Acupuncture as Part of Chinese Alternative Medicine

Acupuncture as Part of Chinese Alternative Medicine
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Acupuncture as Part of Chinese Alternative Medicine
Exploring the origin and history of the practices among members of a cultural group is crucial in enhancing the general understanding and interpretation of that culture. Thus, this paper explores the acupuncture practice among the Chinese, which then sheds light on how the practice has become a widespread alternative medicine practice in modern medical practice even in western countries. Some of the earliest texts that relate to acupuncture will be examined so that a clear picture of how the interpretation has contributed to the current adoption of acupuncture in modern pain management practices.
The use of acupuncture in treatment among the Chinese dates back to the Shang Dynasty (Buck, 2015). Some of the earliest texts on acupuncture go as far as the late 1400s where classics were edited to enhance understanding of the practice. For instance, Wang Ji wrote a question and answer text that allowed acupuncturists to better understand acumoxa, a practice that involved both acupuncture and acupressure in treatment of ailment in the Han Dynasty (Buck, 2015). Part of his work included interpreting the classical work on acumoxa because he believed that at that time, acupuncturists were not as effective because they were unable to interpret the texts on their own. Some other work that was written in the Ming Dynasty by Gao Wu also helped in tracking down the ideas that were held by the ancient inventors of acupuncture (Buck, 2015). The writer of the text believed that tracking the origin of acupuncture was crucial in enhancing the practice. While some of these interpretations happened with the intention of benefiting the Chinese, their importance was also used by future generations to advance and spread the practice of acupuncture in treatment. In fact, such interpretations are essential, especially on a cross-cultural level. I am able to understand that interpretation plays an important role in spreading a certain culture and that it also enhances the adoption of certain cultural practices.
For instance, while acupuncture was practiced for centuries by the Chinese, it faced a number of challenges, which affected its popularity at some point in history. However, the text interpretations and earlier works on acupuncture allowed some practitioners to advance it and that is how the use of acupuncture anesthesia came to be. According to Liu, Fan, Zhou, and Hu (2016), in 1960, the first successful use of acupuncture anesthesia in the removal of a lung was recorded and it formed the first step towards the spread on acupuncture. However, this success was not enough and it required the participation o...