Although Westerners often consider this traditional Chinese method of treatment a “new” form of alternative medicine, acupuncture is so ancient in China that its sources are unclear. According to Huangfu Mi (circa 215-282 AD), author of the “Classics of Systematic Acupuncture and Cauterization,” acupuncture was first used during the Bronze Age in China more than five thousand years ago. He attributes his invention to either Fu Xi or Huang Di (Yellow Emperor), two legendary figures from the Period of the Five Emperors (approximately 3000–2070 BC). Modern schools, as a rule, consider that acupuncture is much older, which arose more than ten thousand years ago in the Neolithic era in China (about 8000-3500 BC).
In fact, acupuncture may not be as ancient as is commonly believed. Reconsideration of all the remaining documents and recent archaeological finds that reflect acupuncture may take only 2100-2300 years, first appearing during the period of the Warring States of China (475-221 BC) and quickly maturing during the dynasty Western Han (206) BC-24 AD).
A survey of generally accepted theory of origin.
The current accepted theory of neolithic sources of acupuncture is based on two promises. The first shows that Bian Shi, specialized sharp stone tools that appeared in the Neolithic era in China, were used for an early form of acupuncture before the invention of smelting metals. It is known that Bian-Si-stone instruments were used for a number of early medical procedures, starting from the Neolithic era and continuing through the Western Han dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD). A series of descriptions of Bian Shi therapy in one of China’s first medical works, “The Yellow Emperor”, “Inner Classics of Medicine” (Huang Di Neijing, cited here for Neijing) (c.104- 32 BC). It was believed that these neolithic stone medical instruments were the forerunners of metal acupuncture needles that were used during the Chinese Iron Age.
However, historical documents and new archaeological evidence clearly indicate that the bian-s-stone tools were flat and knife-like in shape, used mainly to cut abscesses to extract pus or to extract blood (1) . They were used as surgical scalpels for cutting, and not as needles for puncture and had nothing to do with acupuncture therapy. According to the Code of Hammurabi, the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia used bronze knives of similar shape to cut abscesses more than 4,000 years ago.
Prehistoric Chinese had needles of various materials, ranging from coarse thorns and feathers to bone, bamboo, ceramics, and stone. But just like the history of the knife is not the history of the operation, therefore the invention of needles and acupuncture are two completely different things. Needles have historically been one of the most commonly used tools in everyday life for making clothes all over the world. From a medical point of view, needles are used to cut suture material in the same way as making clothes with pins, needles with a hollow syringe (as different from a solid needle used in acupuncture) are used to inject fluids into the body or remove them from it, but piercing a solid needles in the body for the treatment of the disease looks very strange and mysterious. In English, “give someone a needle” means discontent or irritation of someone. Most people prefer not to be pierced with needles, but associated with pain and trauma. Many plants and animals have developed thorns or feathers as a powerful weapon for defense or attack. Needles were even used for punishment in ancient China. Through trial and error, healers around the world have independently found treatment for pain and other diseases, such as herbs, roots, wraps, rub, blood donation and surgery, but only acupuncture is unique to the Chinese. Considering the unique Chinese origin of acupuncture, it is reasonable to assume that the invention of acupuncture was not related to the presence of either sewing needles or scalpels made from bianshi during the Neolithic period in China.
A second premise supporting the theory of the neolithic origin of acupuncture asserts that acupuncture developed as a natural result of everyday life in prehistoric times. It is believed that as a result of random chance and repeated empirical experience, it was found that the need for different points of the body can effectively treat various conditions. However, this assumption is missing both in the main historical data and in the logical basis.
It is known that the ancient people knew about the situations when physical problems were removed after an unrelated injury. This is evidenced by Zhang Tszyhe (circa 1156-1228), One of the four eminent physicians of the Jin and Yuan dynasties (1115-1368 AD) and a specialist in blood donation: “Bachelor Zhao Zhongwen developed an acute eye problem during his participation in a powerful examination, his eyes became red and swollen, accompanied by blurred vision and severe pain. the chimney fell and struck him in the forehead, causing a wound about 3-4 meters long and allowing copious amounts of dark purple blood, the next day he could see the crest of his roof. “A few days later he was fully recovered.
If acupuncture, in fact, gradually developed as a result of such accidental events, then over four thousand years of human history China would have to include many such accounts related to the discovery of acupuncture points and their properties. But my extensive search for a huge Chinese medical canon and other literature was given only by this single case. In fact, this story offers no more than an example of bloodletting therapy, which in some aspects differs from acupuncture. The point of bleeding is the removal of a certain amount of blood. But when piercing the body with solid needles, nothing is added or subtracted from the body.
Blood therapy is universal. Throughout the recorded history, people around the world have had similar experiences with the beneficial effects of accidental injury and have developed treatments based on the principle that injuring and bleeding in one part of the body can cause problems in another area. The ancient Greeks and Romans developed a licensing and arrest based on the discovery that bleeding is useful in cases such as fever, headache, and erratic menstruation. Europe in the Middle Ages used bloodletting as a panacea for the prevention and treatment of disease. Detailed instructions were given regarding the most favorable days and hours for blood donation, the correct veins to be removed, the amount of blood and the amount of bleeding. Blood was usually taken by opening a vein with a lancet, but sometimes with the help of bloodsucking leeches or using blood vessels for arresting. Blood using leeches is still practiced in some parts of Europe and the Middle East. However, now these methods of bloodletting have become a detailed and comprehensive system, comparable to acupuncture. If acupuncture really arose from a repeated empirical experience of accidental damage, it should have developed all over the world, and not just in China.
Both historical evidence and logic point to the absence of a causal link between the development of materials and methods for making needles and the invention of acupuncture. It is also clear that the repeated experience of accidental injuries was not a major factor in the development of acupuncture. Therefore, the generally accepted theory of neolithic sources of acupuncture, based on such erroneous promises, should be wrong. Now it is necessary to reconsider when acupuncture really appeared and subsequently matured.
Revision of evidence
If acupuncture really originated in the Neolithic era in China, references to it should appear through China’s earliest written records and archaeological relics. However, it is not.
Early cultures believed the world was filled with supernatural and developed various ways of divination. During the Chinese dynasty Shang (about 1500-1000 BC) divination was carried out by burning the bones of animals and tortoise shells with moxa or other materials. Then oracular utterances were recorded on the bone or shell based on the cracks obtained. These inscriptions are preserved as the earliest examples of written Chinese characters. Among the hundreds of thousands of inscribed oracles and shells found to date, 323 contain predictions for 20 different diseases and disorders. However, none of these inscriptions mention acupuncture or any other form of treatment in this regard.
The rites of the Zhou dynasty (Zhou Li), written during the period of the Warring States (475-221 BC), detail the official rituals and rules of the Zhou dynasty (circa 1000-256 BC), in including those related to medicine. The royal doctors at the time were divided into four categories: nutritionists, who were responsible for the rulers; food and drink; internal medicine doctors who treated diseases and disorders with grains and herbs; surgeons or yang yi who treated such problems as abscesses, open ulcers, wounds and fractures using zhuyou (spells), medications and treatments (using stone or metal knives to clean and remove pus and necrotic tissue); and veterinarians who treated animals. But this document also does not contain references to acupuncture.
Neijing (circa 104-32 BC) is the first known work related to acupuncture. The classic consists of two parts: Suwen - Simple Questions, and Lingshu - Spiritual Pivot, also known as The Classic of Acupuncture (Zhen Jing). Both are mainly related to the theory and practice of acupuncture and cauterization. Although Neijing’s authorship is attributed to legendary Yellow Emperor Juan Dee (approximately 2650 BC), most scholars believe that this basic work, containing extracts from more than twenty pre-existing medical procedures, was actually composed between 104. BC. and 32 BC, during the last part of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD). The comprehensive and highly developed nature of the medical system presented in Neepin prompted scientists to believe that acupuncture therapy has an extremely long history, probably up to prehistoric times. The original versions of the ancient texts used in the collection of Nepin were lost, and with them the opportunity to clarify the question of when acupuncture actually appeared. However, starting with the new archaeological evidence found in China in the early 1970s and 1980s, the true state of Chinese medicine to Neecina is revealed and challenges the existing claims related to the neolithic origin of acupuncture.
At the end of 1973, 14 medical documents, known as the Ancient Medical Relics of Mawandui, were excavated from the grave number 3 in Mawandui, Changsha, Hunan Province. Ten documents were copied by hand on silk, and four were written on bamboo slips. The exact age of the ancient medical relics of Mawandouya is not defined. However, the wooden plaque found in the grave states that the deceased was the son of Prime Minister Lee Chang of Changsha and that he was buried on February 24, 168 BCE. The unsystematic and empirical nature of the material contained in the documents indicates that they were written long before their invasion in 168 BC, probably around the middle of the period of the Warring States (475-221 BC .). In any case, these medical documents are undoubtedly prescribed by Nekinsky (compiled in 104-32 BC), which makes them the oldest known medical documents. These documents were probably lost sometime during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220), since their discovery has not been found until their reopening in 1973.
Another valuable medical discovery, the Book of Meridians (Mai Shu), was excavated from two ancient tombs in Zhangjiaan in Jianglin District, Hubei Province in 1983. These ancient texts, written on bamboo slips and well preserved, were probably buried between 187 and 179 BC, at about the same time as the relics of Mawandui. Only five documents, three of which (“Classics of cauterization with eleven Medin yin-yang”, “Pulse examination methods” and “Bian Stone”, as well as signs of death on the Yin-Yang meridians) are identical to the texts found in Mawandui.
There is ample evidence that the authors of Neiping used as their primary references the earlier medical texts from Mavanjuy and Zhangjyashan, which again indicates the antiquity of these relics. For example, in chapter 10 of the section of Neings Lingshu there is a discussion of the meridians and their disorders, which are very similar, both in form and in content, to what was found in the “Classic Moxibustion” with 11 Yin-Yang meridians, one of the documents found in both Mavanjuy and Zhangjabane.
Of course, Neijing did not just reproduce these earlier documents, but rather clarified and developed them, as well as introduced new therapeutic methods. Early classic cauterization with eleven yin-yang meridians is limited to cauterization, while chapter 10 of the Lingshu Neijing section refers to acupuncture treatment or acupuncture for the first time. Despite the fact that the medical texts dedicated to Neijing, a variety of treatment methods are discussed, including herbal medicine, cauterization, stimulation, therapeutic bathing, bi-stone therapy, massage, daoyin (physical exercise), xingqi (breathing exercises), zhuyou (spell ) and even operations, these early documents do not contain references to acupuncture.
If acupuncture really arose much earlier than in Neing (circa 104-32 BC), medical documents found from Mawandui and Zhangjyashan, which were probably used as preliminary references by Neijin, should also contain extensive discussions. acupuncture. However, they do not. This clearly indicates that acupuncture has not yet been used at the time when the documents of Mavandzhui and Zhangjiang were compiled. Of course, he cannot tell in detail about the state of acupuncture at the beginning of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), based solely on medical relics from Mawandui and Zhangjieshan. But the fact that these documents were considered valuable enough to be buried with the false evidence that they reflect the general medical practice of the time.
Historical records (Shi Ji) (circa 104-91 BC) Sima Qian contain evidence that acupuncture was first used about a hundred years before the compilation of Neekin (approximately 104-32 BC) . Historical background, the first comprehensive history of China, consists of a series of biographies reached from the time of the legendary Yellow Emperor (about 2650 BC) to Emperor Wudi (156-87 BC) of the Western Han dynasty. Among them are the biographies of China's first two medical doctors, Biang Ke and Kang Gong. The name Bian Que was Qin Yueren. It is known that he lived from 407-310 BC, in the period of the late warring kingdoms (475-221 BC) and was a contemporary of Hippocrates (about 460-377 BC), father of western medicine. The life of Bian Qui was surrounded by an aura of mystery, because of which it is difficult to separate fact from legend. His name means Wayfaring Magpie - a bird that symbolizes good luck. It is said that the old man excites Bian Ken with several esoteric medical texts and a herbal recipe, and then disappears. Bian Kep took the medicine according to the instructions of the mysterious visitor. Thirty days later he saw through the walls. After that, when he diagnosed the disease, he could clearly see the internal organs of his patients. body. Like the centaur Chiron, the son of Apollo, who is sometimes considered the god of surgery in the West, Bjana Kew is considered a supernatural figure and the god of healing. The stone relief, taken from the grave of the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), depicts it with a human head on the body of a bird (3). The Historical Records states that Bian Ke successfully resurrected Prince of Guo State using a combination of acupuncture, foundation, and herbal medicine. Thus, Bian Que is considered the founder of acupuncture and was the first to record acupuncture during the period of military states (475-221 BC).
More convincing evidence links the birth of acupuncture to the famous ancient physicist Chunyu Yi (circa 215–140 BC), commonly known as Kang Gong. The life and work of Kang Gong are described in detail in historical reports. The Historical Reports say that in 180 BC Teacher Tsang Gong possessed a number of valuable medical texts that avoided the book shaking of the last days of the Great Qin Empire (221-207 BC). В то время сторонники всех противоположных школ мысли были казнены или изгнаны, и почти все книги, не соответствующие жестким легитаристским учениям, которые доминировали в династии Цинь, были сожжены. Хотя медицинские тексты избежали катастрофы, их владельцы все еще боялись преследования. Запрещенные книги, полученные Цангом Гонгом, могут включать в себя ряд названий, которые появляются в Древних медицинских реликтах Мавандуи, таких как Классика Прижигания с Одиннадцатью Меидианцами Инь-Янь, Классика Прижигания с Одиннадцатью Меридианами Меча, Метод Импульсной Экспертиза и Bian Stone, Терапевтические методы для 52 заболеваний, Различные запрещенные методы и Книгу секса.
Биография Кэн Гонга в «Исторических отчетах» обсуждает двадцать пять его дел, датированных примерно 186 годом до н. Э. До 154 г. до н. Э. Эти исследования случаев, самые ранние из зарегистрированных в истории Китая, дают четкое представление о том, как болезнь лечилась более 2100 лет назад. Из 25 случаев десять были диагностированы как неизлечимые, и пациенты умерли, как и прогнозировалось. Из пятнадцати, которые были излечены, одиннадцать человек лечились травяной медициной, две - с прижиганием в сочетании с травяной медициной, одна с иглой и одна с иглой в сочетании с заливанием холодной воды на голову пациента. Из этого материала видно, что Кан Гун использовал фитотерапию в качестве основного лечения, а иглоукалывание и прижигание - только вторично. Его использование прижигания строго связано с доктринами, записанными в медиальных реликвиях от Мавандуи и Чжанцзяашана. Хотя в «Исторических записях» записано только два случая прижигания Кан Гонга, известно, что он был экспертом в его использовании, и что он написал книгу под названием «Прижигание» Цан Гун. К сожалению, эта книга потеряна. По сравнению с его широким использованием фитотерапии и прижиганием, применяемая терапия иглоукалыванием Cang Gong очень экономно. Ни один из двух зарегистрированных случаев иглоукалывания Cang Gong не выявил специфических акупунктурных точек или того, как манипулировали иглой, что указывает на то, что иглотерапия в то время находилась на начальной стадии.
Несмотря на то, что акупунктура не использовалась в течение всего дня Cang Gong, его два пациента с акупунктурой были вылечены только одним лечением, что указывало на эффективность зарождающейся терапии. Скоро следовало быстрое развитие акупунктуры. К тому времени, когда Neijing был составлен (приблизительно 104-32 года до н.э.), примерно через сто лет после времени Кан Гонг, акупунктура вытеснила травы и прижигание в качестве лечения выбора. Только тринадцать травяных рецептов записаны в Neijing, по сравнению с сотнями использования иглоукалывания.
Археологические раскопки захоронений Западной династии Хань (206 г. до н.э. - 24 г. н.э.) дали ряд важных медицинских ссылок, связанных с иглоукалыванием, в дополнение к Neijing и историческим записям. В июле 1968 года девять девяти металлических игл были раскопаны в Маньчэн, провинция Хэбэй, от гробницы князя Лю Шэна (? -113 до н.э.) Чжуншань, старшего брата императора У Ди (156-87 до н.э.) династии Западных Хань (206 г.) ) BC-24 AD). Четыре из игл являются золотыми и достаточно хорошо сохранились, а пять - серебра и уменьшаются до такой степени, что их невозможно полностью восстановить. Количество и формы выкопанных игл указывают на то, что они, возможно, были экспонатом из девяти типов проблем с иглоукалыванием, описанных в Neijing. Эта возможность подтверждается тем фактом, что в гробнице был обнаружен ряд дополнительных медицинских инструментов. Они включали бронзовый йогун (бассейн практикующего), используемый для отвалки лекарственных трав или изготовления таблеток, бронзового сита, используемого для фильтрации травяных отваров, и серебряной посуды, используемой для выливания лекарств (4). Хотя многие доисторические костные иглы были обнаружены, тот факт, что у них есть глаза, указывает на то, что они использовались для шитья. Некоторые школы нарушили, что доисторические китайцы могли использовать костные иголки без глаз или с очками на обоих концах для медицинских целей. Тем не менее, я считаю, что опрометчиво сделать такой вывод, основанный исключительно на реликвиях, которые покоятся в течение тысяч лет. Скорее, вполне вероятно, что глаза этих игл просто распадались на протяжении тысячелетий.
Conclusion
Глубокая переоценка всей сохранившейся литературы, а также документов и археологической реликвии, обнаруженной с 1960-х годов, подтверждает, что иглоукалывание не так древнее, как принято считать, и что оно фактически не появляется и постепенно развивается во время Китая ; с эпохи неолита (около 8000-3500 гг. до н.э.). Скорее, это великое изобретение было неожиданно и быстро развито почти две тысячи лет назад. Все свидетельства указывают на то, что иглоукалывание впервые появилось во время периода Воюющих царств (475-221 гг. До н.э.) во время Бьяна Кви, возникшего во время ранней династии Западных Хань (206 г. до н.э. - 24 г. н.э.), во времена Кан Гонг, и полностью созревшаяся во второй части династии Западных Хань, во время составления Неиджина (около 104-32 до н.э.).
Династия Западная Хань (206 г. до н.э. - 24 н.э.) обеспечила благодатную почву для быстрого роста и созревания иглоукалывания как комплексной медицинской системы. Предыдущие столетия видели расцвет китайской культуры во время интеллектуального поддачи периодов весны и осени (770-476 гг. До н.э.) и Воюющих царств (475-221 гг. До н.э.). Последующая территориальная унификация Китая династией Цинь (221-207 гг. До н.э.) заложила основу для культурной интеграции различных государств. В течение четырех тысяч лет истории Китая династия Западная Хань была периодом интенсивного социального и культурного развития. Иглоукалывание уникально. Его изобретение иглоукалывания в Китае в это время было результатом развития и уникального сближения определенных аспектов китайской культуры в это время, в том числе естественных наук, социальной структуры и человеческих отношений, и, самое главное, целостной философии.
Ссылки и примечания:
1. Бай Синхуа и др., Иглоукалывание: Видимый холизм. Оксфорд: Баттерворт-Хайнеманн, 2001, pps. 15-20.
2. Чжан Чжихэ (1156-1228 гг.), Конфуцианцы. Обязанности их родителей (Румен Шицин). Цитируется в разделе «Выбор и аннотация медицинских дел, обработанных прошлыми династиями» Выдающиеся акупунктуристы (Лидай Жэньцзю Миньцзя Йиань Сюаньчжу), изд. Ли Фуфэн. Харбин: Издательский дом науки и техники Хэйлунцзян, 1985, с. 143.
3. Лю Дунюань. Каменная помощь показывает практику иглоукалывания и прижигания из восточного ханьского династии. Археологический, 1972; (6): 47-51
4. Чжун Юйань, медицинские инструменты, извлеченные из гробницы династии Западной Хань Лю Шэн. Археологический, 1972, (3): с. 49-53.
