CELESTIAL LANCETS. A HISTORY AND RATIONALE OF ACUPUNCTU

Dr Needham, the renowned and prolific historian of Chinese science and senior author of Science and Civilization in China, and his associate Lu Gwei-Djen, present acupuncture and moxibustion in the context of Chinese history, culture, and scientific development. The text is not a clinical manual, but a study of the art guided by the author?s perception of a central paradox. That is, most presentations of Chinese medicine today present acupuncture in the term of modern bioscience. Yet, any strict translation of the vast experience of clinical practitioners into modern scientific rationale may be impossible. Thus, the authors explore the intellectual principles governing the understanding and transmission of Chinese medicine in Chinese intellectual tradition.