针灸是针法和灸法的合称，就是用针具或艾叶在人体穴位进行刺激的一种医疗手段。

Acupuncture and moxibustion is a way of medical treatment by stimulating the acupoints of the human body with needles or the leaves of Chinese mugwort.

　   针灸起源于中国。据考古发现，在距今约4000年至10000年前的新石器时代，中国人的祖先就已经能够制作出一些比较精致的石器——砭石，用以剖开脓包，排脓放血，或刺激身体的一定部位以消除病痛。后来，这些方法逐渐发展成为针法，针具也由砭石发展到长短、大小、式样、材料各不相同的针具，如铜针、铁针、金针、银针等。灸法产生于火的发现和使用之后。在用火的过程中，人们发现身体某部位的病痛经火的烧灼、烘烤可以得到缓解或解除，继而这种利用热的刺激来治疗疾病的方法逐渐发展成为灸法。艾叶因易于燃烧兼具温通经脉作用而成为灸治的主要材料。

Acupuncture and moxibustion originated in China. According to archaeological discoveries, in the Neolithic Age about 4,000-10,000 years ago, the ancestors of Chinese people were already able to make refined stone needles to pierce pustules to let out purulent blood or stimulate certain parts of the body to relieve pains and illness. Later, these methods gradually evolved into the acupuncture therapy and the stone needles into needles of different lengths, sizes, styles and materials, such as copper, iron, gold and silver needles. Moxibustion was created after the discovery and use of fire. Surprised at the fact that some pains could be relieved or cured by the heat of fire, people invented a therapy to cure illnesses with the stimulation of heat, which later developed into moxibustion. Chinese mugwort, because of its inflammability and the function of warming up the channels in the human body, became the main material for the moxibustion therapy.

　   最早记录针灸学的文献是2000多年前的《黄帝内经》，书中详细记载了针灸的理论与技术。宋代针灸铜人的出现，将针灸学推向了一个新的高峰。

The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, a book written some 2,000 years ago, was the first one to record in great detail the theory and skills of acupuncture and moxibustion. The emergence of the “bronze manikin showing acupoints” in the Song Dynasty pushed the science of acupuncture and moxibustion to a new height.

　   针灸疗法适用范围广泛，极少有副作用。法国针灸协会主席安德海思博士认为，针灸可以明显减轻患者的症状和痛苦。针灸治疗有效的病种达307种，其中效果显著的有100 多种，涉及内、外、妇、儿、皮肤等各科，以神经、运动、免疫、内分泌等系统病症较为多见。1980年，联合国世界卫生组织提出了43种推荐针灸治疗的适应病症。

The therapy of acupuncture and moxibustion is widely applicable and almost has no side effect. According to Dr. Gilles Andrès, President of the French Association of Acupuncture, acupuncture and moxibustion can significantly reduce the symptoms and pains of the sufferers. Effective on as many as 307 kinds of illness, some 100 kinds in particular, the therapy is applied to internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and dermatology, etc., especially to diseases related to nerve, motor, immune, endocrine and some other systems. In 1980, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the use of acupuncture and moxibustion for the treatment of 43 different diseases.

　   针灸学的海外传播早在公元6世纪就开始了。到了20世纪中后期，随着中外文化交流的不断深入，针灸学也随之传到世界各地。1984年，世界卫生组织官员中岛宏宣布：“针灸医学已成为世界通行的一门新的医学学科。”1987年，世界针灸学会联合会成立，进一步促进了针灸在世界范围的发展。目前已有120多个国家和地区应用针灸为本国人民治病。 The science of acupuncture and moxibustion began its journey abroad as early as in the 6th century. By the mid-to-late 20th century when further cultural exchanges were made between China and foreign countries, the science of acupuncture and moxibustion was thus introduced to places all over the world. In 1984, Hiroshi Nakajima, an official in the WHO, proclaimed that acupuncture and moxibustion had become a new medical science recognized throughout the world. The year 1987 saw the founding of the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies, which has further enhanced the worldwide development of acupuncture and moxibustion. Today, acupuncture and moxibustion is practiced in more than 120 countries and regions as an accepted treatment modality.
　   针灸是在中国特定的自然与社会环境中发明并成长起来的一种中医疗法，蕴含着大量的实践观察、丰富的知识体系和高超的技术技艺。2010年，针灸被联合国教科文组织列入人类非物质文化遗产代表作名录。 Acupuncture and moxibustion, as a therapy born and brought up in the specific natural and social environments of China, embodies a lot of practical experience, a system of rich knowledge and a series of outstanding skills. In 2010, it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.