Cultural Revolution

During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), following the persecution of surgeons and doctors practising Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine - being the original national medicine - was given new opportunities to develop.

Hospitals and training centres for traditional Chinese medicine were established throughout the country. At the same time, however, because of the extraordinary social upheaval of this period, when religions were banned, temples smashed and traditions overturned, traditional theories were often rejected and many new methods tried.

These included needle-embedding, point-injection, electrical acupuncture and analgesia. Exaggerated claims were common and abuses of the usual guidelines - such as very deep needling used at traditionally forbidden points - were also practised.