China Acupuncture

Chinese Acupuncture

Acupuncture and massage have become more and more accepted within the medicine field of the world. What fascinates people is that fine needles and the gentle strength can make you healthy without taking lots of pills. Now these two, complementary medicines, are the major representatives of Chinese medicine in the west.
Acupuncture (Zhen Jiu)
Acupuncture is the experiential summary undergoing the long-term struggle by the Chinese people. Actually it consists of two parts: operations with needles and ones with fire, both of them are essential and correlative during curing. We will come to each respectively:
Operations with Needles

This field features the pricks of needles on acupuncture point (acupoint for short) to adjust the organic functions and clear the energy channels of obstruction in our body.
It is said that as early as the Stone Age, an ancestor whose hands ached might touch a stone by chance during work, then he felt better. Over time they improved the shape of stone to be sharp enough to knead; their blood circulation became more smooth and hastened recovery.
In ancient China, it was called 'Bian Shu', a treat method with stone needles which then evolved into the bone, bamboo, and metal. Now it is popular to use stainless steel and silver needles among the doctors of Chinese medicine. They are so fine that the length is 15 - 125 millimeters and the diameter is 0.28 - 0.45 millimeters.
After thousands of years' clinical practice and summaries, complete theoretical systems came into being, like therapeutics, which effectively conduct the operation. Acupoint or Shu Xue in Chinese is exclusive to Chinese medical science. According to the records, it is on the passages named Jing Luo through which vital energy circulates around the whole body. If the passages like a network are blocked, doctors will prick acupoints to dredge them. Now these questions have been raised to be the hot point of international science, and someone have said it is the fifth great invention of China. (See the Four Great Inventions in. On the passages, there dispersed hundreds of acupoints. Once the needle enters into the acupoints, deep or shallow, lifted or entwisted, inserted in different frequency, all according to the techniques of experienced doctors, the miraculous effect will appear.
The indications to the acupuncture are quite wide, including the frequently-occurring diseases of internal medicine, surgical medicine, paediatrics, gynaecology, dermatology, etc. In 1958, acupuncture anaesthesia began to be used in clinical cure, adding new content to the anaesthetics. This kind of treatment does not do any harm to the body nor has any side effect. Doctors handling the needle freely, it is rather convenient and comfortable because it needs no special condition or facilities, except the small and thin needles. So it is easy for patients to accept. In 1982, Chinese ministry of Public Health had appraised the achievements of this method. After that, operations of lung removal, uterectomy, and others of difficulty have been successfully conducted with acupuncture anaesthesia, which shook up the medical world - World Health Organization has declared 47 instances of it to date.
Operations with Fire
In Chinese language from the linguistic angle, the character Jiu that represents this kind of operations - moxibustion, has a pictographic element of fire, that is to say, this method of treatment must have a close relation with fire.
Its origin can also be dated back to the Eolithic age. People have supposed that, it is possible when a cooking housewife approached fire and found lenitive at the ache. Gradually it developed and added the medical herbs to fume and reach the physical health.
The methods in common use are moxibustion with moxa cone and cupping. For people who want to have a try with moxibustion, they are really worthy of praise for their courage. The principle of cupping lies in that, when the fire in the jar is burnt, heating power ejects the air out, and the negative pressure makes the jar stick to the skin, which causes the stasis of blood to stimulate and adjust the organ functions, the moxa cone can also have this effect.
The manipulation of moxibustion with moxa cone goes like this: to enkindle a moxa cone by one end, position this end above a certain acupoint 2-4 cm away and fumigate, avoiding the skin being burnt. The other ways also varied to add pieces of ginger and mashed garlic which can be utilized as medicinal herbs, that is, to put them on the acupoint and the burnt moxa cone on them, then cure with fire indirectly.
The cupping operation needs more apparatus and techniques: the cupping jar should be of the appropriate size, with a thick and clean brim. Smear little Vaseline on the spot where treatment is required. Light a ball of cotton dipped with alcohol in the jar and quickly remove after several seconds. Cover the skin as soon as possible for 15 - 20 minutes, and when doctors take the jar away, you will find the recovery.
Besides these traditional methods of moxibustion, people have now improved them to be more convenient and efficient. Such as microwave needle moxibustion, electronic needle moxibustion, acupoint injection, acupoint magnetotherapy, and so on.

the Ancient Silk Road of China

This ancient trade route starts in the old capitals of Luoyang and Xian, and reaches the Yellow River at Lanzhou, follows along the "Gansu Corridor" and stretches along the edge of deserts and mountains. Before the discovery of the sea route to India, the Silk Road was the most important connection between the Orient and the West. The Silk Road experienced its last great era during the time of Mongols,when the entire route from China to the Mediterranean was part of one empire. At that time, Nicolo and Marco Polo traveled from Kashgar to the Far East along the southern route. The overland link quickly lost its importance as trade across the seas developed.Today it has been replaced in China with the railway line Lanzhou-Hami-Urumqi.The last part, to Alma-Ata in Kazatchstan was completed in 1992. The trade route was never known as the Silk Road historically. It was given the name by a German geographer Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen. Silk Road tours allow you to step back into the 13th century as you visit the cities of the legendary silk traders and monks. Travel through deserts where silk traders have traveled for thousands of years. You can discover the ancient mysteries of the Silk Road including bazaars where merchants haggle over camels and carpets,where you can meet the nomadic minorities of China, and attend music, dance and artistic performances. These tours are often combined with stops to Beijing, Xian, and Dunhuang to make your China travel adventure vacation complete.

chinese inventions

The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China (traditional Chinese: 四大发明; simplified Chinese: 四大发明; pinyin: Sì dà fā míng, meaning “four great inventions“) are, according to Chinese tradition and the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham:The Compass[1] Gunpowder[2] Papermaking[3] Printing[4] These inventions are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as signs of ancient China‘s advanced science and technology.[5] These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging global impact.In 1620, the English philosopher Francis Bacon wrotePrinting, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries. (Novum Organum, Liber I, CXXIX—Adapted from the 1863 translation)The Compass Diagram of a Ming dynasty mariner‘s compassThe earliest Chinese literature reference to magnetism lies in a 4th century BC book called Book of the Devil Valley Master (鬼谷子): “The lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it.“
[6]The earliest reference to a magnetic device as a “direction finder“ is recorded in a Song Dynasty book dated to 1040-44. Here we find a description of an iron “south-pointing fish“ floating in a bowl of water, aligning itself to the south. The device is recommended as a means of orientation “in the obscurity of the night.“
[7]However, it should be pointed out that the compass remained in use by the Chinese in the form of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of

Wuhou Temple of Sichuan China

China has a recorded history of some 3,600 years, beginning with the Shang Dynasty（16th——12th century BC）.The first stage is the primitive society. The history was much associated with the supposed pre-Xia Dynasty（21th-16th centuy BC）. The second major periob lasted from about 2,000 to 200 BC. The history dated the beginning of the slave society from the Xia Dynasty, which constituted the first Chinese state.
The third stage extended all the way from 221BC, when Qin Shihuang united China, to the Opium War of 1840. Historical docments name the third period as the Feusal Imperial Rule. The feudal society in China passed through a period of disunity beginning at the Three Kingdom Period, and ending in shoet-lived Sui Dynasty（581——618）, Western Jin（265——316）via Eastern Jin（317——439） and the Southern and Northern Dynasties（386——589）.

　　
The following story occurred in the three Kingdom Period. At the rnd of the Eastern Han Dynasty（25——220） a gtrat peasant revolt happened. Many local officials developed into warlords to assisty the Han Emperor in suppressing the rebellion. During this period the watlotds took the opportunity to build uyp their own political and military strengty and made themselves into autonomous regional warlords. Finally the warlords carved the Han Empire into three kingdoms of Wei, Shu and Wu. The populous episodic novel,The Romance of the Three Kingdoms traces the rise and fall of the three kingdoms and vividly depicts the turbulent social conditions at that time. The rulers of the three independent kingdoms struggled for supremacy. Cao Cao and his son established the kingdom of Wei at Loyang. He was in actual control of only the North China homeland. Two rivals soon proclaimed emperors themselves elsewhere. The kingdom of Wu with its capital in Nanjing occupied dChangjiang Valley, The kingdom of Shu was created with its capital in Chengdu. Ti was in the control of Sichuan and parts ojf the highland of south China.

　　
Wuhou Temple is much associated with the kingdom of Shu. It is the place to commemorate Zhu Geliang, Prime Minister of the kingdom. Wuhou was a top official title conferred upon Zhu Geliang after his death. It is unfortunate that no historical documents have recorded the time of its establishment. However, Du Fu, a top Tang Dynasty poet wrote a poem of kwhich two lines say as below:"Where would I find the Prime Minister's shrine?Somewhere outside Jinguan, in a dense cypress glade."
　　This poem helps us infer that Zhu Geliang Temple was already in ezistence in the Tang Dynadty. During the Tang and Song Dynasties Zhu Geliang and Emperor Liu Bei had their independent temples in Chengdu, At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty the two temples merged into one. Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty the merged tempke was destroyed during war chaos. The present buildings date from the Qing Dynasty in 1672. The main entrance gate hangs a horizontal inscribed board. It says, "Han Zhaolie Temple".Han refers to the kingdom of Shui; zhaolie was Liu Bei's posthumous title. The board indicates that the whole temple was built in honor of Liu Bei. But why do all the people call it Zhu Geliang Tempke instead of Han Zhaolie Temple? It is due to Zhu Geliang's invaluable historical contribution, and his political and military strategies to the development of the kingdom. In the view of the local peopoe his prestige far gan to call it Zhu Grliang Temple regardless of the emperor's dignity and the temple's original name. Gtadually more and more people accepted the new name of the temple through common practice.
　　The temple compound consists of five mainbuildings: the Front Gate, the Second Gate, Kiu Bei's Hall, Zhu Geliang's Hall and Liu Bei's Tomb. The buildings are all located aling an imaginative axis line in a regular shape. Six huge stone tablets are flanked in the yard between the front and the second gates. Four of them were of the Qing Dynasty, one of the Ming and one opf the Tang. The tablets of the Qing state the storise about the reestablishment of the temple; the one of the Ming describes the development of the temple. The one of the Tang is far more famous than the other five. It was set up soon after Wu Yuanhen, a local top military commander in west Sichuan and his 27assistants worshiped Zhu Grliang in the temple in 809 during the Tang Dynasty. Pei Du,who served as a prime minister for his three Tang emperors ijn different times, composed an rssay associated with the worship. In the essay he eulogized Zhu Geliang for his great contribution to and his spare-no-efforts in unifying the whole China and the development of Sichuan, Liu Gingchuo, a well-known Tang calligrahist, copied the essay on the tablet according to the pattern of Liu's handwriting. The three well-known persons joined hands to perfect the tablet, so later in people called it "The Three Perfecdstion Tablet".

　　Inside the Second Gate is Liu Bei's hall. His statue stands behind the front altar, flanked by his son snd gtandson. To the right of the main shrine is a red faced image called Guan Yu; the left is General Zhang Fei, represented with a black face. Liu,Guan and Zhang are sworn brothers as prescribed in the novel The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
　　There are two galleries in the yard, which contain terracotta figures of the Qing Dynasty, 28 in all, generals on the right and minisiters on the lelt. During the Three Kingdom Period the rulers of the independent kingdoms fought each other for supremacy.This period was regarded as a romantic epoch of knightly dering-do.The site is just about holy to thousands of Three Kingdom enthusiasts.The well-loved figures in the temple are the historical source from which later novels and dramas have captured the imaginations of generations of Chinese readers and audience.
　　Behind Liu Bei's hall is the second yard where Zhu Geliang's hall is located.Zhu Geliang's hallis obviously lower than Liu Bei's. Visitors bave to walk down several steps before they can get into the second yard.The disparity in the construction height displays the traditional Chinese hierarchical social system.Emperor is the son of Heaven.He is superior;and other people are inferior.
　　On the top of the entrance gate of Zhu Geliang's hall hangs a horizontal wooden board,which says,"Eternal Glory All Over the World （名垂宇宙）."Many ancient couplets hang inside the hall, but the most famous one is right in the middle of the hall.It says,“能攻心则反侧自消，从古知兵非好战；不审势即宽严皆误，后来治蜀要深思。”　　It means that try to persuade an enemy to stop his attack during a war and the war will then disappear. No soldier wants to fight since ancient times.Try not to forget to weigh the conditions and situation, ogherwise leniency and strict punishment will all fail. Those,who come to manage Sichuan,should think it over again.
　　This couplet contains two stories. Once as Zhu Geliang was the general commander of the shu Kingdom, he was scheduled to attack the Wei Kingdom in north China.However, he was worried that the troops of the minorities might take a chance to harass the Shu Kingdom in southwest China.He came to tealize that the good relationship with the minorities was very important. So he went the southwestern area with his troops. Meng Huo（ 孟获）,the top leader of the minorities didn't accept Zhu Geliang's good-wish.He used his soldiers to fight against the groops from the kingdom.Zhu Geliang successfully defeated his attack and caught Meng Huo. Instead of punishing him,Zhu Geliang set him free.Then Meng Huo launched another attack and he met with the same defeat.Zhu Geliang set him a free again.On the seventh time after Meng Huo was caught,he prostrated himself before Zhu Geliang saying ghat he and his soldiers had given rp any atrelationship with the Shui Kingdoh.From then on the minority people and lf the Shui Kingdon lived in amity.
　　The other story tells how Zhu Geliang streng-thened discipline. Once Zhu Gelian Launched another military campaign against the Wei Kingdom.In order to make the campaign successful Zhu Geliang ordered Ma Shu，his close assistant to garrison the Shu army troops in Jie Ting,a vital strategic place to fight the coming soldiers from the Wei.Ma Shu thought of himself highly and placed his troops on the top of a hill near Jie Ting.As result,the Wei army soldiers occupied the strategic place.Ma Shu and his soldiers were defeated.Zhu Geliang had to withdraw his troops back to ghe Shu Kingdom.His carefully arranged campaign thus failed.Ma Shu had a close relationship with Zhu Geliang due to his hardworking and his contribution to the development shui's army.Tears ran down Zhu Geliang's face when he ordered to execute Ma Shu for his error.
　　The two storied displayed Zhu Geliang's flexible tactics in accordance with different occasions.More-over,Zhu Geliang used the same method to manage his government and the kingdom for the social stability and economic prosperity.
　　The second yard,dedicated Zhu Geliang, has a bell tower on the right and a drum tower on the left of the entrance.A most unusual casting iron incense burner is in the imddle of the path, which leads to the hall.Zhu Geliang's statue,accompainied by his son on the right and his grandson on the left, stands in the middle of the hall.The statue is 2m high. Zhu Geliang is dressed in a golden overcoat with a feather fan in his hand .He looks as if he was still concerned about his kingdom and his local people .On the left side of Zhu Geliang's statue is a bronze drum, a relic dated back to the 5th century.Originally ancient minority groups in souhest China often used it as a cooket.Later it became a sort of music instrument for some special occasions.
　　It was said that during Zhu Geliang's southwest expedition his soldiers used it as a cooker during the day and struck it at night as emergency approached.
　　Zhu Geliang was renowned military strategist and statesman in the early three Kingdom period.A native of Shandong Province,he was living in Long Zhong,Hubei when Liu Bei went to his house three times.Liu Bei sincerely invited Zhu Geliang to join in reconquest of the Han Empire,but for the first two times it was said that Zhu Geliang was not at home. On the third time when Liu Bei met Zhu Geliang in his house,he agreed to assist Liu Bei .It was in his house that Zhu Geliangand Liu Bei had a dialogue relating to the current situation and reconquest of the Han Empire, In Liu Bei's hall hangs Zhu Geliang's ambitious "Long Zhong dialogue（ 隆中对）"and his "Letter To The Throne Before An Expedition".Zhu Geliang served as Prime minister of the Shu Kingdom for twenty years .During his administration Zhu Geliang brought peace to the kingdom due to his northern and southern xepeditions.The local farming production and water conservancy has advanced. He died of his hard word conservancy has advanced. He died of his hard work at the age of 54.After his death people set up temples one after another to commemorate him in the areas where Zhu Geliang worked.He was generally regarded as an excellent example of administrators in Chinese feudal dynasties.
　　To the west of the Zhu Geliang's hall is the site of ghe Liu Bei's tomb.It is 80m in circumference and 12m high,surrounded by a circular wall.For 1700 years the tomb has remained untouched, but what is inside is unknown.

Grotto Art in Dazu County

Dazu County, located in the southeast of Sichuan province, is 271 kilometres away from Chengdu and 163 kilometres away from Chongqing. "Dazu" here means "harvest and abundance (Dafeng, Dazu)".
　　

The work of Dazu Rock Carvings began in the first year of Yonghui in the Tang Dynasty (650A.D.), and continued until the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, it enjoys equal popularity with theYungang and Longmen Grottoes. The general term of "Dazu Rock Carvings" refers to all the cliffside carvings in Dazu County, which includes the carvings in Beishan (including Beita), Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shizhuanshan and Shimenshan. Baoding Grotto, 15 kilometres northeast of the county seat, is the largest and best preserved one and is a key cultural relic site under state protection.
　　There are more than 50,000 Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian rock carvings and 100,000 characters of inscriptions dotted around Dazu. The carvings not only include the statues of Buddha and Bodhisattva but also include that of monarchs, ministers, military officers, high and low-ranking officials, jailers, executioners, monks, rich and poor people, and folk art performers. The earliest grotto was carved in the early Tang Dynasty and most of them have a history over 1000 years.
　　Many of the carvings in Baoding Grotto reflect religious doctrines and another set of carvings reflects Confucianism, specifically filial piety. What the carvings offer to visitors is not only the wonderful enjoyment of the magnificent art but a Buddhist teaching like this: One can free himself from earthly worries by self-cultivation and does not need to go beyond his own inner world to
　　find the truth of Buddhism. There are also many other carvings at the site that tell Buddhist doctrines through the lives of ordinary people. With rich images as well as inscriptions, the Dazu Grottoes are regarded as an art treasure house that fully reflected the society, philosophy, religion and folklore of that time. In 1999, UNESCO listed Dazu Stone Carvings as a world cultural heritage site. One point to be noted is that the Dazu Grottoes are the only ones that were implemented according to an overall design among over 100 grottoes in China.

Chinese culture--GuZheng

The Guzheng, a plucked string instrument, is one of the most ancient Chinese musical instruments. It belongs to the zither family and it is the parent instrument the Japanese Koto, Korean Kayagum, Mongolian Yatag and Vietnamese dan tranh.
It has a long history which can date back to more than 2,500 years ago in the Warring Period. The earliest versions were made of a bamboo frame and silk strings. As time goes by, the bamboo and silk strings had been replaced with wood and nylon strings. Moreover, the number of the strings had increased from 5 to 21.



It has beautiful sound and can express cascading waterfall, thunder and even the scenic countryside quite well.