The hand technique of acupuncture is the basic skill that must be mastered in order to carry out clinical acupuncture, because it is what counts most in the achievement of therapeutic effect. In a broad sense, hand technique means the entire process of performing the acupuncture operation, while, in a narrow sense, it denotes only the way of doing the work from entry of the needle into the body up to its exit. The earliest, primitive acupuncture instrument used in ancient China was called "the stone needle". Acupuncture hand technique in its true sense arose in the course of development of the stone needle into what is called "the nine needles" made of metal. The nine needles served variously for shallow entry, deep entry, and other purposes, and were of different shapes and sizes: sharpened, rounded, elongated, or miniature. With the advance of manufacturing technology the acupuncture needles are being made with greater and greater precision and the hand technique is becoming more and more ingenious.
According to the theory of acupuncture, the body contains a number of meridians, or pathways, along which the life energy flows. The acupuncture needles inserted at particular points along the meridians can unblock the energy flow so as to restore health or reduce pain. Incidentally, the hieroglyph in the Chinese language used by traditional Chinese medicine to denote "life energy" and pronounced as chi is the counterpart of the word gas or breath in the English language. This information may help the reader to understand better the fundamentals of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture. The book the Classic of Internal Medicine laid the foundations of acupuncture hand technique by a theoretical treatment of the "nine needles". China"s another authoritative work on traditional medicine, entitled A Classic Course in Solution of Difficulties of Medicine and Acupuncture (compiled by the ancient physician Bian Que of the 4th century B.C.), elaborates on the principle of acupuncture put forward by the preceding Classic of Internal Medicine consisting in that the cure of illness by acupuncture depends on fostering the growth of the healthy forces of the body on the one hand and dispelling or driving away the evil forces of disease on the other. It is noteworthy that the ancient physician Bian Que lived in the period of the Warring States (475---221B.C.). That period was certainly more than two centuries of war and devastation. But, strange to say, those long years of internecine conflict constituted, as it were, the golden age of philosophy and science in ancient China. For, vying with each other for supremacy in all fields, the mutually jealous monarchs gave free reins to all schools of thought not only in diplomacy and military strategy but also in mathematics, astronomy, natural history and arts. Traditional Chinese medicine with acupuncture, therefore, developed rapidly. The book authored by Bian Que enjoyed great popularity and was accorded the epithet of Difficult Classic.
The Difficult Classic consists of 81 chapters, all written in the form of questions and answers. The book has resolved the doubts in many learners" minds particularly with regard to pulse diagnosis and acupuncture hand technique. All the answers given are based on the five primary categories of acupoints, which number 66 acupoints in total. The book as a whole has formulated a system for fostering the growth of the healthy forces and dispelling the evil forces by means of proper coordination of the acupoints. This was done under the guidance of the theories of ancient Chinese philosophy about the "opposites" and about the "five elements", which may be transliterated as follows. The solution of a problem of any nature is to be tackled by considering its positive and negative aspects, ascertaining and analyzing all the forces acting on it, and exploring for clarification of their interaction, which may be quite complicated, as shown by the theory about the five elements in its statements: "water subdues fire, but earth subdues water." And "wood produces or promotes fire, but earth produces metal".

Acupuncture began to flourish in China as early as in the Spring and Autumn period (770---406B.C.), which derives its name from a book written by Confucius that bears the title of The Spring and Autumn Annals, though, as a mater of fact, that book covers the period of 722---481 B.C. A number of outstanding physicians, versed in acupuncture, appeared in China during the long time from that period down to the period of the Three Kingdoms (221-263). The name of Hua Tuo (141-203) is known to almost all Chinese people. He is reputed to have carried out many surgical operations, and it is certain that he used his skill in acupuncture to accomplish anesthesia on his patients. What is deplorable is that his scholarly works were completely destroyed after he was beheaded by the ruthless prime minister.
During that period, different styles of hand technique were explored in connection with the factors that influenced the choice of the style and depth of needle insertion. A summing-up was made, and 14 styles of single-hand needle insertion and 14 styles of double-hand needle insertion were found to be in common use.
Later, in the Song (960---1279) and Ming (1368---1644) dynasties acupuncture was again thriving and this time in full bloom throughout the country. The great popularity of acupuncture culminated in the publication of the epoch-making work A Synopsis of Acupuncture Achievements by Yang Jizhou of the Ming Dynasty.
Yang Jizhou was an imperial physician working in the Royal Court of the Ming Dynasty. He had a profound knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and was skilled in acupuncture operations. He compiled the Synopsis by consulting the literature of previous dynasties on this subject and by relying on the Confidential Recondite Data collected by his father and grandfather. The Synopsis reflects his extensive observation of other experts" hand technique in manipulating the acupuncture needles and also his conviction that acupuncture is a combination of knowledge and skill. Owing to the great wealth of its contents, that book has made a singular contribution to the development of acupuncture.
In the 6th decade of the 20th century, acupuncture received unprecedented attention and emphasis in China as a discipline of the medical science. A deepened investigation was made into the various modes and styles of needle insertion and their respective therapeutic effects. Experiments were conducted not only on the bodies of human beings but also on those of other animals. There was an upsurge of renewed interest in acupuncture anaesthesia. Perhaps Chinese scientists wanted to get a thorough understanding of the phenomena connected with the almost incredible influence of this kind of needle insertion on human nerves or to test the veracity of the speeches and writings concerning acupuncture anaesthesia. Anyhow, their effort resulted in a marvelous spectacle. When US President Richard Nixon visited China in 1973, many foreign visitors accompanying him or coming to China in his wake were amazed to see, in Shanghai hospitals, patients undergoing major surgical operations lying wide-awake on operating tables with only a few needles the length of children"s chopsticks inserted in their bodies.