Using needles to help life's energy flow

As research expands scientific basis for ancient technique, global recognition is rising, as is interest in finding new applications, Yang Yang reports.

Editor's note: There are 43 items inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists that not only bear witness to the past glories of Chinese civilization, but also continue to shine today. China Daily looks at the protection and inheritance of some of these cultural legacies. In this installment, we find out how an ancient healing art has gained increasing popularity in modern times.

For thousands of years, the Chinese have relieved pain and cured disease through acupuncture. Evolving from the discovery that using stone needles to prick specific points on the surface of the body could relieve pain and symptoms, acupuncture has become an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine, in line with the philosophy that promotes the harmonious coexistence of humans with nature.

According to Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian about 2,100 years ago, Bian Que, a highly skilled physician during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), was famous for having saved a prince from "death" by using needles to stimulate the Baihui acupoint on the head of the unconscious man.