The history of massage health

1. The earliest origins of massage

Massage has a history of nearly two thousand years in our country. The earliest use of massage in our country can be traced back to primitive society. In our ancestors' lives and work, the body often suffers pain due to trauma. Humans will naturally use their hands or wood. Massage with a stick or tap the damaged area lightly to achieve the effect of reducing swelling and pain. With the accumulation of this kind of experience, our ancestors evolved the instinctive touching or massage into a systematic treatment and health regimen.

2. The first development of massage

However, massage as a skill was first recorded in the Shang Dynasty. Evidence can be found in the oracle bone inscriptions unearthed in the Yin Ruins of the Shang Dynasty. In Oracle bone inscriptions, there is a record of the word "拊", "Shuowen Jiezi" annotated: "拊，揗也", "揗，摩也". In addition, the form and preparation of the massage and the name of the masseur are also recorded in the oracle bone inscriptions. Furthermore, it can be confirmed from the ancient document "Historical Records? Biography of Bian Quecang". The record states: "In ancient times, there was Yu Hou as a doctor, and he did not use decoctions to cure diseases...but used the methods of bridge introduction, case 杌, poison iron, etc.". The "case 杌" and "qiaoyin" in these records all refer to massage.

3. The developmental period of massage

Massage officially became a part of Chinese medicine and was used in medical activities and health care during the spring and autumn period. We can find records in the "Huang Di Nei Jing" that appeared in that period. Massage is discussed in 9 chapters of "Su Wen" and 5 chapters of "Lingshu". The book records the origin, function and indications of massage, and also has detailed records of specific massage techniques. For example, "Suwen? Blood and Qi Xingzhi Pian" says: "Shape and collaterals are frightened, meridians and collaterals are blocked, and illnesses are caused by inhumanity. Massage and mash are used to cure the disease." In the treatment of illness and pain, massage techniques can be used to dredge the meridian qi and blood to achieve the purpose of treatment. The case of using massage to treat diseases is recorded in "Zhou Lishu", which records the medical record of Bianque Healing Crown Prince Shijue. This medical record fully illustrates the important role of massage in clinical application. As for the records of massage used for health preservation, it can be found in "Zhuangzi", "Laozi", "Xunzi", "Mozi" and other works. The systematic introduction of massage and health preservation in these works also provides a basis for the massage and health preservation of future generations.

4. Mature period of massage

With the improvement of people's use and understanding of massage, massage medical treatment and health preservation have entered a period of rapid development and theoretical maturity, which mainly includes the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan periods. It is mainly manifested in the establishment of massage departments in medical institutions and the establishment of massage medical policies. There are records of doctors of massage, health-care masseurs, massage workers, and massage students in "Sui Shu · Five Sense Organs" and "Old Tang Book · Official Records", and there are strict regulations on the medical procedures of massage. Related books and monographs on massage in this period have also been published. For example, the "Ten Volumes of Massage Guide and Introductory Classics" of this period were specialized works on massage, and the Sui Dynasty's "Theories on the Sources of Diseases" and "Qian Jin Yao Fang" Massage medical treatment and health maintenance, and apply massage to pediatric diseases and pediatric health care. During the Song, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, massage therapy has been further developed. This period is mainly manifested in the application of massage therapy to gynecological induction of labor. According to relevant documents, Pang Anshi in the Song Dynasty "healed people with a rate of cure. There were folk pregnant women who were about to give birth. They could not give birth for seven days, and all the techniques were ineffective. They made his family use soup to warm his waist and abdomen, and caress him up and down. The pregnant woman felt a slight pain in the stomach and intestines, and gave birth to a man after choking.” This shows that massage had accumulated a wealth of practical experience in handling dystocia at that time.

5. The critical period of massage

The key period for massage to play a health role is the Ming and Qing Dynasties. During this period, because of the dominance of the feudal ethics of "respecting Confucianism and Taoism", massage was regarded as "damaging and elegant", and it was a "low skill" of laborers, and it was not "the way of the ruler". Left out. Under this premise, massage was transferred from the government to the private sector, so that the masses of people can access and use massage techniques. At the same time, because of the economic depression in the period, people have problems such as difficulty in seeing a doctor. The effective and economical massage therapy is used for disease prevention. And health care is extremely popular. Massage books used for health preservation in this issue have also come out one after another, involving health preservation in internal, external, gynecology, and pediatrics.

6. The recovery and prosperity of massage

From the founding of the People’s Republic of China to the reform and opening up, massage as a medical and health care method has entered a period of recovery and prosperity. Massage medicine and health care have the soil for healthy growth. It is mainly manifested in the establishment of massage and massage schools, specialized hospitals and massage health care institutions in economically developed regions. For example, in the late 1970s, Shanghai, Beijing, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other cities successively resumed the establishment of massage schools, and some Chinese medicine hospitals added acupuncture and massage departments to cultivate many massage talents. In 1980, Changchun University, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Xinjiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Beijing Union University successively opened college and undergraduate classes for massage for the blind. In 1990, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation established the China Massage Center for the Blind, which implemented standardized industry management on healthcare massage and medical massage for the blind. It is worth noting that since the reform and opening up, many large cities have successively opened massage health halls and massage weight loss centers, which has provided a broader world for the development of massage health.

It can be seen from the above that massage has a long history and reliable curative effect in our country, and in today's faster and faster pace of life, massage health care has become one of the important means for people to maintain health.