regarded as ‘magic’, mysticism, and superstition. In 1822, acupuncture was basically outlawed in China by the emperor because its use did not seem practical or rational. Medicine was also becoming more modern. As Western medicine began grew in popularity, it became the predominant form of medicine in China and other countries during that time.
In the 1950s and 60s, however, a new leader reinstated the importance of acupuncture and allowed its practice to reemerge. Different types of acupuncture that were passed on over centuries in China, Japan, Korea and others came together as one under what is called “Traditional Chinese Medicine”. Hospitals in China had separate departments within the hospital dedicated to using acupuncture and herbs to treat patients alongside western medicine.
Modern acupuncture today
Acupuncture is now widely spread and well known in the United States as the practice of Eastern medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Acupuncture is its own practice, typically categorized as alternative medicine with chiropractic care, massage therapy, and other alternative healing modalities. It is now utilized in hospital settings for pediatrics, used in veterinary care, used for anesthesia, taught to chiropractors as dry needling, and continues to grow in popularity and use within the Western medicine based facilities as well. In China, hospitals utilize Western and Eastern medicine simultaneously. Herbal medicine is even used in IV drips for patients in China!
As for all of the different systems of acupuncture that combined into Traditional Chinese Medicine today, there are still many different modalities, systems, theories, and methods utilized by acupuncturists. Acupuncturists today typically learn from their studies in their educational program, a clinic internship they attend, apprenticeships, or others. This is why every practitioner today has a slightly different methodology, needling practice, treatment style, etc. Acupuncture continues to grow into a more respected, acknowledged, effective, natural way of healing the body, mind and spirit for all ages.
For more info, check out these resources:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/acupuncture-0017051
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3796320/
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Acupuncture-History.aspx
