The best history documentaries. Traveling from the Middle ages to the industrial revolutions, to understand the past that shaped today's world.
A glimpse into the great ancient Western and Eastern civilizations, America's
history before and after Columbus, Indian and Chinese kingdoms and empires.
The Historian Channel: Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Documentary, The History of Acupuncture, Discovery History Health
Traditional and modern Japanese guiding tube needles
Early development in China, Establishment and growth:
In the first half of the 1st century AD, acupuncturists
began promoting the belief that acupuncture's effectiveness was influenced by
the time of day or night, the lunar cycle, and the season. The
Science of the Yin-Yang Cycles (Yün Chhi Hsüeh) was a set of beliefs that
curing diseases relied on the alignment of both heavenly (thien) and earthly
(ti) forces that were attuned to cycles like that of the sun and
moon. There were several different belief systems that relied on a
number of celestial and earthly bodies or elements that rotated and only became
aligned at certain times. According to Needham and Gwei-djen, these
"arbitrary predictions" were depicted by acupuncturists in complex
charts and through a set of special terminology.
Acupuncture needles during this period were much thicker
than most modern ones and often resulted in infection. Infection is caused by a
lack of sterilization, but at that time it was believed to be caused by use of
the wrong needle, or needling in the wrong place, or at the wrong
time. Later, many needles were heated in boiling water, or in a
flame. Sometimes needles were used while they were still hot, creating a
cauterizing effect at the injection site. Nine needles were recommended
in the Chen Chiu Ta Chheng from 1601, which may have been because of an ancient
Chinese belief that nine was a magic number.
Other belief systems were based on the idea that the human
body operated on a rhythm and acupuncture had to be applied at the right point
in the rhythm to be effective.[30]:140-141 In some cases a lack of balance
between Yin and Yang were believed to be the cause of disease.
In the 1st century AD, many of the first books about
acupuncture were published and recognized acupuncturist experts began to
emerge. The Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, which was published in the mid-3rd century,
became the oldest acupuncture book that is still in existence in the modern
era. Other books like the Yu Kuei Chen Ching, written by the Director of
Medical Services for China, were also influential during this period, but were
not preserved. In the mid 7th century, Sun Simiao published
acupuncture-related diagrams and charts that established standardized methods
for finding acupuncture sites on people of different sizes and categorized
acupuncture sites in a set of modules.
Acupuncture became more established in China as improvements
in paper led to the publication of more acupuncture books. The Imperial Medical
Service and the Imperial Medical College, which both supported acupuncture,
became more established and created medical colleges in every province. The public was also exposed to stories about royal figures being cured of their
diseases by prominent acupuncturists. By time The Great Compendium
of Acupuncture and Moxibustion was published during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644
AD), most of the acupuncture practices used in the modern era had been
established.
Decline
By the end of the Song dynasty (1279 AD), acupuncture had
lost much of its status in China. It became rarer in the following
centuries, and was associated with less prestigious professions like alchemy,
shamanism, midwifery and moxibustion. Additionally, by the 18th century,
scientific rationality was becoming more popular than traditional superstitious
beliefs. By 1757 a book documenting the history of Chinese medicine called
acupuncture a "lost art". Its decline was attributed in part
to the popularity of prescriptions and medications, as well as its association
with the lower classes.
In 1822, the Chinese Emperor signed a decree
excluding the practice of acupuncture from the Imperial Medical Institute.
He said it was unfit for practice by gentlemen-scholars. In China
acupuncture was increasingly associated with lower-class, illiterate
practitioners. It was restored for a time, but banned again in 1929 in
favor of science-based Western medicine.
The Historian Channel: Zen Buddhism Documentary, Zen and Japanese Buddhism, Full documentary, Japanese Zen Buddhism
Pagoda of Yakushi-ji in Nara (Japan)
History of Japanese Buddhism
Arrival of Buddhism in China along the Silk Road
The arrival of Buddhism in Japan is ultimately a consequence
of the first contacts between China and Central Asia, where Buddhism had spread
from the Indian subcontinent. These contacts occurred with the opening of the
Silk Road in the 2nd century BC, following the travels of Zhang Qian between
138 and 126 BCE. These contacts culminated with the official introduction of
Buddhism in China in 67 CE. Historians generally agree that by the middle of
the 1st century, the religion had penetrated to areas north of the Huai River
in China.
Kofun period (250 to 538)
Daibutsu, Kamakura.
According to the Book of Liang, which was written in 635,
five Buddhist monks from Gandhara traveled to Japan in 467. At the time, they
referred to Japan as the country of Fusang (Chinese: 扶桑;
Japanese pronunciation: Fusō, the country of the extreme east beyond the sea),
and they introduced Buddhism to the residents of the island nation:
Fusang is located
to the east of China, 20,000 li (1,500 kilometers) east of the state of Da Han
[Korea] (itself east of the state of Wa in modern Kansai region, Japan). (...)
In former times, the people of Fusang knew nothing of the Buddhist religion,
but in the second year of Da Ming of the Song Dynasty (467), five monks from
Kipin [Kabul region of Gandhara] travelled by ship to Fusang. They propagated
Buddhist doctrine, circulated scriptures and drawings, and advised the people
to relinquish worldly attachments. As a result the customs of Fusang changed.
— the monk Hui Shen
(慧深),
Book of Liang, 7th century[a]
Asuka Period (538 to 710) and Nara Period (710–794)
Pagoda of Yakushi-ji in Nara (730)
Main article: Nanto Rokushū
Although there are records of Buddhist monks from China
coming to Japan before the Asuka Period, the "official" introduction
of Buddhism to Japan is dated to 552 in Nihon Shoki[4] when the Emperor Seong
of Baekje(in modern Korea)sent a mission to Nara that included Buddhist monks
or nuns together with an image of Buddha and a number of sutras to introduce
Buddhism. The powerful Soga clan played a key role in the early spread of
Buddhism in the country. Initial uptake of the new faith was slow, and Buddhism
only started to spread some years later when Empress Suiko openly encouraged
the acceptance of Buddhism among all Japanese people.
According to legend, in Japan in 552, there was an attempt
to destroy a tooth relic, one of the first of Buddha’s to arrive in the
country; it was hit by a hammer into an anvil; the hammer and anvil were
destroyed but the tooth was not. On January 15, 593, Soga no Umako ordered
relics of Buddha deposited inside the foundation stone under the pillar of a
pagoda at Asuka-dera.
In 607, in order to obtain copies of sutras, an imperial
envoy was dispatched to Sui China. As time progressed and the number of
Buddhist clergy increased, the offices of Sōjō (archbishop) and Sōzu (bishop)
were created. By 627, there were 46 Buddhist temples, 816 Buddhist priests, and
569 Buddhist nuns in Japan.
Six sects
The initial period saw the six great Chinese schools, called
Nanto Rokushū (南都六宗 lit. the Six Nara Sects?) in Japanese, introduced to
the Japanese archipelago:
Ritsu (Vinaya-focused
Nikaya Buddhism)
Jōjitsu
(Tattvasiddhi, a sect of Nikaya Buddhism)
Kusha-shū
(Abhidharma-focussed Nikaya Buddhism)
Sanronshū (East
Asian Mādhyamaka)
Hossō (East Asian
Yogācāra)
Kegon (Huayan
school)[9]
These schools centered around the ancient capitals of Asuka
and Nara, where great temples such as the Asuka-dera and Tōdai-ji were erected
respectively. These were not exclusive schools, and temples were apt to have
scholars versed in several of the schools. It has been suggested that they can
best be thought of as "study groups". The Buddhism of these periods,
known as the Asuka period and Nara period – was not a practical religion, being
more the domain of learned priests whose official function was to pray for the
peace and prosperity of the state and imperial house. This kind of Buddhism had
little to offer the illiterate and uneducated masses, and led to the growth of
"people’s priests" who were not ordained and had no formal Buddhist
training. Their practice was a combination of Buddhist and Daoist elements and
the incorporation of shamanistic features of indigenous practices. Some of
these figures became immensely popular, and were a source of criticism towards
the sophisticated academic and bureaucratic Buddhism of the capital.
Tangmi
The Late Nara period saw the introduction of Tangmi
(Esoteric Buddhism, mikkyō) to Japan from China by Kūkai and Saichō, who
founded Shingon Buddhism and the Tendai school, respectively.
Heian Period (794 to 1185)
During the Heian period the capital was shifted from Nara to
Kyoto. Monasteries became centers of powers, even establishing armies of Sōhei,
warrior-monks.
Shinto and Buddhism became the dominant religions,
maintaining a balance until the Meiji-restoration.
Kamakura Period (1185–1333)
The Kamakura period was a period of crises in which the
control of the country moved from the imperial aristocracy to the samurai. In
1185 the Kamakura shogunate was established at Kamakura.
This period saw the introduction of the two schools that had
perhaps the greatest impact on the country: the schools of Pure Land Buddhism,
promulgated by evangelists such as Genshin and articulated by monks such as
Hōnen, which emphasize salvation through faith in Amitābha and remain the
largest Buddhist sect in Japan (and throughout Asia); and Zen, promulgated by
monks such as Eisai and Dōgen, which emphasize liberation through the insight
of meditation, which were equally rapidly adopted by the upper classes and had
a profound impact on the culture of Japan.
Additionally, it was during the Kamakura period that the
influential monk Nichiren began teaching devotion to the Lotus Sutra.
Eventually, his disciples formed their own school of Nichiren Buddhism, which
includes various sects that have their own interpretations of Nichiren's
teachings.
Muromachi Period (or Ashikaga) (1336–1573)
Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, Shōkoku-ji
sect of the Rinzai school, located in Kyoto. It was built in Muromachi period.
See also: Higashiyama period
In the Muromachi period, Zen, particularly the Rinzai
school, obtained the help of the Ashikaga shogunate and the Emperor of Japan,
and accomplished considerable development.
Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1573–1600) and Edo Period (or
Tokugawa)(1600–1868)
After the Sengoku period of war, Japan was re-united in the
Azuchi–Momoyama period. This decreased the power of Buddhism, which had become
a strong political and military force in Japan. Neo-Confucianism and Shinto
gained influence at the expense of Buddhism, which came under strict state
control.[12] Japan closed itself off to the rest of the world. The only traders
to be allowed were Dutchmen admitted to the island of Dejima.
New doctrines and methods were not to be introduced, nor
were new temples and schools. The only exception was the Ōbaku lineage, which
was introduced in the 17th century during the Edo period by Ingen, a Chinese
monk. Ingen had been a member of the Linji school, the Chinese equivalent of
Rinzai, which had developed separately from the Japanese branch for hundreds of
years. Thus, when Ingen journeyed to Japan following the fall of the Ming
dynasty to the Manchu people, his teachings were seen as a separate school. The
Ōbaku school was named after Mount Huangbo (Chinese: 黄檗山;
pinyin: Huángbò shān; Japanese pronunciation: Ōbaku shan), which had been
Ingen's home in China. Also notable during the period was the publication of an
exceptionally high quality reprint of the Ming-era Tripiṭaka by Tetsugen Doko,
a renowned master of the Ōbaku school.
Meiji Restoration (1868–1912)
With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the new government
adopted a strong anti-Buddhist attitude, and a movement to eradicate Buddhism
and bring Shinto to ascendancy arose throughout the country due to the strong
connections of Buddhism to the Shoguns.
During the Meiji period (1868–1912), after a
coup in 1868, Japan abandoned its feudal system and opened up to Western
modernism. Shinto became the state religion. Within the Buddhist establishment
the Western world was seen as a threat as well as a challenge to stand up
to. Buddhist institutions had a simple choice: adapt or perish. Rinzai
and Soto Zen chose to adapt, trying to modernize Zen in accord with Western
insights, while simultaneously maintaining a Japanese identity. Other schools,
and Buddhism in general, simply saw their influence wane. The edict of April
1872 ended the status of the buddhist precepts as state law and allowed monks
to marry and to eat meat.
Philadelphia celebrates its founder more than any other American city,
but who exactly is William Penn? For many, he is a statue atop City
Hall, but Penn's busy life reflected an era of chaotic upheaval and
conflict. He is at once a radical Quaker, political prisoner, visionary
city planner, absent landlord, and a slaveholder. His ideals,
contradictions, and ambitions cast a long shadow across American
history. This installment of Philadelphia: The Great Experiment explores
what it means to live In Penn's Shadow.
Watch more at http://www.historyofphilly.com/
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