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Acupuncture Facts
Ancient Acupuncture Theories
The understanding of how acupuncture works has evolved with its practice, but
the descriptions set down a thousand years ago have largely been retained. The
dominant function of acupuncture is to regulate the circulation of qi (vital
energy) and blood. Approximately 2,000 years ago, the pre-eminent acupuncture
text, Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Classic on Internal Medicine), was
written. In it, acupuncture was described as a means of letting out excess qi or
blood by making holes in the body along certain pathways, called jingluo
(meridians). For some of these meridians, it was advised to acupuncture in such
a way as to let out the blood but not the qi; for others, to let out the qi, but
not the blood. Many diseases were thought to enter the body through the skin,
and then penetrate inward through muscle, internal organs, and, if not cured in
timely fashion, to the marrow of the bone. By inserting a needle to the
appropriate depth—to correspond with the degree of disease penetration—the
disease could be let out.
Prior to the time when there were microscopes by which people could envision
individual cells and before autopsies revealed the intricate structures within
the body, doctors and scholars projected the internal workings of the body from
what they could actually experience, which was the world outside the body. On
this basis, the workings of the body were described in terms similar to those
used to describe the visible world. One of the critical aspects of nature for
humans living a thousand years ago, when Chinese civilization was well
developed, was the system of water courses, which included tiny streams, huge
rivers, man-made canals and irrigation systems, and the ocean. It was envisioned
that the body had a similar system of moving, life-giving fluid. This fluid was
the qi, and the pathways through which it flowed were the meridians.
Instead of discussing acupuncture in terms of letting something out of the body,
physicians began describing it in terms of regulating something within the body.
The flow of qi through the meridians, just like the flow of water through a
stream, could be blocked off by an obstruction—a dam across the waterway. In the
streams, this might be a fallen tree or a mud slide; in humans, it might be
caused by something striking the body, the influence of bad weather, or
ingestion of improper foods. When a stream is blocked, it floods above the
blockage, and below the blockage it dries up. If one goes to the point of
blockage and clears it away, then the stream can resume its natural course. In a
like manner, if the qi in the meridian becomes blocked, the condition of the
body becomes disordered like the flooding and dryness; if one could remove the
blockage from the flow of qi within a meridian, the natural flow could be
restored.
In a blocked stream, just cutting a small hole or crevice in the blockage will
often clear the entire stream path, because the force of the water that
penetrates the hole will widen it continuously until the normal course is
restored. In the human body, inserting a small needle into the blocked meridian
will have a similar effect. Just as a stream may have certain points more easily
accessed (or more easily blocked), the meridians have certain points which, if
treated by needling, will have a significant impact on the flow pattern. Many
acupuncture points are named for geological structures: mountains, streams,
ponds, and oceans.
Although this description of the basic acupuncture concept is somewhat
simplified, it conveys the approach that is taught today to students of
traditional acupuncture: locate the areas of disturbance, isolate the main
blockage points, and clear the blockage. Of course, many layers of
sophistication have been added to this model, so that the needling—which might
be carried out in several different ways—can be seen to have subtle and
differing effects depending upon the site(s) needled, the depth and direction of
needling, and even the chemical composition of the needle (such as gold, silver,
or steel). For example, some needling techniques are used for the primary
purpose of increasing the flow of qi in a meridian without necessarily removing
any blockage; other techniques reduce the flow of qi in the meridians. These
tonifying and draining methods, as well as transference methods that help move
qi from one meridian to another, are part of the more general aim of balancing
the flow of qi in the body.
Ultimately, all the descriptions of acupuncture that are based on the
traditional model involve rectifying a disturbance in the flow of qi. If the qi
circulation is corrected, the body can eliminate most symptoms and
eventually—with proper diet, exercise, and other habits—overcome virtually all
disease.
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