The Acupuncturist's Oath Explained
Two thousand and four hundred years before the Hippocrates came up with his famous oath, Chinese aspiring acupuncturists already swore an oath before they could be initiated. We find a description of that oath in the 48th chapter of the Ling Tchrou chapter 48 - "The secret gloss" (translated by A. Duron) As in many cultures at that time, the swearing in of the new acupuncturist consisted in a blood oath. Nowadays, Classic Acupuncturists Masters no longer require blood shedding to initiate their students, but the spirit of the oath remains. Here it is, with a few explanations: " The Emperor Hoang Ti - my former Master - has repeatedly forbidden me to pass on the gloss to anyone who does not want to deepen it and wishes to obtain it without having worked, or to the one who makes a profit for himself; his rigorous attitude towards apprentices requires them to swear an oath by squeezing their arms and then putting blood on their lips. " Here we see that th...