The beginning of Chinese acupuncture, acupressure, and moxibustion dates back 5,000 years ago. Initially, people started finding correspondences between points on the body and symptomatic relief of pain. Through primitive yet practical research methods, the ancient Chinese found value based evidence of the benefits of this type of therapy. Documenting these findings, they went on to experiment with different manipulation methods on the known points and deepened the knowledge of this body of information. It is believed that, through meditation, Buddhist monks had a lot to do with expanding the discovery of the movement of energy throughout the body, which lead to the discovery of the meridians. The meridians are the avenues of energy that connect certain point on the body with each other. The study of the energetic qualities of points and the flow of energy between these points continued throughout many decades and centuries, knowledge being imparted and trusted to each generation. This accumulation of knowledge and facts about the interconnectedness of the body naturally led to what we today refer to as accumulated wisdom in regard to the energetics of the body. It was through listening to the body and its reactions to different therapies on different points that Chinese medicine was conceived. As this understanding of the body and its organ systems increased, so did knowledge of the cosmos. Because people were living in closer relation to the earth, this was a more intuitive time. These people inherently knew the connection between themselves and the natural world around them, they also realized correspondences between the two. At around 1,000 years BCE through the careful study of astrology, examination of the seasons, elements and the way nature moved and changed, the ancient’s understanding of their universe dramatically expanded and evolved. This is when the theoretical foundations of yin and yang and the five elements were discovered. Also realized at this time was the role of external pathogenic factors such as too much wind or sun exposure and contagious illnesses. The natural defenses of the body, “Wei Qi”, also known as the “immune system” became evident.

Although geographically so close, the Japanese weren’t introduced to Traditional Chinese medicine until sometime before the 6th century C.E. At this time Buddhist monks from China and Korea journeyed to Japan with the books on acupuncture and herbal medicine that the Japanese hungered for. In the year 702 C.E., the Imperial Medical College was established by the emperor as the first Oriental Medical College in Japan, and it flourished until the 12th century.

Japanese acupuncture underwent intensive growth after herbology was banned in Japan. At that time, acupuncturists had to be blind due to the strict laws regarding how much of the body could be seen. These two historical markers together elevated the practice of meridian therapy also called Japanese acupuncture. By allowing only the blind to perform acupuncture, textbooks and details of the point and meridian system only served as a starting point. As is obvious, when you loose one of your senses, the others become more heightened and aware. The blind acupuncturists of Japan were highly sensitive in their fingertips and began to feel “active” or “open” acupoints. These were very obvious to those practitioners and through experience they realized that a point must be open for that point to be therapeutic.

The first part of the classic Chinese medical text, “Huang Di Nei Jing” was created sometime during the Warring States period (476-221 BCE). To make the text complete, the second half of the book was compiled (206BCE-25CE) and added. This compilation was incredibly significant because it was one of the first concise medical writings on medicine, incorporating Taoism, yin-yang, and the five elements. This was the compilation of many different authors and is still regarded today as a great medical text. From here, many, many other texts were written and published which add great depth to original texts. The translation to English has also been recognized as a great accomplishment, spreading this great health care system to the West.

Through study and practice, I too could feel the difference between open and closed points. Also important to understand is that these points can and do move, they are not static as a diagram would have you believe. The diagrams only serve as a starting point for an acupuncturist.