It was the era of civil rights, counterculture, bohemians, hippies, artists, poets, musicians, the Beatles, and the Grateful Dead. They were heady times involving experimentation with psychoactive drugs and sexuality, and the search for spiritual enlightenment and liberation through meditation and yoga. People questioned the status quo, along with the lack of racial and gender equality, and disparate access to educational opportunities. There was outcry against the Vietnam War. The U.S. and China opened relations. It was in the cradle of this cultural landscape, in 1960’s California in which the re-birth of acupuncture in America emerged. Yes, acupuncture had been here before, but this time the conditions were right for the seed of acupuncture to sprout, to truly take root, and to grow from there like blessed wildfire.
Earlier Times:
The early days of acupuncture in Europe and the U.S. would leave a history of shame, ignorance, trailblazing, and efficacy for future acupuncturists. Acupuncture came to America the first time during the 1800’s, brought from China via European missionaries, doctors, traders, and explorers (1-5). The earliest recorded acupuncture treatment in the United States was in 18105 and American doctors were writing about their use of it in medical journals by 1822.5 Philadelphia was a hot spot. For example, Franklin Bache, a well-known physician (and Ben Franklin’s grandson), translated and published the French book Memoir on Acupuncture in 1825 (1,2) and treated several prisoners and non-prisoners successfully with acupuncture (2).
Additional American sources wrote about acupuncture over the next two decades. Articles on acupuncture appeared in the 1829 American edition of Tavernier's Elements of Operative Surgery (2), and Medical Magazine reprinted a summarized version of an article by John Elliotson (originally published in the English journal Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine) (2). Later American versions of this encyclopedic work circulated the article widely. Additionally, in 1836 the Southern Medical and Surgical Journal published an article by W. M. Lee on acupuncture use for rheumatism (2). Duglinson (Philadelphia, circa 1843) used acupuncture to relieve severe edema in his patients, and did much to promote the use of acupuncture in the United States through his 1839 book New Remedies (2). Several other Philadelphia physicians also experimented with use of acupuncture, but by the 1850’s its use was no longer popular in America or Europe (2).
There was a great disconnect between emerging western medical science and existing Chinese medical theory, philosophy, and practice in both Europe and America. Attempts to correctly translate and understand Chinese medicine fell short of its meaning and intention; Europeans didn’t completely recognize the cultural context within which the medicine was applied and much was “lost in translation” when deducing concepts such as yin, yang, qi, and 5-element theory for Western audiences (1). Consequently, European and American doctors did not use the Chinese insertion techniques or the meridian system to guide point entry, but inserted needles at the location of pain (5). They also lacked clean needle technique and resulting infections were a problem (2). The discovery and use of anesthetics such as ether also played a role in the discontinued use of acupuncture in the United States during the 19th century (2). In addition, fraudulent European practitioners also “capitalized on popular fascination with the exotic needling technique” without training or knowledge, and diminished the reputation of acupuncture (5).
Many Americans and Europeans were wary of these practices because they didn’t want to be stigmatized by trying exotic medicines popularly linked with “witchcraft and wizardry” (5). Near the beginning of the 20th century, acupuncture practice in Europe (3) and the United States (2) had almost disappeared, albeit the 6 acupuncture references in the Surgeon-General's Index Catalogue between 1850 - 1900 and the few physicians such as William Osler who kept the practice alive (2,6).
Later Times:
Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party, concerned with unification and presentation of China to the rest of the world, created “Traditional Chinese Medicine” or TCM during the 1950’s (4). Chinese officials also described western medicine as “capitalist, imperialist, and colonialist” and believed that ancient traditions in Chinese medicine were linked with class inequality (4). Therefore, TCM attempted to remove the parts of both western and eastern medicine that they deemed unsavory, and cherry-pick the aspects of each that they felt benefitted their cause (7). “Traditional Chinese Medicine” was therefore created for export, removing many truly traditional, spiritual, and shamanic aspects of the medicine (4,7). The early schools (and lines of communication) originally established by the Rockefellers were shut by the communist government during this time and re-opened with promotion of TCM in 1956 (8). These schools were strongly modeled after U.S. medical schools, requiring 5-7 years of education (8). The original Rockefeller schools may have provided the foundation for future Chinese connections to the U.S. regarding the exchange of medical knowledge and their potential influence should not be underestimated.
As China was marketing Traditional Chinese Medicine to the world, acupuncture truly gained resurgence in the 1960’s at UCLA in California (9). It was at this time that the social, political, intellectual, and experimental climate of America could water the seed of acupuncture that had remained nearly dormant in the west for so long. It is here that the story of acupuncture coming to the West truly becomes interesting.
In 1968, Dr Ju Gim Shek, an acupuncturist in Los Angeles, introduced acupuncture to a group of Psychology doctoral students (Rosenblatt, Prensky, Prince, and Ferrick), who were studying brain chemistry and pain mechanisms at UCLA (9). Dr Ju had moved from China to Los Angeles fourteen years prior, and set up his acupuncture and herbal practice there, which was frequented by Chinese clientele (9). One evening during his walking meditation practice in the park, a group of Americans (the aforementioned medical students) joined his friend’s t’ai chi group, practicing there with him four times per week (9). In a journal entry, Dr. Ju remembered,
“An echo formed in my mind-something forgotten was nagging at me - a task still to be accomplished. Many years ago, the old Taoist monks at my monastery in Canton Province had suggested that I should bring acupuncture to America. And I had agreed to follow their suggestion by migrating-but as I observed the t’ai chi practice, a cloudy memory of what they had really meant began re-emerging.
After riding over on the ocean liner ship with my few belongings, I had set up medical practice in a stucco flat on a side street of Chinatown, Los Angeles, within walking distance of my favorite restaurants, my men’s club and this park. I treated many people with traditional Taoist medicine - acupuncture and Chinese herbs. But only Chinese people came for cures, not white barbarians - in such a hurry with their penicillin, pills, and surgery.
Four times a week, these young medical fellows from the Brain Research Department at UCLA were practicing t’ai chi chuan with Marshall Ho’o’s class Had the monks meant that I was preordained to disseminate the curing arts using these America boys? … The thought had some teeth in it.” (9)
The rest was history. A beautiful story of the good-natured and eager-to-learn Americans who sometimes inadvertently and ignorantly trampled on the cultural graces of Dr. Ju (such as mispronouncing his name, treating him like a buddy, and walking around with long, disheveled hair), and Dr. Ju, who didn’t always understand the young “barbarian” Americans’ perspectives but began to admire and adore his new students (9). Not long after the realization he experienced (described above) Dr. Ju confirmed to himself that these were indeed the students in his vision:
“In spite [of them mispronouncing my name and treating me like a buddy] I invited them to visit my home. Fate was singing strongly in my left ear. Correctness was everywhere. Inviting white strangers to my house. Unheard of…! Barbarian college boys? … These were the ones that I was going to teach, with their inflated egos and happy smiles. The omens were very clear. … Really, I couldn’t get over my good luck. They were just like the vision that Ancestor Lu showed me in the dream so long ago back in China.” (9)
Soon Dr. Ju’s new students set up a lecture series at UCLA given by Marshall Ho’o, Dr. Ju, and a friend of theirs, Kai Di, an actor and an expert in I Ching, which drew large crowds.9 Afterwards, he and his students used a reserved room at UCLA for their lectures (9). Dr Ju recalls,
“Looking out from the podium, I paused a moment, wondering if they knew? Eight
downturned faces, all frantically scribbling notes on the initial lecture I was giving. Two young women and six men. The future of medicine. Yes, I think they perceive it dimly. Most of them have that tiny glow of cognition.
From tonight onward, each person here will spread the message of health,
and in a few years the ripples on this little pond will build into a tidal wave,
splashing into all corners of medicine. It’s exciting, in a way. A whole, big country
ready and eager for change, and only these eight have an inkling. Nine counting
Myself.” (9)
The story of Dr. Ju bringing acupuncture to UCLA medical students in the 1960’s comes from the book The Birth of Acupuncture in America - The White Crane’s Gift (9). This beautifully recounted tale takes the form of a discussion between two of Dr. Ju’s former students trying to better understand energetic medicine, punctuated by Dr. Ju’s journal entries. The book is modeled after the style of Huangdi Neijing.
Coupled with the introduction of acupuncture to psychologists interested and open to experimentation and to new perspectives at UCLA, it was Nixon’s visit to China that facilitated Chinese medicine to gain widespread attention in the United States on an even larger cultural sphere, even if it was a canned version of “Traditional Chinese Medicine” acupuncture created by the Chinese government (7). Nixon, who was an outspoken known anti-communist (7) visited China in February of 1972 (10) to meet with Chairman Mao and Premier Chou En-lai “end[ing] nearly a quarter century of non-communication”(10). It was called “the week that changed the world” (10) and it truly did open doors in the U.S. for the medicine of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Subsequently, many American reporters, politicians, and doctors visited China to observe acupuncture used as anesthesia (12) and western interest in acupuncture (or at least for those paying attention) was lit on fire.
James Reston, a journalist for The New York Times for almost 60 years, was on assignment in Peking prior to Nixon’s famous visit to China (11). While there he became ill with appendicitis and required immediate hospitalization for removal of his appendix (11). A Chinese doctor offered him post-surgery acupuncture and moxa for pain relief related to stomach distension (11). Reston found the treatment to be incredibly effective, and wrote a Special Article to The New York Times about his experience there (11), bringing huge attention to the ancient practice of acupuncture into the conversations of everyday American households. The article was published on July 26, 1971, on the front page of The New York Times, right beside a story about the Apollo 15 lift off (12), which “seem[ed] to hint that acupuncture would land in the United States of America like Apollo landed on the moon” (12). The influence of politicians, writers, and the media had a tremendous impact on acupuncture’s growth in U.S. consciousness, as did the cultural zeitgeist of the times being open and ready for these ideas. It was a powerful time.
William L. Prensky, President of the National Academy of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and one of Dr. Ju’s original students at UCLA, wrote a 1995 Opinion article to The New York Times in which he proclaimed the importance of Reston’s observations, experiences, and reports to the growth of acupuncture in the United States. Prensky said that Reston “helped open the doors in this country to an exploration of alternative medicine” (13). It was therefore Chinese acupuncture, rather than the Japanese form popular in Europe and in particular Germany during the 1970’s, that made its way to America (3).
During the same time period, Dr. Ju felt that his students could use further education, so he introduced Rosenblatt to Dr. So, who at the time was running the Hong Kong Acupuncture College and Clinic (14). Due to Rosenblatt’s and his colleagues’ advocacy of this medicine, and the social and political ripeness of the times, a bill was passed in California allowing acupuncture to be practised at a medical school under an experienced doctor’s supervision (14). The UCLA Anesthesiology Department then opened a clinic which became “the first acupuncture clinic in a medical school in the U.S” (14). Rosenblatt became the Clinical Director and was a practitioner, and Dr. So flew to America on a “distinguished person’s” visa to practice at the clinic (14). At the same time, acupuncture demonstrations and symposia were taking place at Stanford in San Francisco,5 which may have been inspired by the original symposia at UCLA.
After two failed attempts at starting stand-alone clinics in Brookline and Worcester, MA, Rosenblatt and Dr. So teamed up to write A Complete Course in Acupuncture, which later became two volumes: The Book of Acupuncture Points and Treatment of Disease of Acupuncture by Redwing Books (14). They then began the James Steven Acupuncture Center at Rosenblatt’s T’ai Chi studio in East Boston. This Center became the esteemed New England School of Acupuncture (14), the first acupuncture school in the United States.
By the time the Washington Acupuncture Center opened in May 1972 (12), acupuncture popularity was blazing. The establishment of this center and its impact were notable in several ways: over 280 domestic and international news articles were written about its opening, gaining a large audience all over the world (12). In addition, the number of patients seen on a daily basis climbed to over 1,000 at the height of the clinic’s popularity (12). At the organization’s request, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services established acupuncture as a new medical profession (12), an enormous step forward for acupuncture in America.
Despite punctuated dark times for acupuncture throughout history, the arrival of acupuncture in America in the 1960’s was in large part quite truly traditional, emerging from Dr. Ju’s knowledge and experiences. Therefore, many of the truest, deepest ancient teachings and a huge breadth of knowledge could be spread in America, allowing those who were watching and listening to discover traditional Chinese medicine.
Since the 1960’s, social, political, and collective consciousness served to facilitate the growth of acupuncture like nothing had previously done. The timing and foundation laid by historical events laid inroads for acupuncture to be accepted in academic institutions and areas of clinical practice around the U.S. Thankfully, the new wave of U.S. students and practitioners were willing to completely ignore western medical science philosophy in order to learn, understand, and practice Chinese medicine. Educated directly by Chinese doctors, these acupuncture students learned the medicine from a proper theoretical perspective, along with new standards for safe practice, allowing the medicine to eventually be embraced by many doctors of western science, and therefore policy makers, as well as by individuals seeking treatment.
The flower of American acupuncture continues to blossom, watered and nourished by effective treatments for millions of people who have experienced its benefits of enhanced health and reduced pain. With many insurance plans now covering acupuncture and clinics for low-income individuals offering free acupuncture, many people have gained increased access to acupuncture services. In addition, clinical practice and scientific research continue to show acupuncture efficacy. States and colleges have increased rigor for certification, and acupuncture students are required to study western as well as eastern medical concepts in-depth, facilitating the communication between these two perspectives on healing. With these forces at work, it is likely that acupuncture will continue to grow and evolve alongside western medicine, as the two have the potential to symbiotically complement each other in the healing process.
References
1. Barnes LL. Memory, History, and Imagination: 1805-1848. In: Needles, Herbs, Gods, and Ghosts: China, Healing, and the West to 1848. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 2005.
2. Cassedy, JH. Early Use of Acupuncture in the United States with an Addendum (1826) by Franklin Bache, M.D. Bull NY Acad Med. 1974 Sep;50(8):892-906.
3. Stollberg G. Acupuncture in Western Europe. Available at http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.497.1774&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Retrieved on October 7, 2017.
4. Unschuld P. Medicine in China. A History of Ideas. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1985.
5. Whorton JC. Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002.
6. Veith, I. Sir William Osler Acupuncturist. Bull NY Acad Med. 1975;51(3):393-400.Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1749442/pdf/bullnyacadmed00159-0031.pdf. Retrieved on November 13, 2017.
7. Stargrove M. History of Medicine class notes. Lecture presented: PRC and “TCM”: Rejection and Rehabilitation at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine; October 27, 2017; Portland, Oregon.
8. Schwarz MR, Wojtczak A, Zhou T. Medical education in China’s leading medical schools. Medical Teacher. 2004;26(3):215–222. Available from http://www.academia.edu/31881741/Medical_education_in_Chinas_leading_medical_schools.
Retrieved on October 12, 2017.
9. Rosenblatt S. and Kirts K. The Birth of Acupuncture in America - The White Crane’s Gift. Bloomington, Indiana: Balboa Press; 2016.
10. N.A. The Opening of China. The Nixon Foundation. January 18, 2017. Available at: https://www.nixonfoundation.org/exhibit/the-opening-of-china/. Retrieved on November 4, 2017.
11. Reston J. Now, About My Operation in Peking. New York Times, Jul 26, 1971; Special to the New York Times: pages 1, 6. Available at: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/health/1971acupuncture.pdf and http://www.nytimes.com/1971/07/26/archives/now-about-my-operation-in-peking-now-let-me-tell-you-about-my.html. Retrieved on October 10, 2017.
12. Fan A.Y. The first acupuncture center in the United States: An interview with Dr. Yao Wu Lee, Washington Acupuncture Center. J Chin Integr Med. 2012;10(5):481-492.
13. Prensky WL. Reston Helped Open a Door to Acupuncture. New York Times. Dec 14, 1995; New York Times Opinion. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/14/opinion/l-reston-helped-open-a-door-to-acupuncture-011282.html. Retrieved on October 12, 2017.
14. Dunas F. Steven Rosenblatt: Birthing A Cross-Cultural Acupuncture Profession. Acupuncture Today. April 2014; 15(4). Available at:
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32872. Retrieved on November 4, 2017.
Written for Medical History class, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
November 15, 2017
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