How Did Acupuncture Begin? Acupuncture in Berkhamsted with Sean Heneghan

 

How Did Acupuncture Begin? A Short History of Needling 

The idea of inserting a needle into someone for therapeutic benefit is not an inuitive one. So how did it all start? Why would inserting a thin needle into the body help with anything at all? 

The origins of acupuncture and especially the idea of needling as therapy are rich, complex, and far from obvious. They go back thousands of years, and historians like Paul Unschuld and Donald Harper have helped piece together how this unusual practice evolved. 

 

 From Lancing Boils to Relieving Pain 

One thing is clear: acupuncture didn’t begin with someone discovering a mystical energy called qi and deciding to stick needles into points along invisible lines. Instead, it likely started with practical, hands-on interventions. 

In early China, people would lance boils, drain swellings, or use sharp tools to relieve pain or pressure. Over time, they may have noticed that inserting something sharp into certain places could bring relief. These weren’t acupuncture points yet. They were useful spots found through experience, not theory. 

 

Theory Followed Practice 

According to historian Paul Unschuld, the symbolic framework of acupuncture—qi, meridians, the balance of yin and yang, they came after people were already needling. It was a way of explaining what seemed to work. 

The idea of channels and points developed gradually, as practitioners looked for patterns and meaning in what they were doing. Acupuncture became a system, not because it was planned, but because people tried to make sense of what they saw happening. 

 

 

Needling as Spiritual Defence 

Historian Donald Harper offers another layer. He shows that in early Chinese thought, illness was often blamed on spirits, demons, or malevolent influences. In this context, needles weren’t just tools, they were weapons or wards used to dislodge or protect against spiritual intrusion. 

This means some of the earliest forms of needling may have been closer to ritual than medicine, at least by modern standards. But they were still aimed at restoring balance and wellbeing, just through a different cultural lens. 

 

 

The Body as a Political Metaphor 

As Chinese philosophy developed, the body came to be seen as a kind of miniature state. Organs were imagined as officials. Energy pathways (meridians) were roads. The healer was like the emperor, charged with keeping order. 

Inserting a needle, then, wasn’t just a physical act. It was symbolic intervention: issuing a command, restoring harmony, repairing communication across the body. The points were not anatomical structures, they were zones of influence and function. 

 

 

The Huangdi Neijing: Philosophy, Not Science 

The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) is a text dated between 300 BCE and 100 BCE. It's often referred to as the foundational text of acupuncture, but Unschuld argues it’s more of a philosophical system than a medical manual. It doesn’t read like modern anatomy. It reads like a map of how the body and cosmos relate. 

Importantly, ancient Chinese medicine wasn’t developed through clinical trials. It emerged through experience, observation, and metaphor. What “worked” was what fit the pattern of harmony, not necessarily what could be measured under a microscope. 

 

 

Why Does This Matter Today? 

Understanding how acupuncture began gives us perspective. It’s a symbolic, experiential system, part practical, part poetic. It’s about patterns, relationships, and the belief that subtle intervention can bring a body back into harmony. 

That might be part of why it still resonates today, not because it’s exotic, but because it offers a different way of being in the body. One that listens to what feels out of balance, and treats not just the symptom, but the underlying landscape.

 

 

Further Reading 

If you’re curious to explore this history more deeply: 

Paul Unschuld – Medicine in China: A History of Ideas 

Donald Harper – Early Chinese Medical Literature 

 

 

Interested in Acupuncture in Berkhamsted? 

I've been practising acupuncture in Berkhamsted for 20 years, combining traditional theory with a modern understanding of health and wellbeing. If you'd like to explore how acupuncture might help you. physically or emotionally, feel free to get in touch on 07717 515 013 or by email at sean@seanheneghan.com