To many people living abroad, acupuncture is merely a way to relieve pain, whereas in China it is used to cure a much wider range of illnesses. In the hands of Wang Xiushen, a Beijing-based traditional Chinese doctor, a one-metre-long acupuncture needles have become a universal medical instrument.

Lu Yongzhong, a 43-year-old Chinese farmer, had his hips and lower spine smashed by a cement block weighing 400 kilograms, when he worked as a builder in Chengdu last April.

When he was in a local hospital, problems with the nerves on the lower part of the spine caused severe pain in the right foot and muscles. The doctors suggested amputating the right foot, to which Lu refused.

After three months, the muscles on the right foot and hand had atrophied. Even worse, the hospital told him that there was nothing they could do and asked him to leave.

Lu recalled those desperate days with a bright smile on his face in a treatment room at the Wang Xiushen Chinese Medicine Clinic, located at Huangqu Village near Dingfuzhuang in Chaoyang District.

After half a year's treatment there, with acupuncture and herbal medicine, not only has the pain become very slight, but he is also able to walk for more than two kilometres.

Wang, 78, established his clinic in 1981. He learned traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) from his grandfather and an imperial doctor from the age of eight.

Still following his teachers' words, he does not smoke nor drink, practices qigong, and applies the needle to himself before actually starting to treat patients.

For an ordinary Chinese acupuncturist, the eyes, the area near the heart, and the tongue are forbidden zones. But Wang inserts needles into the eyes to treat problems such as cataract and eye nerve atrophy. For some very serious and urgent heart problems, he says he needs to use the needle in the heart area. He applied the needle to the tongue and under the tongue to treat loss of speech due to brain thrombus.

What's more, Wang uses the acupuncture needle to pierce parts of the limbs, and puts long needles under the skin to cure serious problems such as muscle atrophy and paralysis.

Apart from ordinary needles measuring 2.5 cm, Wang uses long needles measuring from 12 centimetres up to 1.2 metres.

Li Xin, 36, a TCM doctor at the Ping Xin Tang Chinese Medicine Clinic, said he knows that the needle can pierce through some parts of the body without doing harm. But he has not seen anyone who could apply the needle to the eyes, the heart area and the tongue.

"If that is possible, he would need to have an extraordinary understanding of those parts of the body," claimed the doctor.

In a two-part video CD published by the Beijing Sport University, Wang talks about the theory of his treatment, and demonstrated how he uses his needles in the treatment of slipped discs, brain thrombus, half-body atrophy, rheumatism, conjunctivitis, brain atrophy and infantile paralysis. There are also interviews with patients.

Some of the video looks terrifying as one patient who had brain thrombus and had lost his speech, had the needle applied to the tongue, pricking the surface 40-50 times and the underside three times.

According to Wang, the treatment has often helped people who cannot speak after a stroke to recover their speech.

For some with muscle atrophy, Wang uses long needles to pierce through body parts and pulls a long needle that pierces through a patient's limbs, and pull the long needle back and forth several times.

"That gives strong stimulation to the part of the body and improves the circulation of energy and blood," explained the doctor.

"Sometimes it is quite painful, especially in the more sensitive parts of the body, such as the feet," revealed former construction worker Lu. "But all in all, the pain of the needle is much better than the pain brought on by my injuries," he added.

Another patient, Wang Zhenjiang, a Beijing-based transportation manager, had severe thrombus in his legs, making him bedridden. He also had experience of failed treatment in local hospitals, but had successful treatment with Wang Xiushen. Wang considered the doctor his saviour because he also helped him in an emergency case this year.

"I tried acupuncture at other places, too," said the patient. "But doctor Wang's needles have a sensation that is different from other places. He uses the needle to such a point that you always feel something, mostly distending and sour sensations."

Doctor Wang is aware that almost nobody else uses the needle like he does. He thinks a good acupuncturist should use his needles with a steady hand, at the accurate point, and with enough resolution.

His small clinic receives 20-40 patients a day. There are two simple treatment rooms, each with six beds. The walls of the rooms are fully decorated with various honours he has received, both in Chinese and English.

But the septuagenarian doctor now worries about having no one to inherit his skills, having his own exacting conditions for a good student: "He must be a graduate or above from a specialized Chinese medicine university. He should be perceptive and dare to try the needle on himself."

Wang Xiushen treats patients on the mornings of Monday to Saturday. 155 Huangqu Village, Chaoyang District. 8581-6320. 155

Other hospitals and clinics to get acupuncture treatment: Ping Xin Tang Chinese Medicine Clinic, 8:30 am-5:30 pm, Monday-Saturday. 8:30-11:30 am, Sunday. 218-2, Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District. 6523-5566. 218-2

Hope Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), 9 am-5 pm, Monday-Sunday. Longtou Apartment. 6540-8655. 8

(China Daily 03/17/2006 page14)