The great doctors of
acupuncture, through
the course of Chinese history, have often varied from great
healers to quacks in the minds of the people and government.
From China, undisputedly the originator of this healing process,
it spread to the other parts of Asia, (especially Japan and
Korea), and even as far as Europe.
Japanese Style
It is said that the Japanese practice a truer form of medicine
than the Chinese since the Cultural Revolution had little
influence on their medicine. Whether it is that differentiation,
or simply the uniqueness of their nation, the Japanese style
does not resemble traditional Chinese medicine in any
significant way.
Most of the Japanese styles derive from varying interpretations
of the ancient test, the Nan Jing. The Japanese have greatly
influenced acupuncture with their technological advances in
helping to invent the guide tube, the pump cup (as opposed to
fire), and the silicon coated needle. As a general rule Japanese
styles are much more subtle than traditional Chinese medicine.
The needles are inserted shallower and the "De Qi" sensation is
not necessarily sought after. In addition, the Japanese seem to
place much greater importance to details (i.e., direction of
needle, order of insertions, etc.). They also seem to
concentrate much more on root treatment than local. Some say
that the subtleties extend to outcome and that they are no less
pronounced but sometimes slower and less dramatic.
Korean Style.
To this day, few practitioners teach Korean styles of
acupuncture Therefore there is precious little information about
them.
The little that is known, comes in the form of Korean hand
therapy, a recent invention of the twentieth century. Two
schools of thought exist here. They regard the hand as a micro
system of the body, much like the ear. The two schools simply
differ on the orientation of the body.
The first school believes the middle (3rd) finger is the torso
and head, with the arms being the 2nd and 4th fingers, and the
legs being the 1st and 5th. The second school thought the thumb
(1st) the head, the palm the torso, the 2nd and 5th fingers the
arms, and the 3rd and 4th the legs.
Needling is done on the hand both as local treatment for the
ailing part of the body. However, a practitioner can also do a
full root treatment similar to the Japanese styles all on the
hand.
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