Acupuncture

India claims that this system of treatment was discovered by her some three thousand years back. From here it travelled to china with the Buddhist preachers. On the other hand, China asserts that it took birth in china five thousand years back. Whatever may be the truth, it can be safely asserted that this system of treatment in which small needles are inserted at pre-determined spots, is not only exotic but nearly painless. Most of the developed countries are now engaged in research on acupuncture and there is no doubt that this system of treatment is opening new vistas of knowledge in alleviating human misery.

There is Chinese proverb that asserts that this system can keep away thousands of diseases. There are many, who believe that this system of acupuncture was developed in India some three thousand years ago. From here, it was taken to China by Buddhist Preachers, who went around in south East Asia, spreading message of love and ahimsa of their mentor Buddha, the Enlighten one. The Chinese asserts that acupuncture took roots in their country more than five thousand years back, We need not dwell on this controversy, as at present acupuncture is accepted widely as Chinese method of treatment. The oldest book printed on the subject of treatment of diseases, Huang Di Nei Jing, was published in China. Translated into English the title of the book would be something like this—“The Classical Book of Treatment of the Chinese Emperor”. There is one whole chapter devoted to acupuncture in this treatise. During olden times, the Chinese emperors paid salary to the doctors practicing acupuncture so long as their patient were in good health. The salary and respect of the physician increased in direct proportion to the number of patients successfully treated by him. If there were complaints regarding misbehavior of the physician or many person died during the treatment, his salary was decreased in the same proportion.

The world at large did not know much about acupuncture during the first five decades of this country. From the year 1949, when Mao Tse Tung came to power in China, it was given state patronage. It only in 1971, that this system of treatment got worldwide publicity during visit of President Nixon of America to China. For then, its popularity become sky high. James Reston, a journalist has accompanied Nixon on this Journey. He had been operated upon appendix and since then suffered from pain all over his body. The Chinese doctors gave him acupuncture Treatment during his stay in China. The pain Vanished. The entire media-newspaper, magazines, radio and television widely publicized the story and acclaimed acupuncture as the most astonished system that could successfully tackle most of the human ailments. A team of scientists under the leadership of Paul Hudley White went to China in 1973 to make a scientific study of acupuncture and how it worked. Practically, every country in the world then accepted and acupuncture in some form or the other for treatment of diseases.