by Paul Dice

Created on: July 30, 2007

Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of treatment and dates back to at least 2697 B.C. when Huang Ti, the Father of Acupuncture', succeeded Shen Nung as Emperor.

Huan Ti, with his doctor Ch'i Po, worked out the principles of anatomy and health on which the theory and practice of acupuncture is based and were written down in a book called "Nei Ching", which has been translated as "The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine."

The book, divided into two parts, the first dealing with the principles of medicine in relation to the Universe, the second with the actual practice of Acupuncture.

The Imperial Institute of Physicians was established in China during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th Century A.D. and the text of "Nei Ching" and on anatomy in general was a requirement to qualify in this College. Oral examination was used along with practical tests were the student would be given various medical cases. The sex and the age of a patient, and their place of birth, whether the patient was married or single would be told to the student and He would also have to take into consideration the season of the year and the time of day the consultation were taking place.

The student would then give their diagnosis of what the condition was and identify which acupuncture points would be most successful in treating the complaint. The student would then insert needles into a hollow, life-sized wooden doll, filled with water, with 365 wax-covered small holes, corresponded to acupuncture points along the meridians.

If the student could insert them correctly and in the correct points, the water would flow out and they would pass. If however if the student was unable to chose the correct points or was unable to get any water out, he would fail and would not be allowed to practice.

These dolls are still part of the curriculum in the training of an acupuncturist, though they are no longer filled with water any longer.

In 1822, a Court Decree struck acupuncture from the curriculum of the Imperial Medical College and it fell into disrepute and came to be practised by charlatans, though genuine practitioners still abounded, passing on their knowledge outside the medical colleges. During "Chiang Kai Shek's reign in China, acupuncture again suffered disfavor with the authorities. "Chiang tried to introduce Western medicine, and rather than risk the displeasure of his Government, which could have extremely unpleasant consequences, doctors began to study these new methods. However, traditional

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