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The earliest written account of acupuncture
is found in the Huang Di Nei Jing, (The Yellow Emperor's Canon
of Internal Medicine), a medical text dating from between
the 2nd and the 1st century BC. The practice of acupuncture,
undocumented, dates back at least 2000 years.
The Nei Jing
text focused on individual symptoms as having somatic origins
rather than viewing disease as caused by supernatural forces.
This text identified about 295 acupoints of the 670 known
today. It also defined the 12 channels, or meridians and the
concept of the flow of qi, or energy, through the body system.
The organized development
of acupuncture as a practice and the conceptual framework
of medicine as a systematic correspondence developed alongside
that of Taoism in the Late Zhou (480-221 BC) period.
The Han dynasty (206-220
AD) saw the development of the idea of qi as underlying not
only the human body system, but also present as a basis for
all other living and nonliving entities. The Han also saw
the further development of medicine and the essentials of
disease treatments. Acupuncture became established as a modality
of Chinese medicine.
The Zhen Jiu Jia Yi
Jing, (The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion)
written in 282, is the oldest medical text devoted solely
to acupuncture and moxibustion. This book identified further
acupoints not yet discovered in the time of the Nei Jing,
locating 649 of the 670 known today. It also determined acupuncture
to be a treatment method effective in disease prevention.
The acupuncture methods
of diagnosis and treatment originating around this time form
the basis of the modern practice of acupuncture. The three
main religious schools of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism
also contributed to the framework of Chinese medicine at this
time as well. By 592, the practice of acupuncture began to
spread to Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
The Sui dynasty, (590-617)
saw further integration of Taoist and Buddhist theory with
that of systematic medical correspondence, affecting the practice
of acupuncture and its treatment methods.
During the Tang dynasty,
(618-906) the practice of acupuncture began to become related
to seasonal cycles, as well as the cycles of the Chinese calendar.
By the time of the Song dynasty, (960-1264) acupuncture had
become an accepted and established modality in the field of
Chinese medicine.
The later Ming dynasty,
(1368-1643) saw innovations in acupuncture treatments that
included daily, 10-day and bimonthly biorhythm treatments.
By the 19th century, the new Chinese Republic began to integrate
Western medicine with traditional Chinese medicine. By the
time of the 1980s, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine
became integrated with study of biomedicine.
Today, acupuncture
is utilized in several countries, with licensed acupuncturists
considered as primary medical practitioners. In 1982 the State
of Florida gave official recognition to the art and science
of Acupuncture. Dr. Browne was licensed in September of 1982;
he holds the #22 license in the state. |
