President Nixon, James Reston, George Soulie De Morant and Acupuncture

There have been many westerners who have travelled to China and had an influence on and been influenced by its culture and medicine extending all the way back to Marco Polo and beyond.Through intrepid adventurers explorers and missionaries, knowledge of acupuncture has slowly been transmitted to the west throughout the last millennia.

 However, in the last century this process has been increasing rapidly. There are significant events which have led to the enormous worldwide growth of acupuncture. One was President Nixon’s travelling to China, the other is George Soulie de Morant travelling from China back to France after almost 20 years of studying acupuncture in China.

It was in 1972 that President Richard Nixon visited China, which ended 25 years of isolation between the two countries leading to diplomatic relations being established in1979.A New York Times reporter named James Reston was visiting China in 1971 with the intention to announce the upcoming visit by Nixon in 1972.

Whilst he was still in China Reston suddenly became ill and had to have a appendectomy. He had significant postoperative pain so he was offered and accepted treatment with acupuncture.From China, Reston informed the readers of the New York Times of the nature and success of his treatment as well as the progress he was making after receiving acupuncture for his post operative pain.

Reston’s report and Nixon’s visit were the catalyst which began close scientific scrutiny by the western doctors and scientists who visited and were intrigued by the promise acupuncture had in the treatment of pain without drugs or side effects.

Science wanted to know how acupuncture worked and how did it achieve such startling results. For example using acupuncture as the only anaesthetic during open heart surgery whilst the patient was still awake! Research into acupuncture is still being carried out to the present day in hospitals and universities, both in China and in the west. Many theories are put forward which try to explain the exact biological mechanism that enables acupuncture to work. Despite these efforts it is still not known to the satisfaction of scientific investigation.

Other westerners ventured to China after Nixon’s visit. They travelled from USA, Europe and Australia to study in hospitals with Chinese doctors. These modern day pioneers, together with practitioners from Asia coming to live in western countries, have spread and developed the knowledge of acupuncture. Some of these practitioners have become authors, translators and teachers laying the foundation for what has become an enormous health science in the west. Millions of people worldwide now use acupuncture as their first choice of medicine despite the fact that in most cases they have to pay for it out of their own pocket.

So many people have contributed significantly (and in fact devoted their lives) to the development and transmission of acupuncture to the west. It would be impossible in this article to create a detailed list of them all but there are books available which go into greater depth for those interested.

Any account of the transmission of Chinese medicine to the west would have to include George Soulie de Morant.(1879-1955) He was a French diplomat who lived in China and studied Chinese Medicine for almost 20 years, he studied with the most renowned practitioners of that time.

 Soulie de Morant received the award the “Coral Globe” and was regarded as a doctor of Chinese medicine by the Chinese themselves an extremely rare accolade for a foreigner.He left China and returned to France in 1917 to share his knowledge with the French medical profession and futher investigate the effects of acupuncture scientifically.

In 1950 Soule de Morant was nominated for the Nobel Prize, he remains the only acupuncturist to have received that honour.Soulie de Morant is known as the father of French acupuncture, it would be fair to say that his works, both in books, journals as well as his constant research has also had a major influence on acupuncture all around the world.

In ancient Chinese culture Imperial court ministers were appointed to think about and manage different aspects of society.

In Chinese medical thought, the different organs are analogous to ministers or officials: Lung is seen as the Prime Minister, Liver the General, Stomach the Minister of Granaries, etc. The Heart (HT) is seen as the Emperor that rules over all others organs. The relationship between the HT and PC allows the PC to act as the ambassador of the heart, spreading joy and happiness.The HT is the container for the shen (spirit) but it is the Pericardium(PC)  that does the beating of the heart.

The Ling Shu (spiritual pivot) says, “Pathogenic factors that will attack the heart must first attack the pericardium(PC).”The PC is seen as the HT/Emperor's protector or “civil servant” and as such, has the role of protecting the HT both from external pathogens (viruses) and from internal or emotional damage. 

The PC as the emotional protector, screens and protects the consciousness from being overwhelmed by the sensory and emotional overload that can happen in relationships or in the external world.When there is a problem with either, we can treat using acupuncture.  Points along the PC channel address either physiological problems or pain such as angina as well as emotional issues such as anxiety or sadness.  Chinese medicine describes anxiety as "fullness under the heart", this reflects the understanding that anxiety can be felt as  pressure under the diaphragm that may be caused by a number of issues: digestive problems and chronic stress being two of the main ones.Points on the PC channel are often used for these types of problems.

The physical anatomy of the PC consists of two layers of connective tissue, which surrounds the HT, as an external covering keeping it in place and actually anchoring it inside the chest.

An interesting point is that Neiguan (inner gate) a point on the inside of the wrist, known as PC6 in the west, was the point of choice when Chinese Doctors back in the 60’s and 70’s used acupuncture anaesthesia for open heart surgery and other operations.

The point could literally numb the pain of surgery when stimulated strongly (usually with electro-acupuncture), which indicates the incredibly powerful effect some points can have on the body.

At the moment in the world there is a strong focus on opening our hearts to others and keeping an open heart generally.

Although having an open HT/PC is important, a constantly open heart to everyone and everything can be damaging, just as damaging as being closed.

When a person’s PC is strong they will instinctively know when to be open and when to protect the HT by closing the PC. A healthy PC functions like a well-oiled door, it is able to swing open and shut easily as and when it becomes clear that it is the right thing to do.

Community acupuncture Australia (CAA) was founded by Ray Ford, a Sydney acupuncturist in 2008, at the Crows Nest Community Centre.  Ray's passion is to make acupuncture accessible to the general public.  After 6 months Ray was joined by Martine Looijschelder, another acupuncturist based in Sydney.  

 Together, with a lot of hard work, study and dedication they have grown CAA to include 4 busy centres across Sydney in Newtown, Bondi Junction, Crows Nest and Surry Hills on 4 different days.

CAA was begun after many years of training both here and in China, as well as continuous practice involving hundreds of thousands of treatments over the past 25 years.

From the start the philosophy of CAA’s founders has been to take decades of private practice and experience into the community.  This combined with a vision to make acupuncture financially accessible to the general public is the very foundation of CAA.

There was a very long period of time after CAA’s inception where Ray and Martine had to finance CAA to help it survive as each centre has to pay a fairly substantial daily rate for the room rental.  It was soon realized that a small amount of advertising was needed to spread the word.  Before long though, word of mouth grew and the news of Community Acupuncture and their service quickly spread amongst the community.

Demand grew to the point where CAA now employs 5 experienced acupuncturists, and has several volunteers. Students do not treat patients at CAA although we do mentor those that come to us and ask to help.

 All of our practitioners begin by spending at least 6 months of their time volunteering, as did Ray and Martine in the early days. 

The reality is that, although it is a small amount, CAA acupuncturists do get paid for their time – as any experienced and qualified practitioner would expect to.  We all expect some reward for our efforts.  The commitment and dedication the practitioners of CAA offer at our centres far outweighs any remuneration. 

This is our point of difference.  We started CAA after many years of practice.

 Recently in Sydney there are some novice practitioners setting up community clinics who have very little experience and who offer acupuncture at a very low price.

 It is very hard to make a private practice work and can take years of discipline and hard work.Some younger practitioners see the concept of community acupuncture as a way to get people in the door because its cheap but that should not be the motivation at all. 

Just because a service is given at a low cost does not mean that the public should be treated by inexperienced practitioners who have really only just begun their journey with Chinese Medicine and know very little. 

This is really just reflecting their lack of knowledge, experience  integrity and understanding of the community concept. Rather we should be offering years of experience at a low cost that is a truly valuable community service.

Community Acupuncture is about bringing to the Community the fruits of many years of study, practice, experience, expertise and offering THAT at a rate most people can afford. 

 Chinese Medicine is a field that requires years of experience to get to the point where treatments actually heal the patients, which is the always the aim of acupuncture. People who come to CAA have the realization that they are being treated by practitioners who really have the knowledge and experience required to treat in a community setting utilizing the vast knowledge of Chinese Medicine.