Jack Leonard Shadbolt or Jack Shadbolt (February 4, 1909-November 22, 1998) was an inspirational, motivating, and innovative England born Canadian painter and teacher. Jack’s landscape paintings propel a change in artistic vision and make you think about the metamorphosis of life. Jack Shadbolt’s ‘Primitivism’ flavored ‘Aboriginal Art’ style was compounded by that of Spanish painters, Pablo Picasso & Joan Miró and English painter Graham Sutherland. Jack Shadbolt adopted their modes and started depicting his subjects in multiple facets, thereby imparting a certain edge and mystery to his paintings. As mentioned above, Shadbolt would mostly portray nature and personal experiences through his paintings, as is evident in his masterpiece titled “The Butterfly-Summer Icon” (1977).

An ink, latex, and acrylic on board triptych, “The Butterfly-Summer Icon” measures 60″ x 120″ (152.4 cm x 304.8 cm). Here, Jack depicts the changing phases of life through a muted transformation of a butterfly from a small larva to a full-grown butterfly. The viewer feels a strange sensitivity as well as a dark side attached to this painting, since some of the butterflies look fizzled off. This represents a person’s emotional and personal battle on two expressional extremes. Shadbolt tried demonstrating various human feelings through butterflies, such as eroticism, pain, celebration, and freedom. He painted some of the butterflies in bright summer sunlight to celebrate nature, while some butterflies are dark, portraying an apocalyptic presence of life. Shadbolt painted the butterflies in different shapes and sizes, sometimes minuscule and sometimes immensely huge. This gives the viewer a chance to scrutinize the various transformations of a butterfly’s life.

“The Butterfly-Summer Icon” is a ‘Surrealist’ work, ‘Symbolizing’ the subconscious conflicts and struggle initially, evolving finally into renewal and wisdom. The changing phases of “The Butterfly-Summer Icon” therefore, are a manifestation of our changing ideals and goals with time, and their blending with the outer world. The artwork was first exhibited at Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto, in 1977 and is now a part of private collection at Toronto. Jack Shadbolt, with his ability to beautifully portray the subconscious, inspires young artists. He would blend memories and creative or fabricated imagination in his works. He gained immediate critical acclaim and laurels for “The Butterfly-Summer Icon.” He quoted once, “I saw the butterfly as a powerful symbol of the natural and spiritual will to survive through change and transformation-a symbol all the more potent in contrast with the fragile and ephemeral beauty of its subject.”

This was a troubled time of transition, marked by a movement of population to inaccessible mountain refuge sites such as Karphi above Lasithi. There is evidence for some continuity of cult from the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age provided by deposits of objects in sacred caves (such as the Idaian Cave on Mount Ida and the Diktaian cave above Psykhro) and a number of Iron Age settlements have traces of Late Minoan Ill occupation Gortyn, Praisos, and Vrokastro are examples. A rich cemetery near Prinias in central Crete was in continuous use from Late Minoan times to the Greco-Roman period. But in retrospect it can be seen that a new era was beginning. The cultural traits of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilisations lost their dominance, and gradually the elements emerged which would shape Crete in the Hellenic world.

Increasing familiarity with the technique of working iron, and its potential strength as opposed to bronze for agricultural tools and for weapons, were a basis for future economic development. At Knossos the appearance of new cultural influences had been marked by an abrupt break in tomb usage as well as in the non-Minoan features of the new Subminoan pottery. Late Minoan chamber tombs were methodically cleared before receiving the new burials. There was some local variation in burial practices across the island, but during the 10C cremation became the common rite, the urn containing the ashes often being placed in a rock-cut or stone-built family tomb which remained in use for several generations.

The detailed chronology of the Early Iron Age is still based on pottery sequences largely built up from cremation urns and the vases which accompanied them as grave gifts: outstanding examples are displayed in Herakleion’s Archaeological Museum (Rooms XI and Xll). The pottery decoration after which the Geometric period is named was based on increasingly elaborate arrangements of linear patterns and concentric circles. One Knossian workshop incorporated into its designs a range of fan-tailed birds with raised wing, and though Mycenaean pictorial decoration virtually disappeared there are rare but important portrayals of figures, such as the divinity known as the Mistress of Animals.

From around 850 B.C. there is evidence for intensification of foreign contacts, and pottery styles began to reflect influences from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. There grew up on Crete one of the earliest Orientalising cultures of the Aegean. The island’s geographical position on all east-west trade route was an important factor in shaping its cultural development.

This oriental influence is strikingly demonstrated in the metalwork of the period, for example in the figured relief work on beaten bronze for the votive shields from the Sanctuary of Zeus in the idaian cave: these remarkable pieces (also exhibited in the Herakleion Museum, Room XIX) are attributed to a guild of itinerant craftsmen from the Near East. The same technique is used for spectacular jewellery (in Room XII) from a tomb within the Knossos North Cemetery, and it has been plausibly argued that this was the goldsmiths’ family tomb. The characteristic burial urns of the fully developed Orientalising period were decorated with appropriate motifs in vivid polychrome of red and blue on a white ground.

Changes in social institutions were associated with the emergence of the polis or city-state. Homer speaks of the island’s mixed population, including Dorians from the mainland and Eteocretans. The latter adhered to Minoan traditions. and inscriptions show that their language was pre-Greek. At Praisos and Dreros an apparently peaceful assimilation can be traced.

The island was divided among a great number of small city-states, each built in an easily defendable position usually on a hill-top with a water supply and agricultural land available nearby. Territory was jealously guarded and feuds were common. The cities were ruled by the Kosmoi, a body numbering less than ten, elected annually as administrators and, if necessary, as leaders in war. By the mid 8C Dreros had an opera (or city-centre) and beside it a small temple, a sanctuary of Apollo Delphinios. In the following century an oath administered to the young men of Dreros lays down an exacting code of behaviour with the civic virtue of loyalty to the polis already pre-eminent.

In the late 7C archaeologists recognise an emphatic full stop in the Cretan record. All Early Iron Age cemeteries were suddenly abandoned: burial in chamber tombs ceased and with this the diversity of grave gifts which had contributed significant evidence about the societies of the Geometric and Orientalising period. Round about 750 BC a Semitic script was adopted for the Greek language and from this time inscriptions, as the earliest recorded history. arc a useful aid to archaeological interpretation.

Did you know you can speed-listen to 60 minutes of audio in 30 minutes or less with full comprehension using special speed-listening software? You can even go faster with a little practice and blast through an hour of audio learning in 20 minutes or less saving you hours and hours of time.

If this is your first exposure to the concept of speed-listening to your audio learning you may be a bit skeptical like I was. You may also have doubts speed-listening to audio learning materials will work for you too. I can’t blame you.

The first time I heard about speed-listening I was skeptical and doubtful it was for real too because the only faster audio I ever heard was Alvin and the Chipmunks at Christmas time or when as a kid I sped up the old record player for kicks!

Using FasterAudio speed-listening software is the secret to effective speed-listening because it speeds up your audio without changing the pitch so the voices sound normal just faster. This is why you can accelerate your audio 2X and faster with full comprehension.

What’s cool about using the FasterAudio software is you can convert your audio files into an accelerated format Mp3 which is easily transferred to your iPod or any Mp3 playing device. This lets you maximize your audio learning time whenever you are away from your PC or Mac running Parallels.

Getting Started With Speed-Listening

When I first tried FasterAudio speed-listening software I set the audio to 125% of regular speed. After just a few minutes at 125% I accelerated my audio learning up to 1.5 X of regular speed. Not only was I able to listen to the accelerated audio with ease, but was doing so with full comprehension. It was easy and fun. Really amazing.

Then I did the math. At 1.5X regular audio speed you save 20 minutes for every 60 minutes of audio learning, but I wanted to listen faster. After about 1hr of listening at 1.5X I went to 1.75X of regular speed. It took another hour or so to get used to listening at 1.75X speed with ease.

My goal was to cut my audio learning time in half so over the next few days I used FasterAudio to slowly increase the speed of the audios I was listening to. It wasn’t long before I hit 2X speed and reached my goal. Then I heard about people who speed-listen at up to 4.5X of regular speed. This motivated and challenged me to keep pushing my listening speed faster and faster. I have since reached 3.5X of normal listening speed and continue to push myself.

That said, 1.5X of normal speed is quick and easy to reach and will save you hours of valuable time if you listen to audiobooks, podcasts, home study programs etc.

Bottom line… your first goal should be to get comfortable with 1.5X (most people have no trouble reaching that) and then work at doubling your listening speed so you cut your audio learning time in half. Then keep pushing yourself to go faster.

You can check out FasterAudio speed-listening software at this link and experience speed-listening for yourself live on the website.

The “Eureka” legend of Archimedes (287-212 BC) can be considered an early account of the use of forensic science. In this case, by examining the principles of water displacement, Archimedes was able to prove that a certain crown was not made of gold, as it was being fraudulently claimed, by its density and buoyancy. The earliest account of using fingerprints to establish identity was during the 7th century AD. According to Soleiman, an Arabic merchant, a debtor’s fingerprints were affixed to a bill, which would then be given to the lender. This bill was henceforth, legally recognized as a proof of the validity of the debt.

The first written account of using medicine and entomology to solve criminal cases is attributed to the book Xi Yuan Ji Lu, translated as “Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified”, written in 1248 China by Song Ci (1186-1249). In one of the accounts, the case of a person murdered with a sickle was solved by a death investigator who instructed everyone to bring their sickles to one location. Flies, attracted by the smell of blood, eventually gathered only on a certain sickle. In the light of this, the murderer eventually confessed. The book also offered advice on how to distinguish between a drowning (water in the lungs) and strangulation (broken neck cartilage).

In sixteenth century Europe, medical practitioners in the army and university settings began to gather information on the cause and manner of death. Ambrose Paré, a French army surgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathology by studying the changes that occurred in the structure of the body as a result of diseases. In the late 1700s, various writings on these topics began to appear. These included – “A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health” by the French physician Fodéré, and “The Complete System of Police Medicine” by the German medical expert Johann Peter Franck.

In 1775, a Swedish chemist by the name of Carl Wilhelm Scheele devised a way of detecting arsenous oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses, but only in large quantities. This investigation was expanded, in 1806, by a German chemist Valentin Ross, who learnt to detect the poison in the walls of a victim’s stomach, and by English chemist James Marsh, who used chemical processes to confirm arsenic as the cause of death in an 1836 murder trial.

Two early examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrated the increased use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations. In 1784, in Lancaster, England, a person called John Toms, was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad, basically crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle, which was found in his head wound, matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms’ pocket. In 1816, in Warwick, England, a farm laborer was tried and convicted for the murder of a young maidservant. She had been found drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault on her body. The police, upon investigating, found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. They also found scattered grains of wheat and chaff from the scene of crime. The breeches of a farm laborer, who had been threshing wheat nearby, were examined and later corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool.

The article describes the procedure of updating drivers of an HP printer. Drivers are the software applications that establish communication between a computer and a hardware device like printer. Driver updates can help you make best use of your HP printer by improving its efficiency and print quality and on the other hand fixing most of the common issues that may occur due to the regular or irregular use.

Though the procedure of driver update is simple, you may stumble upon problems that may trigger the need of looking for HP help options. The below mentioned guide will help you perform the procedure on your own and without the help of HP support.

Instructions:

Turn on your computer (if it’s not already) and open your internet browser like Firefox or Internet Explorer etc. Go to HP’s official website (HP.com) and browse to the Support & Drivers section (on the top of the screen).

Enter your product’s name or number like LaserJet 1100 in the blank field and then click on the Search button. If you don’t know anything about your product, then click on the How do I find my product name/number link below the blank box. It will display a list of all the HP products. Choose your product by clicking on its link and then you will see the graphicaltext instructions to locate the product name or number.

Once you have found the name or number, go back to the Support & Drivers section and type it in the desired box. Hit the Search button and it will display the different versions of that particular product. One of them can be chosen as desired. The versions will only be displayed if you didn’t enter the complete model number of your product. Take the example of LaserJet 1100. If you entered only LaserJet 1100 in the Search box, it will display the series of all its versions like XI, SE etc.

When done, you will be directed to another page. Make the language selection by clicking on the dropdown menu below Choose your software/driver language. Select your Windows operating system (OS) by clicking on the desired link below the heading Select Operating System.

Under the heading Useful links, you can click to check any of these optional links viz. Automatically check if your drivers need updating (MS Windows x..), Selecting the Correct Printer Driver, or These downloads are available for customers according to the terms in the HP Software License Agreement. If you choose the first link, it will automatically determine whether your printer drivers need to be updated or not.

The second link will educate you about selecting and downloading correct, compatible drivers for your device. The third link will discuss what are license and terms & conditions for different types of customers. If you don’t want to go through all these links, then skip the Useful Links section. See under Operating System: Microsoft Windows v.section.

You will see two links viz. Applications and Driver under Quick jump to downloads by category under the language selection. If you don’t want to download any application for your printer, then skip to the Driver section. There will be displayed the available drivers with current version, file size, and estimated download time details. Click on the Download button next to each driver and start downloading.

When prompted, click on the Save button to save the file. Choose Desktop or Download folder as the save location. Browse to the location and open the file to initiate the setup. Follow instructions and complete the procedure. When prompted, reboot your computer to save the changes. If you have more driver downloads to go, repeat the abovementioned procedure.

If you encounter problems like incomplete print documents or slow printing etc. you might not have installed a correct, compatible driver for your printer. To get rid of the problem, you can run an online diagnostic test using the HP Printer Check Tool. Visit HP Business Support Center and browse to the Self help resources link and then the automatic driver checker section to begin checking. The online tool will then check whether you are using a compatible, correct printer driver. Besides, it will recommend you updating driver if you haven’t already done so. It will also tell your current drivers are updated or not.

Additional Tips:

You must download and install latest updates including driver, applications etc. on a regular basis.

If you want a new look for your room, and you want more than “just paint” consider the beauty of wallpaper. After all, if you think of wallpaper as clothing for your walls, you will soon realize that there are endless possibilities found in this versatile wall covering.

Just a short time spent in your local home improvement store and you will soon discover the wallpaper choices available today range in price from very low to truly over the top. And when it comes to patterns, colors and quality you could spend several days looking at all there is, and still not find exactly what you want, simply because the choices are so varied.

But what is it about this wall covering that has kept it around for years? For some it is the elegance it offers with just a bit of work, for others it’s a form of artwork, and for others it is a way to combine all the colors in the room into one focal point. With the many ways that wallpaper is used today, one has to wonder if the inventors of wallpaper had any idea that what started off as a way to duplicate hand painted walls would still be around centuries later. Consider these interesting facts about the origins of wallpaper.

1. Wallpaper was first used in China in 200B.C. As the Chinese passed this knowledge to other cultures, the uses and methods of making paper improved with each generation and as other cultures added their own touches.
2. In 1841 Jean Bourdichon painted 50 rolls of paper with angels on a blue background for Louis XI of France. The paper was used to decorate his various residences. Other of the elite set, soon began hiring painters to create these painted paper wall coverings for them.
3. The oldest known pieces of European wallpaper still in existence are from 1509 and were found on the beams of the Lodge of Christ’s College in Cambridge, England.
4. In 1675, Jean-Michel Papillon, began making block designs in identical, repetitive patterns on rolls of paper and wallpaper as we know it today was born.
5. Americans began using wallpaper in 1739, when it was introduced by the Philadelphia printer, Plunket Fleeson.
6. In 1778, Louis XVI issued a decree that required the length of a wallpaper roll be about 34 feet.
7. Around the turn of the 20th century wallpaper pasting machines were invented.
8. During the 1920s nearly 400 million rolls of wallpaper were sold, resulting in the decade being dubbed the Golden Age of Wallpaper.
9. After WWII, wallpaper was improved with plastic resins which made it more durable, washable and stain resistant.
10. The United States Guild of Professional Paperhangers began in 1974.

Wallpaper has definitely come a long way from being painted by hand. Today technology has added to its durability, design and uses. So, if you are looking for a new look for a room take some to check out some wallpaper.

Although westerners often think of this traditional Chinese treatment modality as a “new” form of alternative medicine, acupuncture is so ancient in China that its origins are unclear. According to Huangfu Mi (c. 215-282 AD), author of The Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, needling therapy was first used during China’s Bronze Age, over five thousand years ago. He attributes its invention to either Fu Xi or Huang Di (the Yellow Emperor), two legendary figures of the Five Emperors Period (c. 3000-2070 BC). Modern scholars generally believe that acupuncture is much older, originating more than ten thousand years ago during China’s Neolithic Age (c. 8000-3500 BC).

In actuality, acupuncture may not be as ancient as has generally been assumed. A reconsideration of all extant documents and recent archaeological finds indicates that acupuncture may date back a mere 2100 to 2300 years, first appearing during China’s Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and rapidly maturing during the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD).

Questioning the generally accepted origins theory.

The currently accepted theory concerning the Neolithic origins of acupuncture is based on two premises. The first holds that bian shi, specialized sharp-edged stone tools that appeared during China’s Neolithic Age, were used for an early form of needling therapy, prior to the invention of metal smelting. It is known that bian shi stone tools were utilized for a number of early medical procedures, starting during the Neolithic Age and continuing through the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). A number of descriptions of bian shi stone therapy appear in one of China’s earliest medical works, The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Neijing, hereafter referred to as the Neijing) (c. 104-32 BC). It has been thought that these Neolithic stone medical instruments were precursors of the metal acupuncture needles that came into use during China’s Iron Age.

However, historical documents and new archaeological evidence clearly indicate that bian shi stone tools were flat and knife-like in form, used primarily to incise abscesses to discharge pus, or to draw blood (1). They were applied as surgical scalpels to cut, rather than as needles to puncture, and had nothing to do with needling therapy. According to the Code of Hammurabi, the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia used similarly shaped bronze knives to incise abscesses over 4000 years ago.

Prehistoric Chinese people possessed needles made of various materials, ranging from crude thorns and quills to bone, bamboo, pottery, and stone. But just as the history of the knife is not the history of surgery, so the invention of needles and that of acupuncture are two entirely different things. Needles have historically been among the most commonly used tools of daily life for constructing garments all over the world. Medically, needles are used to suture incisions just as making up clothes with darners, hollow syringe needles (as differentiated from a solid needle used in acupuncture) are applied to inject fluids into the body or draw them from it, but pricking a solid needle into the body to treat illness seems very strange and enigmatical. In English, “to give somebody the needle” means to displease or irritate someone. Most people prefer not to be punctured with needles, and associate needling with pain and injury. Many plants and animals have evolved thorns or quills as powerful weapons for protection or attack. Needles were even used for punishment in ancient China. By trial and error, healers throughout the world have found treatments for pain and other diseases independently, for instances, herbs, roots, wraps, rubs, blood-letting and surgery, but acupuncture alone is unique to Chinese. Considering the unique Chinese origin of acupuncture, it is reasonable to assume that the invention of acupuncture was not related to the availability of either sewing needles or bian shi stone scalpels during China’s Neolithic Age.

The second premise supporting the theory of the Neolithic origins of acupuncture holds that acupuncture evolved as a natural outgrowth of daily life in prehistoric times. It is thought that through a process of fortuitous accident and repeated empirical experience, it was discovered that needling various points on the body could effectively treat various conditions. However, this assumption is lacking in both basic historical evidence and a logical foundation.

It is known that ancient people were aware of situations in which physical problems were relieved following unrelated injury. Such a case was reported by Zhang Zihe (c. 1156-1228 AD), one of the four eminent physicians of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties (1115-1368 AD) and a specialist in blood-letting therapy: “Bachelor Zhao Zhongwen developed an acute eye problem during his participation in the imperial examination. His eyes became red and swollen, accompanied by blurred vision and severe pain. The pain was so unbearable that he contemplated death. One day, Zhao was in teahouse with a friend. Suddenly, a stovepipe fell and hit him on the forehead, causing a wound about 3-4 cun in length and letting copious amounts of dark purple blood. When the bleeding stopped, a miracle had occurred. Zhao’s eyes stopped hurting; he could see the road and was able to go home by himself. The next day he could make out the ridge of his roof. Within several days, he was completely recovered. This case was cured with no intentional treatment but only accidental trauma (2).”

If acupuncture did, in fact, gradually develop as the result of such fortuitous accidents, China’s four thousand years of recorded history should include numerous similar accounts concerning the discovery of the acupoints and their properties. But my extensive search of the immense Chinese medical canon and other literature has yielded only this single case. Actually, this story offers at most an example of blood-letting therapy, which differs in some essential regards from acupuncture. The point of blood-letting therapy is to remove a certain amount of blood. But when puncturing the body with solid needles, nothing is added to or subtracted from the body.

Blood-letting therapy is universal. Throughout recorded history, people around the world have had similar experiences with the beneficial results of accidental injury, and have developed healing methods based on the principle that injuring and inducing bleeding in one part of the body can relieve problems in another area. The ancient Greeks and Romans developed venesection and cupping based on the discovery that bleeding is beneficial in cases such as fever, headache, and disordered menstruation. Europeans during the Middle Ages used blood-letting as a panacea for the prevention and treatment of disease. Detailed directions were given concerning the most favorable days and hours for blood-letting, the correct veins to be tapped, the amount of blood to be taken, and the number of bleedings. Blood was usually taken by opening a vein with a lancet, but sometimes by blood-sucking leeches or with the use of cupping vessels. Blood-letting using leeches is still practiced in some areas of Europe and the Middle East. However, nowhere did these blood-letting methods develop into a detailed and comprehensive system comparable to that of acupuncture. If acupuncture did indeed arise from repeated empirical experience of accidental injury, it should have developed all over the world, rather than just in China.

Both historical evidence and logic indicate that there is no causal relation between the development of materials and techniques for making needles and the invention of acupuncture. It is also clear that repeated experience of fortuitous accidental injury was not a primary factor in the development of acupuncture. Therefore, the generally accepted theory concerning the Neolithic origins of acupuncture, based as it is upon such faulty premises, must be incorrect. It is now necessary to reconsider when acupuncture did, in fact, first appear and subsequently mature.

Reconsidering the evidence

If acupuncture did indeed originate during China’s Neolithic Age, references to it should appear throughout China’s earliest written records and archaeological relics. However, this is not the case.

Early cultures believed the world to be filled with the supernatural, and developed various methods of divination. During China’s Shang Dynasty (c. 1500-1000 BC), divination was practiced by burning animal bones and tortoise shells with moxa or other materials. Oracular pronouncements were then inscribed on the bone or shell, based on the resulting crackles. These inscriptions have survived as the earliest examples of written Chinese characters. Among the hundreds of thousands of inscribed oracle bones and shells found to date, 323 contain predictions concerning over twenty different diseases and disorders. However, none of these inscriptions mention acupuncture, or any other form of treatment for that matter.

Rites of the Zhou Dynasty (Zhou Li), written during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), records in detail the official rituals and regulations of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1000-256 BC), including those concerning medicine. Royal doctors at that time were divided into four categories: dieticians, who were responsible for the rulers’ food and drink; doctors of internal medicine, who treated diseases and disorders with grains and herbs; surgeons, or yang yi, who treated problems such as abscesses, open sores, wounds, and fractures using zhuyou (incantation), medication, and debridement (using stone or metal knives to scrape and remove pus and necrotic tissue); and veterinarians, who treated animals. But this document as well contains no references to acupuncture.

Neijing (c. 104-32 BC) is the first known work concerning acupuncture. The classic consists of two parts: Suwen – Simple Questions, and Lingshu – the Spiritual Pivot, also known as The Classic of Acupuncture (Zhen Jing). Both are concerned primarily with the theory and practice of acupuncture and moxibustion. Although authorship of the Neijing is attributed to Huang Di, the legendary Yellow Emperor (c. 2650 BC), most scholars consider that this master work, which contains excerpts from more than twenty pre-existing medical treatises, was actually compiled between 104 BC and 32 BC, during the latter part of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). The comprehensive and highly developed nature of the medical system presented in the Neijing has led scholars to believe that needling therapy has an extremely long history, probably reaching back to prehistoric times. The original versions of the ancient texts used in the compilation of the Neijing have been lost, and with them the opportunity to further illuminate the question of when acupuncture actually first appeared. However, startling new archaeological evidence, unearthed in China in the early 1970s and 1980s, reveals the true state of Chinese medicine prior to the Neijing, and challenges existing assumptions concerning the Neolithic origins of acupuncture.

In late 1973, fourteen medical documents, known as the Ancient Medical Relics of Mawangdui, were excavated from Grave No. 3 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan Province. Ten of the documents were hand-copied on silk, and four were written on bamboo slips. The exact age of the Ancient Medical Relics of Mawangdui has not been determined. However, a wooden tablet found in the grave states that the deceased was the son of Prime Minister Li Chang of the state of Changsha, and that he was buried on February 24, 168 BC. The unsystematic and empirical nature of the material contained in the documents indicates that they were written well before their interment in 168 BC, probably around the middle of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). In any event, it is certain that these medical documents pre-date the Neijing (compiled c. 104-32 BC), making them the oldest known medical documents in existence. These documents were probably lost sometime during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), since no mention of them has been found from this time until their rediscovery in 1973.

Another valuable medical find, The Book of the Meridians (Mai Shu), was excavated from two ancient tombs at Zhangjiashan in Jiangling County, Hubei Province in 1983. These ancient texts, written on bamboo slips and quite well preserved, were probably buried between 187 and 179 BC, around the same time as the Mawangdui relics. There are five documents in all, three of which (The Classic of Moxibustion with Eleven Yin-Yang Meridians, Methods of Pulse Examination and Bian Stone, and Indications of Death on the Yin-Yang Meridians) are identical to the texts found at Mawangdui.

There is abundant evidence to show that the authors of the Neijing used the earlier medical texts from Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan as primary references, further indicating the antiquity of these relics. For example, Chapter 10 of the Lingshu section of the Neijing contains a discussion of the meridians and their disorders that is very similar, in both form and content, to that found in the Classic of Moxibustion with Eleven Yin-Yang Meridians, one of the documents found at both Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan.

Of course, the Neijing did not simply reproduce these earlier documents, but rather refined and developed them, and introduced new therapeutic methods. The earlier Classic of Moxibustion with Eleven Yin-Yang Meridians is limited to moxibustion, while Chapter 10 of the Lingshu section of the Neijing mentions needling therapy, or acupuncture, for the first time. Although the medical texts preceding the Neijing discuss a wide variety of healing techniques, including herbal medicine, moxibustion, fomentation, medicinal bathing, bian stone therapy, massage, daoyin (physical exercises), xingqi (breathing exercises), zhuyou (incantation), and even surgery, these earlier documents contain no mention of acupuncture.

If needling therapy did indeed originate much earlier than the Neijing (c. 104-32 BC), the medical documents unearthed from Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan, very probably used as primary references by the Neijing’s authors, should also contain extensive discussions of acupuncture. However, they do not. This clearly indicates that acupuncture was not yet in use at the time that the Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan documents were compiled. Of course, it is not possible to draw a detailed picture of the state of acupuncture early in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) based solely on the medical relics from Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan. But the fact that these documents were considered valuable enough to be buried with the deceased indicates that they do reflect general medical practice at the time.

The Historical Records (Shi Ji) (c. 104-91 BC) by Sima Qian contains evidence that acupuncture was first used approximately one hundred years prior to the compilation of the Neijing (c. 104-32 BC). The Historical Records, China’s first comprehensive history, consists of a series of biographies reaching from the time of the legendary Yellow Emperor (c. 2650 BC) to Emperor Wudi (156-87 BC) of the Western Han Dynasty. Among these are biographies of China’s two earliest medical practitioners, Bian Que and Cang Gong. Bian Que’s given name was Qin Yueren. It is known that he lived from 407-310 BC, during the late Warring States Period (475-221 BC), and was a contemporary of Hippocrates (c. 460-377 BC), the father of Western medicine. Bian Que’s life was surrounded by an aura of mystery which makes it difficult to separate fact from legend. His name means Wayfaring Magpie – a bird which symbolizes good fortune. It is said that an old man gave Bian Que a number of esoteric medical texts and an herbal prescription, and then disappeared. Bian Que took the medicine according to the mysterious visitor’s instructions. Thirty days later, he could see through walls. Thereafter, whenever he diagnosed disease, he could clearly see the internal organs of his patients’ bodies. Like the centaur Chiron, son of Apollo, who is sometimes regarded as the god of surgery in the West, Bian Que is considered to be a supernatural figure, and the god of healing. A stone relief, unearthed from a tomb dating back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), depicts him with a human head on a bird’s body (3). The Historical Records states that Bian Que successfully resuscitated the prince of the State of Guo using a combination of acupuncture, fomentation, and herbal medicine. Bian Que is thus considered to be the founder of acupuncture, and to have made the first recorded use of acupuncture during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

More solid evidence connects the birth of acupuncture with the famous ancient physician Chunyu Yi (c. 215-140 BC), popularly known as Cang Gong. Cang Gong’s life and work are described in detail in the Historical Records. The Historical Records state that in 180 BC, Cang Gong’s teacher gave him a number of precious medical texts that had escaped the book-burnings of the last days of the Great Qin Empire (221-207 BC). At that time, adherents of all opposing schools of thought were executed or exiled, and almost all books not conforming to the rigid Legalist doctrines that dominated the Qin Dynasty were burned. Although medical texts escaped the disaster, their owners still feared persecution. The banned books that Cang Gong received might have included a number whose titles appear in the Ancient Medical Relics of Mawangdui, such as the Classic of Moxibustion with Eleven Yin-Yang Meridians, Classic of Moxibustion with Eleven Foot-Arm Meridians, Method of Pulse Examination and Bian Stone, Therapeutic Methods for 52 Diseases, Miscellaneous Forbidden Methods, and The Book of Sex.

Cang Gong’s biography in the Historical Records discusses twenty-five of his cases, dating from approximately 186 BC to 154 BC. These cases studies, the earliest in recorded Chinese history, give a clear picture of how disease was treated over 2100 years ago. Of the twenty-five cases, ten were diagnosed as incurable and the patients died as predicted. Of the fifteen that were cured, eleven were treated with herbal medicine, two with moxibustion in combination with herbal medicine, one with needling, and one with needling in combination with pouring cold water on the patient’s head. It can be seen from this material that Cang Gong used herbal medicine as his primary treatment, and acupuncture and moxibustion only secondarily. His use of moxibustion adheres strictly to the doctrines recorded in the medial relics from Mawangdui and Zhangjiashan. Although only two of Cang Gong’s moxibustion cases are recorded in the Historical Records, it is known that he was expert in its use, and that he wrote a book called Cang Gong’s Moxibustion. Unfortunately, this book has been lost. In comparison with his wide-ranging utilization of herbal medicine and moxibustion, Cang Gong applied needling therapy very sparingly. Neither of Cang Gong’s two recorded acupuncture cases mentions specific acupoints or how the needles were manipulated, indicating that needling therapy at the time was still in its initial stage.

Although acupuncture was not in common use during Cang Gong’s day, his two recorded acupuncture patients were cured with only one treatment, indicating the efficacy of the nascent therapy. The rapid development of acupuncture was soon to follow. By the time the Neijing was compiled (c. 104-32 BC), approximately one hundred years after the time of Cang Gong, acupuncture had supplanted herbs and moxibustion as the treatment of choice. Only thirteen herbal prescriptions are recorded in the Neijing, compared with hundreds utilizing acupuncture.

Archaeological excavations of Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) tombs have yielded a number of important medical relics related to acupuncture, in addition to the Neijing and Historical Records. In July of 1968, nine metal needles were excavated at Mancheng, Hebei Province from the tomb of Prince Liu Sheng (?-113 BC) of Zhongshan, elder brother of Emperor Wu Di (156-87 BC) of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD). Four of the needles are gold and quite well preserved, while five are silver and decayed to the extent that it was not possible to restore them completely. The number and shapes of the excavated needles indicate that they may have been an exhibit of the nine types of acupuncture needles described in the Neijing. This possibility is supported by the fact that a number of additional medical instruments were found in the tomb. These included a bronze yigong (practitioner’s basin) used for decocting medicinal herbs or making pills, a bronze sieve used to filter herbal decoctions, and a silver utensil used to pour medicine (4). Although many prehistoric bone needles have been unearthed, the fact that they have eyes indicates that they were used for sewing. Some scholars have inferred that prehistoric Chinese people may have used bone needles found with no eyes or with points on both ends for medical purposes. However, I believe that it is rash to draw such a conclusion based solely on relics that have lain buried for thousands of years. Rather, it is likely that the eyes of these needles have simply decayed over the millennia.

Conclusion

A thorough reevaluation of all extant literature, as well as documents and archaeological relics unearthed since the 1960s, confirms that acupuncture is not as ancient as has generally been assumed, and that it did not, in fact, appear and gradually develop during China’s Neolithic Age (c. 8000-3500 BC). Rather, this great invention arose quite suddenly and rapidly developed approximately two millennia ago. All evidence indicates that acupuncture first appeared during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), during the time of Bian Que, developed during the early Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), during the time of Cang Gong, and had fully matured by the latter part of the Western Han Dynasty, at the time of the compilation of the Neijing (c. 104-32 BC).

The Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) provided fertile ground for the rapid growth and maturation of acupuncture as a comprehensive medical system. The previous centuries had seen the blossoming of Chinese culture during the intellectual give-and-take of the Spring and Autumn (770-476 BC) and Warring States (475-221 BC) periods. The subsequent territorial unification of China by the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC) laid a foundation for the cultural integration of the diverse states. Taken in the context of China’s four thousand years of recorded history, the Western Han Dynasty was a period of intensive social and cultural advancement. Acupuncture is unique. Its invention of acupuncture in China at this time was the result of the development and unique convergence of several aspects of Chinese culture during this time, including natural science, social structure and human relations, and most importantly, holistic philosophy.

References and notes:

1. Bai Xinghua, et al., Acupuncture: Visible Holism. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2001, pps. 15-20.

2. Zhang Zhihe (1156-1228 AD), Confucians’ Duties to Their Parents (Rumen Shiqin). Quoted in Selection and Annotation of Medical Cases Treated by Past Dynasties’ Eminent Acupuncturists (Lidai Zhenjiu Mingjia Yian Xuanzhu), ed. Li Fufeng. Harbin: Heilongjiang Science and Technology Publishing House, 1985, p. 143.

3. Liu Dunyuan. Stone Relief Showing Practice of Acupuncture and Moxibustion from the Eastern Han Dynast. Archaeology, 1972; (6): 47-51

4. Zhong Yiyan, Medical Instruments Unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty Tomb of Liu Sheng. Archaeology, 1972, (3): pp. 49-53.

When the ruby, auburn, gold, orange, and yellow tree bursts rise from the ground at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, something assuredly will fall from the sky on the October weekend its dubs its “pumpkin bombing and fall festival” event, which signaled the beginning of autumn and the end to its 2013 season.

As the crowd claimed the bench-type seats at the start of its “History of Flight” air show, the brown and gold blankets of leaves beneath them emitted the sweet scent of seasonal decay.

With a ritual wave of the black and white checkered flag from the umbrella-topped “control tower,” Al Loncton, the day’s announcer, marked that show’s beginning.

The clouds, like wrappings on a package, peeled back, revealing the still-warm day’s gentle-blue contents, toward which the first aerial player, as confirmed by the throaty gulp of its Anzani engine, would strive.

Whipped by its propeller wash, pilot Herb Gregory centered the Bleriot XI’s rudder, while Mike DiGiacomio and Steven Lopresti dug into the turf with their heels, clinging to its rear fuselage to restrain it from taxiing. Despite its early serial number (56) and old centenarian-plus-four age (104 for the math-challenged), this mostly original, second-oldest still-flying English Channel hopper still had enough fight in it to win-and it did, rolling past the audience while releasing a belch or two.

A brief hop, now from the north, was followed by a virtually vertical descent on to the grass-cushioning field, proving that the old bird could still fly.

Of equal vintage (give or take a year or two), the Curtiss Model D walked, like a model strutting its yellow frock, down the runway (at least the wing-walkers engaged in the legged action) and turned to the spectators to demonstrate its unconventional flight surface actuation methods. Of course, at this point in aviation history (1911) standards had yet to be established.

And, if the manicured field could have been considered the surface of the sea, it could have supported the floating Hanriot, with its mahogany, racing skiff-resembling hull/fuselage, the third in the aerodrome’s pioneer parade.

Long airborne before the airplane, the pilot’s scarf waved behind him, bathed by the propeller’s slipstream, which subsequently provided the necessary lift to its monowings to enable it to mimic the preceding Bleriot’s brief aerial arc, its throttle-replacing blip switch feeding or starving its engine of fuel. Equally devoid of brakes, it used the field’s south hill as an innovative substitute.

If the Andes Mountains, instead of that hill, had loomed before the Caudron G.3’s rotary engine, which currently coughed to life, it would have carried the aircraft over them, as Caudron test pilot Adrienne Bolland successfully demonstrated in 1921.

Responding to its own incessant blips, the twin-tailed biplane taxied, turned, and tried, but a five-foot altitude was all the Andes it would traverse today, leaving the air saturated with the smell of burnt castor oil in its wake.

The day gave way to a duo-of World War I trainers, that is-the de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth flown by Dave Fox and the Fleet 16B piloted by Old Rhinebeck Air Show President Jose Millares.

The former served the Royal Air Force in England, while the latter performed the mirror-image function across the Atlantic for the RCAF in Canada as the Finch. Based on the Feet 10, the tandem-seat biplane evolved after military design input and was employed in the British Commonwealth Air Training Program.

Lavatories would be installed in later-generation aircraft, but pilots of the current two apparently relied for comfort on the aerial kind, releasing rolls of toilet paper toward which they dove in order to cut them with their engines. (It could only be wondered what else they released.)

Pilots passed from trainers such as these to the fighters in which they had hoped to attain victory for their respective countries, as two now passed into World War I skies: the Fokker D.VII and, following its tail, the Spad VII, their guttural engines determinedly propelling them aloft.

Sporting its almost razor-edged fuselage and square wings interconnected by slender, minimal-drag bracing struts, the former offered the epitome of German performance, climbing to 10,000 feet in less than ten minutes. Although it appeared in its greatest quantities in 1918, it did so too late, the sheer number of advanced Allied types proving too formidable for it to overcome.

One of those demonstrated its maneuverability now. Powered by an Hispano-Suiza engine and flown by almost all of the allies, the Spad VII, with its synchronized Vickers machine gun, was the most famous of the French fighters and, along with the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a and Sopwith Camel, delivered the decisive blow to the Germans over their ever-retreating front.

Releasing smoke trails behind it as it looped through the sky, the D.VII virtually hung on its engine, but the Spad, close on its tail, seemed determined to bring it down-at least it would have almost a century ago during the Great War.

Deviating from its pre- and post-show passenger flights, Old Rhinebeck’s New Standard D-25-standardly accommodating four in its forward cockpit and considered the aerodrome’s “airliner”-arced skyward after the fighter pair had realighted with half the complement of people, although today, during the Halloween month of October, they appeared less-than-human. A goulish, glowing orange face and skeletal head peered at the audience, as the black fuselaged behemoth climbed over the field’s north end.

As the sun ripped the morning-long cloud quilt apart, orange bombs-generically known as “pumpkins” and “jack-o-lanterns”-cascaded through the cracks, as if dropped from a Vickers Vimy bomber over the Western Front, toward the green, gently slopping field. Bombarded with each pass, this no-man’s land absorbed each one’s silent explosion, which released an ooze of intestinal flesh.

Approaching the field’s south side, the New Standard sideslipped and briefly bounced on its left wheel before settling and disgorging the bomb-dropping gourds. Unmasked, they returned from Halloween skies as Carol Harklerod and Patrick Walker.

World War I yielded to the Golden Age of flight and Old Rhinebeck, ever an aerially historic reflection, did not let its mirror down today, as a trio from that era entered the stage.

If it had not been for the sound wresting for dominance with Al Loncton’s loud speaker-broadcast commentary, the first of them, the Curtiss CW-1 Junior, could have been mistaken for a glider, since it was developed from one.

And if the day’s spectators were in need of a bath after their dousing of castor oil, the fuselage of the second of them could have easily passed as a tub. Stubby and tubby, it belonged to the Aeronautical Corporation of America’s Aeronca C-3, a high-wing tail dragger powered by a horizontally opposed, two-cylinder, 36-hp E.113 piston engine, built during the 1930s as a light airplane intended for personal and flight instruction use. With an empty weight of little more than 550 pounds, it itself sported a glider reminiscent look.

The third out of the starting gate was the quintessential private aircraft and trainer, the Piper J-3 Cub. Based upon the Taylor E-2, the high-wing, tandem-seat type, sporting nakedly uncowled cylinder heads, was as bare bones as it came. Mainstay of World War II’s Civilian Pilot Training Program, it was built in several military versions, which varied little from the private ones, but whose performance, as expressed by one of its designations-“L-4 Grasshopper”-was accurately demonstrated today as Old Rhinebeck’s example virtually hopped off the grass in a near-vertical orientation. With such short take off and landing (STOL) capability, it was ideal for the medical evacuation role it played during the war, dropping in on any postage stamp sized field.

More like an airplane he wore than flew, the Piper Cub served as Stan Segalla’s partner in his Flying Farmer act at Old Rhinebeck for years.

It was an icon of general aviation, spit out of the factory in numbers exceeding 19,000.

Passing overhead as if the plug had been pulled on velocity, the trio, a virtual poster for Golden Age aviation, seemed suspended above the field. Indeed, the ribbon dropped form one of them-and intended as a target to be competitively cut-floated faster than the sputtering, winged opponents vying for it.

Landing and taxiing past the spectator-filled benches, the orange CW-1, gold C-3, and yellow J-3 reflected the autumn-colored trees lining the aerodrome, as the descending leaves, like those of the vintage airplanes, touched down for one of the season’s last landings.

According to history, in A.D. 527, an emperor named Wu Di invited an Indian monk named Bodhidharma to travel to China. The purpose of the journey was for Bodhidharma to come and teach his fellow monks in certain exercises to help strengthen their bodies. Monks in Henan province were frequently attacked by bandits and had no training in how to defend themselves.

After arriving in Henan Temple, Bodhidharma meditated for nine long years. After he finished the meditation, Bodhidharma wrote two books entitled, “Yi Jin Jing” and “Xi Sui Jing”. The former was about exercises for developing external strength while the latter was about meditation and breathing. After finishing the two books, he wrote a third book entitled “Shi Bao Luo Han Shou” (The Eighteen Hands of Lohan), which was about his experiences as a member if the Kshatriya. (Indian warriors and rulers). This book included synchronized defensive routines. Historians consider this book as the first manual on offensive and defensive combat movements. That was how the martial arts began in China.

These facts explain the close similarity of the postures in Chinese martial arts and yoga. Both traditions focused on the lower abdominal region as the center of all human energy (chi, pneuma, ki). Martial arts and Yoga were both developed to promote a healthy body, increase lifespan, and attain a state of bliss.

According to Eastern beliefs, the mysterious power of the chi is responsible for self-healing, self-recovery, and self-realization; and that ll life in the cosmos is inspired by the chi. As the “life force” or vital energy that is present in every living thing, it is also the same force that controls the universe. Chi is the Chinese word for the word life…and translated as ‘pneuma’ in Greek… and ‘ki’ in Japanese.

Clinical studies show that martial artists use several aspects of fitness like muscular strength, endurance, aerobic, and anaerobic conditioning. Their training also involves flexibility, body composition, motor skills, and coordination. These training modes may give practitioners health benefits such as stronger muscles and improved endurance. Martial arts training also includes meditation. These moments of stillness may bring short periods of relaxation. Some people actually see martial arts as “moving meditation.” Researches have also shown that the regular practice of martial arts help release stress and improve one’s self-esteem.

Sexual health

But more than just a system of self-defense and meditation, the martial arts practice is also associated with the improvement of libido and overall sexual performance. People who frequently exercise have more energy, less anxiety, better self-esteem, and increased testosterone levels. Martial arts not only firms one’s body and improve their overall health, martial arts can also improve one’s sex life. The practice of martial arts entails rigorous physical exertion. Still, Bodhidharma was careful to teach his monk-students about the virtue of moderation. He taught them that even in martial arts, care must be exercised to avoid over-training. Some studies show that too much intense physical training may have an effect on one’s sterility. An investigation by health experts revealed that exercising too much causes fatigue, which then temporarily reduces sperm count and quality. Other researches point out that those who exercised to the point of exhaustion produced less sperm during ejaculation. Specialists say that this happens because the body literally “kills” itself during training. To build muscles and improve the body, it needs to recuperate to attain normal cell development. Intense physical activities may reduce the level of hormones in the bloodstream that affects sperm production. Medical experts believe that sperm levels return to nearly normal after about three days. They added that drinking coffee after a few hours of training may protect sperm quality because of the antioxidants that are found in caffeine.

Indeed, understanding the benefits of martial arts and exercise can make a difference in one’s life. If done properly, these arts may promote good health, and an even better sex life.

With dark skin, a projecting forehead, an upturned nose, scant hair and a disproportionately big head, she is regarded as one of the worst-looking women throughout Chinese history. However, she is also the queen of King Qixuan (350-301BC) of the Qi state. Her name is Zhong Lichun, always called Zhong Wuyan because she is from Wuyan County.

She is an intelligent woman who has profound knowledge. However, she did not marry because of her ugly appearance until at the age of 40. Instead of being frustrated, she spent all her time on books and martial arts.

Zhong lived during the Warring States Period (475-221BC.), a period when seven states coexisted with each other, namely Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei and Qin. She was so deeply concerned about the fate of her country that she went to the King Qixuan to offer herself as his maiden. All the people in the palace laughed at her when they first saw her and heard her words. However, after she analyzed the dangers the Qi state was facing and offered her frank advice on the best ways to act at that time, the king was so moved that he made Zhong Wuyan his queen finally.

She made great contributions to her country later. She acted as the wise adviser and the prime minister of King Qixuan. With her help, later the state of Qi became not only the culture center, but also one of the most powerful states at that period.

There are also Four Beauties who are well known for their beauty in Chinese history. It is said that they are the four most beautiful women in Chinese history. They were so beautiful that when fish saw them, they forgot to swim, when wild geese saw them, they forgot to fly. Even the moon and flowers were shamed by her beauty and hid themselves when they saw them. Their names are Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diao Chan, Yang Yuhuan.

However, such beauties could not control their fates at all. Their lives are closely associated with war, espionage and revenge. God gave them beauty but did not give them happy lives. But Zhong, who was famous for her ugly appearance, controlled her fate totally. Yes, the appearance is quite important for a woman, but if you do not have enough strength to protect yourself, it always will become a start of tragedy. Need to be wise!