In the footsteps of the Yellow Emperor : tracing the history of traditional acupuncture

439 Pages·2007·12.1 MB·English

by  Peter Eckman

Table of Contents

Title Page
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgments
CONTEXT
Introduction

Chapter 1 - The Circle
Chapter 2 - TCM and LA
Chapter 3 - Legendary Lessons in Virtue
Chapter 4 - From Mythology to Medicine: A History of TOM
Chapter 5 - History as Mystery: Traditional Acupuncture’s
Journey to the West

6
ENDNOTES
APPENDIX - GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS
RELATIVELY UNIQUE TO LA, WITH ...
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Copyright Page
Dedicated to
Yanagiya Sorei and Tobe Soshichiro*–

whose lives embodied not just the letter, but the very spirit of
traditional Oriental medicine;

whose work helped build the bridge between East and West
across which I invite you to travel with me.

* With a special “thank you” to
Chieko Maekawa
for being my go-between.
PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK
EDITION
Today, with so many books about acupuncture and Oriental
medicine available, the interested reader must have some way
to select one, or even a few, that will hopefully match their
specific interests. I was fortunate that when I began studying
acupuncture in the early 1970’s there were so few books in
English that it was not difficult to simply read them all, but that
is no longer a reasonable option. With that observation in mind,
I would like to describe some of the unique features of this
particular book, so that the reader can better determine if it
seems likely to match his or her interests.
I will start by classifying this genre of books, not by their
subject matter, but by their types of author, because one’s point
of view is inevitably colored by one’s relationship to the subject
at hand. In very broad terms books on this subject have been
written by authors with the following backgrounds: sinologists
(scholars of Chinese history and culture), professional
practitioners, recipients of treatment and interested laity. Let
me examine these one at a time.
Sinologists would seem to be the most excellent resource,
especially as concerns the history of acupuncture, but one must
exercise caution here. For the most part, the sinologists who
have written about acupuncture have little or no practical
experience of the material they discuss, and so do not have any
meaningful criteria with which to judge what is valuable and
reliable clinically, as opposed to what merely makes for an
interesting story. They do not even have to believe in either the
theory or efficacy of the practices they describe, and this is
unfortunately the case with some of the current literature.
Professional practitioners, on the other hand, have a stake in
how the subject is portrayed. There are literally dozens of
styles of acupuncture practice, for example, and each will have
its defenders and detractors. Perhaps the biggest split in this
regard, is between physicians and non-physicians, who
naturally are in competition for the patient’s health care
dollars. Any given practitioner, however, will not necessarily be
familiar with the other styles of practice, nor with the long
history underlying their profession.
Similarly, patients who have been successfully treated will
naturally focus on the style of treatment that worked for them,
and will most likely be unaware that other styles of treatment
even exist. Finally, lay authors might be expected to be least
likely to produce reliable works, as they have neither the
education of the sinologists, the training of the practitioners,
nor the personal experience of the patients, however they may
be excellent writers and storytellers, and for some readers this
could be the most compelling criterion.
In this book I have tried to combine as many of these points
of view as possible. Writing about Chinese history compelled
me to learn a little about the written Chinese language, so I
studied under and then taught collaboratively with the late
Father Claude Larre, principal compiler of the esteemed Ricci
Dictionary of the Chinese language. I am trained as both a
physician (M.D. and also Ph.D. in neurophysiology) and an
acupuncturist (in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese,
French, English and other styles), and have taught this subject
to members of both of these professions around the world, as
well as having been on the receiving end of various approaches
to acupuncture treatment.
In addition to the qualifications mentioned, my interest in the
varieties of acupuncture styles which have developed in various
countries throughout the world has definitely influenced the
writing of this book. As the reader has probably already
gathered, my writing is very much in a “first hand” style, and
for that reason is more suited to those who are not put off by
informality. I have tried to steer clear of the classically dry
academic text type of presentation.
Who then is this book written for? Ideally, I see it as being of
value to both the professional and general readership who seek
a deeper, personal exploration of acupuncture and Oriental
medicine. We live in an era when interdisciplinary studies
happen to be in vogue, and the present work certainly cuts
across many fields in tracing the history of its subject matter. I
welcome you to read further, and I trust the result will be both
educational and entertaining.

Peter Eckman, M.D.
San Francisco
2007