Clipping Board » Medical Affairs and Administration ─ Medical system, pharmaceuticals, and medical community-related reports
March 10, 2006
Traditional Chinese acupuncture has been popular in the United States for many years, especially in California, where an acupuncture college and a state-recognized public acupuncturist examination system were established years ago. But how did acupuncture become "hot" in North America? Some attribute it to reports on "acupuncture anesthesia" during President Nixon's visit to China, but the truth turns out to be another version...
Dr. Li Yongming, president of the American Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, revealed historical facts he obtained after years of research, explaining why traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy suddenly became popular in the United States 35 years ago.
For years, there have been various accounts of how acupuncture therapy was introduced to the United States. The most widely circulated version is that an article published in The New York Times by a reporter accompanying President Nixon during his visit to China sparked the acupuncture craze in the U.S.
To clarify the origin of the acupuncture craze in the U.S. and restore the true history, Dr. Li Yongming conducted years of investigation and interviews. Recently, at a professional seminar held by the association, he corrected some previous misconceptions about this history.
Xinhua News Agency quoted Li Yongming as saying that after verifying historical materials and interviewing relevant parties, it was confirmed that an article written by James Reston, a famous reporter for The New York Times, about his experience receiving acupuncture treatment in Beijing was indeed the first time the U.S. mass media introduced Chinese acupuncture therapy to the American public. However, the article was published in July 1971, before Nixon's visit to China.
Reston was invited by the Chinese government to visit China, but during his stay in Beijing, he suddenly suffered from acute appendicitis. Arranged by Premier Zhou Enlai, Reston was admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, where he received consultations from multiple experts and underwent an appendectomy performed by Dr. Wu Weiran, now the honorary president of Beijing Hospital. The day after the surgery, Reston experienced abdominal distension and pain. With his consent, Chinese doctors performed acupuncture therapy on him.
According to Reston, a young Chinese acupuncturist inserted three needles into his right elbow and under both knees and used a "moxa roll that looked like a cheap cigar" to warm his abdomen, significantly relieving his discomfort. Based on this experience, Reston wrote an article titled "Now, Let Me Tell You About My Appendectomy in Beijing" from his hospital bed, which was published on the front page of The New York Times on July 26, 1971, triggering an unstoppable "acupuncture craze" in the U.S.
Li Yongming said that the greatest achievement of his investigation was finally finding the Chinese acupuncturist who treated Reston. Previously, he had found other relevant personnel, including doctors and translators, but when he searched for the acupuncturist based on the name mentioned in Reston's article, he was told "no such person exists." It wasn't until last year, with the help of a friend who had worked in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, that he found Dr. Li Zhanyuan, who had performed acupuncture on Reston. It turned out that Reston had misspelled Dr. Li's name in his article, causing him to remain anonymous for over 30 years.
Li Yongming said that before 1971, acupuncture was almost unknown in mainstream American society, so Reston's article was a historic milestone in the introduction of acupuncture to the U.S. It marked the formal introduction of modern acupuncture from mainland China to the U.S., becoming a mainstream acupuncture school in the U.S. and many Western countries. Today, there are over 50 acupuncture schools across the U.S., more than 20,000 practicing acupuncturists, and the industry's annual output is approximately $1.65 billion.
To commemorate this historic event of acupuncture therapy being introduced to the U.S., on January 19, 2006, the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, and the American Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly hosted a symposium in Beijing to mark the 35th anniversary of acupuncture's introduction to the West.It is reported that the American Association of Chinese Medicine will also hold a large-scale celebration in New York this summer to commemorate the 35th anniversary of acupuncture's introduction to the United States.
Source: http://www. takungpao. com/ news/ 06/ 03/ 10/ GY- 536184. htm
Experts Identify Reasons for Acupuncture Boom in North America
Traditional Chinese acupuncture has been popular in the United States for many years, especially in California, where an acupuncture college and a state-recognized public acupuncturist examination system were established years ago. But how did acupuncture become "hot" in North America? Some attribute it to reports on "acupuncture anesthesia" during President Nixon's visit to China, but the truth turns out to be another version...
Dr. Li Yongming, president of the American Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, revealed historical facts he obtained after years of research, explaining why traditional Chinese acupuncture therapy suddenly became popular in the United States 35 years ago.
For years, there have been various accounts of how acupuncture therapy was introduced to the United States. The most widely circulated version is that an article published in The New York Times by a reporter accompanying President Nixon during his visit to China sparked the acupuncture craze in the U.S.
To clarify the origin of the acupuncture craze in the U.S. and restore the true history, Dr. Li Yongming conducted years of investigation and interviews. Recently, at a professional seminar held by the association, he corrected some previous misconceptions about this history.
Xinhua News Agency quoted Li Yongming as saying that after verifying historical materials and interviewing relevant parties, it was confirmed that an article written by James Reston, a famous reporter for The New York Times, about his experience receiving acupuncture treatment in Beijing was indeed the first time the U.S. mass media introduced Chinese acupuncture therapy to the American public. However, the article was published in July 1971, before Nixon's visit to China.
Reston was invited by the Chinese government to visit China, but during his stay in Beijing, he suddenly suffered from acute appendicitis. Arranged by Premier Zhou Enlai, Reston was admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital, where he received consultations from multiple experts and underwent an appendectomy performed by Dr. Wu Weiran, now the honorary president of Beijing Hospital. The day after the surgery, Reston experienced abdominal distension and pain. With his consent, Chinese doctors performed acupuncture therapy on him.
According to Reston, a young Chinese acupuncturist inserted three needles into his right elbow and under both knees and used a "moxa roll that looked like a cheap cigar" to warm his abdomen, significantly relieving his discomfort. Based on this experience, Reston wrote an article titled "Now, Let Me Tell You About My Appendectomy in Beijing" from his hospital bed, which was published on the front page of The New York Times on July 26, 1971, triggering an unstoppable "acupuncture craze" in the U.S.
Li Yongming said that the greatest achievement of his investigation was finally finding the Chinese acupuncturist who treated Reston. Previously, he had found other relevant personnel, including doctors and translators, but when he searched for the acupuncturist based on the name mentioned in Reston's article, he was told "no such person exists." It wasn't until last year, with the help of a friend who had worked in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, that he found Dr. Li Zhanyuan, who had performed acupuncture on Reston. It turned out that Reston had misspelled Dr. Li's name in his article, causing him to remain anonymous for over 30 years.
Li Yongming said that before 1971, acupuncture was almost unknown in mainstream American society, so Reston's article was a historic milestone in the introduction of acupuncture to the U.S. It marked the formal introduction of modern acupuncture from mainland China to the U.S., becoming a mainstream acupuncture school in the U.S. and many Western countries. Today, there are over 50 acupuncture schools across the U.S., more than 20,000 practicing acupuncturists, and the industry's annual output is approximately $1.65 billion.
To commemorate this historic event of acupuncture therapy being introduced to the U.S., on January 19, 2006, the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, and the American Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly hosted a symposium in Beijing to mark the 35th anniversary of acupuncture's introduction to the West.It is reported that the American Association of Chinese Medicine will also hold a large-scale celebration in New York this summer to commemorate the 35th anniversary of acupuncture's introduction to the United States.
Source: http://www. takungpao. com/ news/ 06/ 03/ 10/ GY- 536184. htm