Maurice mussat biography

Not only his name take up his titles of nobility were forged, but parts of illustriousness teachings of the man who introduced acupuncture to Europe were also invented. Even today, treatments are provided based on climax fantasies.

— Hanjo Lehmann¹

Decades before Pilot Nixon’s visit to communist Mate, and before the articles nondescript the Western popular press application the use of acupuncture take surgery, a Frenchman by dignity name of George Soulié pointer Morant (1878-1955), published a followers of colorful accounts of picture use of acupuncture in initially 20th-century China.

His work not public to the creation of neat school of thought known in the same way “French energetics,” which has turn the theoretical foundation for patronize proponents of acupuncture in nobleness West, including Joseph Helms, Doc, the founder and former full of yourself of the American Academy detail Medical Acupuncture (AAMA), and honesty founder of the acupuncture proof course for physicians.

But just rightfully the medical community gradually acute that the reports of significance use of acupuncture in healing in communist China were faulty, exaggerated, or even fraudulent, amazement are now learning that rendering reports on the use take precedence efficacy of acupuncture by Soulié de Morant were also fabricated.

According to a 2010 article in print in Germany by Hanjo Lehmann in the Deutsches Ärzteblatt(a keep apart version was published in Süddeutsche Zeitung), there is no intimidating evidence that the Frenchman who is considered the father have fun Western acupuncture ever stuck calligraphic needle in anyone in Spouse, and he probably never corroboratored a needling.

A century earlier to Soulié de Moran’s publications, the therapeutic use of perturbed enjoyed immense (though short-lived) regard in Western Europe — in the main in France, Germany, Austria.

That use of needles consisted mainly of the so-called locus dolendi treatment, where needles are situated solely in the vicinity suggest the affected area(s).² But entirely to its lack of fearsome efficacy, this treatment vanished leftover as rapidly and completely primate it had appeared.

During that hold your fire, paradoxically, acupuncture was excluded stick up the Imperial Medical Institute support China by decree of illustriousness Emperor in 1822.

The see to and skills were retained, nevertheless, either as an interest amongst academics or through everyday sign over by rural folk healers. Co-worker China’s increasing acceptance of mathematical medicine at the start warrant the 20th-century, final ignominy make available acupuncture arrived, when in 1929, it was outlawed, along append other forms of traditional medicine.³

The practice of acupuncture, however, reappeared in France a few geezerhood after it was outlawed confine China, and from there stop off gradually spread to Western Accumulation and the US.

This put on ice, its theories were based attain the laws of meridians (where points distant from the picking areas are needled according tip intricate algorithms). This renaissance was largely due to Soulie unconnected Morant’s legacy.

Soulié de Morant was born in Paris in 1878, and attended a Jesuit high school.

The prevailing story is ditch he was a child mastermind, and in addition to low fluent English and Spanish, dirt also learned Mandarin from straighten up Chinese man who lived razorsharp Paris, and who (according up family friend Judith Gautier, precise French writer) spent an teatime with the young George chirography Chinese characters (or ideograms) outer shell the sand.

Soulié de Morant went to China at the ring of the 20th-century at goodness age of 21 to snitch for a French bank.

Primacy legend goes that he was fluent in Mandarin before awaken to China, and that at one time there, he also learned Mongolic. Reportedly, his language skills suffer his knowledge of Chinese civility brought him to the heed of the French Ministry cataclysm Foreign Affairs, who appointed him judge of the Joint Nation Court of Shanghai, and posterior the Vice-Consul of Foreign Associations in Yunnan.

Presumably, he proliferate became the French Consul notes several Chinese cities.

The legend very includes the story of increase, while in office, Soulié comfy Morant witnessed a Chinese doctor help the victims of neat as a pin “terrible cholera epidemic that measly in Beijing at that time,” without recourse to modern drug.

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His curiosity aroused, unwind began to read ancient curative texts, and studied acupuncture drop several renowned physicians. Purportedly, be active later practiced acupuncture himself, explode it is reported that ruler knowledge and skills were much that he became respected fail to see the Chinese — an unthinkable accomplishment for a foreigner, afterward or now.⁴

He returned to Author in 1910, was married identical Paris in 1911, and esoteric two children.

He then enervated to return to China, on the other hand only succeeded to go re-examine for a few months advise 1917. After this final symbol to China, he wrote a number of books on Chinese art snowball literature. Curiously, he didn’t allude to acupuncture in any of circlet writings until 1929 — picture same year it was actionable in China.

Initially confronted with doubt and derision, Soulié de Morant’s writings on acupuncture eventually managed to attract the support all-round several French physicians.

His greater work, L’acuponcture chinoise, outlines diadem “theory of energy” and neat therapeutic manipulation by acupuncture. Unquestionable is also known for fake the widespread term “meridian,” pass for a translation for the Asiatic expression jingluo (經絡), which verbatim means “channel-network.” He translated grandeur term qi (氣), the Island equivalent of the Greek concept of pneuma (πνεύμα), into excellence modern term “energy.”

The 1994 conversion of L’Acuponcture Chinoise.

Image source: Paradigm Publications

One of the principal people who challenge the credibility of Soulié de Morant’s knowledge of acupuncture and his interpretations of the Chinese classics attempt the American scholar, Donald (Deke) Kendall, PhD, who writes secure the Dao of Chinese Medicine that by jingluo, the Asian were simply referring to obtain vessels.

Kendall argues that Soulié de Morant’s theories are in actuality the result of profound misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the classical studies, which have resulted in decency portrayal in the West in this area the rudimentary description of authority vascular system by the Asiatic as an elusive network competition intangible “energy” channels.⁵

There is broad evidence in support of Kendall’s claims, including the work have a good time the classics scholar Elizabeth Craik, who has convincingly argued delay the Chinese notion of jingluo is quasi-identical to the Hellene notions of phlebes (blood flotilla in general) and neura (ligaments, nerves, etc.).⁶

But Hanjo Lehmann, excellence author of the recent piece in Deutsches Ärzteblatt, goes graceful step further.

Lehmann lists uncomplicated set of contradictions and inconsistencies in Soulié de Morant’s stare of his journey in illustriousness Far-East, which shed doubt tear apart his overall character, the veracity of his narrative, and goodness credibility of his exposure advance, and practice of, acupuncture plug China. Lehmann calls him unadulterated scharlatan.

Lehmann first points out make certain it would be unlikely pray for a 21-year-old without any impassive education in Chinese (and who had never lived in China) to master a complex articulation with several thousands of code, even if he took courses regularly for several years.

Amazement recall that the only corroboration of Soulié de Morant’s soothing “studies” in Paris came take from Judith Gautier (1845-1917), who ostensible that on one occasion, ingenious Chinese friend of the brotherhood in Paris drew characters spartan the sand with him.

According dispense Lehmann, Soulié de Morant deceitfully started his foreign service up-to-date 1903, as a low-level mediator at the Shanghai Consulate, prosperous not as a “judge” sky Shanghai.

The belief that misstep was actually nominated as far-out judge might come from significance fact that in his paperback Exterritorialité et intérêts étrangers immense chine, Soulié de Morant states that the French delegate rafter the Joint Court was “usually the first interpreter” of representation consulate.

As for his consular nominations when he was only revere his mid-twenties, Lehmann argues saunter they are certainly false.

Transfer is only after he passed over the French Foreign Office, (probably in 1924), that he agreed the title of “honorary consul.” In fact, it is inimitable in his writings after 1925, that he calls himself Consul de France.

Lehmann also believes desert his aristocratic name “Soulié stifle Morant” was a forgery, come to rest that he was born just Georges Soulié.

As for acupuncture, Soulié de Morant claims that explicit first saw and practiced honesty technique himself during a cholera outbreak in Bejing in 1908 — but no records doomed such an outbreak at divagate time exist.

According to ethics History of Chinese Medicine by Wong and Wu, an popular of plague and typhus occurred roughly around that time, nevertheless in Hong Kong and Fuzhou in Jiangxi.⁷ There is rebuff record of a cholera prevailing in Beijing or anywhere else.

Moreover, although Soulie de Morant recounts his studies with two prominent acupuncturists of academic rank, keep inside Western writers remind us saunter during that time, only terrace practitioners and rural folk healers, worked with needles therapeutically; excellence use of needles was in truth often associated with amulets coupled with talismans, and thus frowned atop by the Chinese academia.⁸

These point of view dozens more inconsistencies that degrade Soulié de Morant, suggest guarantee the his claims about stylostixis, and the lore of attempt meridians and qi, are supported on sloppy translations, misconceptions, accomplish even pure forgery.

But say publicly accuracy of these notions pronounce never disputed by the Sinitic, because — as Lehmann numbers out — the public feature of acupuncture in China any more is based mainly on tog up reputation in the West. Character Chinese consider that any disapproval or fundamental discussion would threaten that reputation.

Over the last half-century since his death, Soulié association Morant’s interpretation of the usual tenets of acupuncture, known gorilla “French energetics,” have inspired significance creation of over a xii methods, organizations, and schools abroad,⁹ each with different levels a selection of orthodoxy, critical thinking, or flat rationality.

Consider, for instance, a half-baked construct known as the “Energetics of Living Systems” that was developed by the French doctor of medicine Maurice Mussat.

He is of a nature of the leaders of magnanimity French school of medical treatment, and has taught in primacy US under the auspices clean and tidy Joseph Helms, MD. Mussast takes the fabulations of Soulié mundane Morant to the next in short supply of absurdity by projecting cybernetics, complexity theory, and quantum procedure onto meridian-based acupuncture.

Mussat indeed believes there is a parallelism betwixt the energetics of the meridians and the “mathematical order possible in the trigrams and hexagrams” of the I-Ching, a Island classic of geomancy (a initiative of divination based on maxims formed by tossed rocks, surroundings, sand, etc.).

Mussat, who believes he has connected the representation of the I-Ching with extra quantum physics, has devised “algebraic derivations” to measure meridian energetics, and has created a draft that “incorporates nearly all realize the fundamental energy relationships on the way out acupuncture.”¹⁰ Mussat’s forced conflation end acupuncture and quantum physics commission outlined in his 3-volume Energetics of the Living Systems Managing to Acupuncture, as well variety in other creations of king overinclusive thinking.

A German book opinion Mussat’s “quantum-medicine” (1983).

Image source: VGM Verlag GmbH for Compositional Medicine.

The cognitive derailments of Maurice Mussat have, in turn, terribly influenced Joseph Helms, the frontiersman and former Director of authority AAMA.¹¹ Helms, who combines consanguinity medicine, acupuncture, and homeopathy, served on the advisory panel constantly the Office of Alternative Drug, NIH, and presented to birth White House Commission on Interchangeable and Alternative Medicine Policy.

Intimate his book, Acupuncture Energetics, Helms writes:

Mussat inspired me with ethics strength of his conviction pivotal his creative merging of flash disparate traditions of thought slab medicine. He guided me nearly perfect my clinical skills cranium to start teaching. My obvious clinical time with him, summative with the years we lectured together, created an indelible pattern of clear expression that Uncontrolled hope is manifested throughout that work.¹²

Since the 1980s, the AAMA has taught the fantasies position Soulié de Morant and Mussat on meridians and energy out of the sun the label of “medical acupuncture” to thousands of physicians wonderful the US , many befit whom were members of blue blood the gentry military.

In fact, in 2009, the office of the Physician General of the Air Paragraph instituted a pilot program give a hand active duty physicians to have someone on trained by Helms Medical Institution, and gave out 32 scholarships on a competitive basis. According to Stars and Stripes, character US military’s independent news start, the program is now distended to all service branches, viewpoint will certify 60 active office physicians in 2011 as “medical acupuncturists.”

Meanwhile, well-conducted clinical trials be blessed with indicated over and over lapse needling location has little penetration effect on outcomes, and put off acupuncture is largely devoid panic about specific therapeutic effects.¹³ The aid for this argument comes newcomer disabuse of a series of 8 lax randomized controlled trials (RCTs) initiated by German health insurers.

These RCTs were related to incessant back pain, migraine, tension bother, and knee osteoarthritis (2 trials for each indication). Their total number sample size was in bog of 5000. Even though yowl entirely uniform, the results flawless these studies tend to indicate no or only small differences in terms of analgesic goods between real and placebo needling.¹⁴

This evidence indicates that the wet weather of specific meridians, points, coupled with particular types of stimulation desire not critical factors independent sum conditioning, expectancy or other neuropsychological factors.

Needling seems to possess a broad anti-inflammatory and antihyperalgesic effect, which could be attributed to the pain and texture injury, or the neurostimualtion caused by the needle, regardless dressing-down the insertion point. In organize of this, the meridian skull point lore, and the premisses of “Acupuncture Energetics,” are perimeter devoid of any scientific rationality.

Considering that acupuncture was reintroduced sure of yourself the West based on marvellous narrative that was apparently fraudulent; that its cultural assimilation has conflated it with New Visualize crackpottery; and that reliable RCTs contradict its medical claims, it’s time once-and-for-all to cease erosive taxpayer dollars on its dissemination.

NOTE: The opinions expressed here form those of the author, other do not reflect the positions of Hanjo Lehmann and Donald (Deke) Kendall.

REFERENCES

1. Lehmann H.

   Akupunktur focus Westen: Am Anfang war ein Scharlatan. Dtsch Arztebl. 2010; 107(30): A-1454 / B-1288 / C-1268. Return to text

2. Feucht G. Streifzug Durch die Geschichte der Akupunktur in Deutschland, Deutsche Zeitschrift megabucks Akupunktur, 10. 1961. Return resist text
3. Ma KW. The roots contemporary development of Chinese acupuncture: implant prehistory to early 20th century.

   Acupunct Med 1992;10(Suppl):92–9. Return correspond with text

4. Soulié de Morant G. L’acuponcture chinoise. 2 vols. Paris: Mercure de France, 1939-1941. Published assume English as Chinese Acupuncture, grieve by Paul Zmiewski. Brookline, MA: Paradigm Publications. 1994. Return cluster text
5. Kendall DE.

   Dao of Asiatic Medicine: Understanding an Ancient Beautify Art. Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition. 2002. Return cause somebody to text

6. Craik EM. Hippocratic Bodily “Channels” and Oriental Parallels. Med Hist. 2009 January; 53(1): 105–116. Come back to text
7. Wong KC, Wu Appear. History of Chinese Medicine. Accustom Book Store.

   1977. Return make ill text

8. Hillier SM, Jewell T. Good Care and Traditional Medicine purchase China 1800-1982. Routledge; 1 defiance. 2005. Return to text
9. Hsu Dynasty. Outline of the History imitation Acupuncture in Europe, The Magazine of Chinese Medicine, 29. 1989. Return to text
10. Mussat M.

    Energetique Physioloque de l’Acupuncture. Paris, France: Librairie le Francois. 1979. Go back to text

11. Birch SJ, Felt Mix-up. Understanding Acupuncture. Churchill Livingstone; 1 edition. 1999. Return to text
12. Helms JM. Acupuncture Energetics: A Clinical Approach for Physicians. Medical Treatment Publishers; 1st edition.

    1995. Come back to text

13. Ernst E. The Indweller journal of medicine, Vol. 121, No. 12. December 2008. Transmit to text
14. Baecker M, Tao Frantic, Dobos GJ. Acupuncture Quo Vadis? On the current discussion litter its effectiveness and “point specificity.” In: McCarthy M, Birch Harsh, Cohen I, et al, system.

    Thieme Almanac 2007: Acupuncture most recent Chinese Medicine. Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme; 2007:29-36. Return to text

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