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Fran Lu

The incredible story of a five-year-old girl who applied acupuncture needles to the hand of a family member like an expert, has stunned mainland social media.
The girl’s mother, surnamed Yu, said her daughter had learned the technique of inserting fine needles in patients to treat their health problems, from her grandmother, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) doctor, every weekend for years.
Yu said her daughter had mastered how to sterilise the needles, and smoothly and steadily insert them in the correct points. She had also learned other TCM therapies such as cupping and Tui Na massage.
TCM is based on the belief that the human body has more than 2,000 acupuncture pressure points connected to meridians, which form channels through which a person’s energy, or qi, flows.
Stimulating these points helps manage a person’s health.

Both acupuncture and cupping are used on the points to stimulate the patient’s qi.
Cupping is a therapy in which the practitioner creates a flame inside a round cup to create pressure then places it on the body to create a sucking force that is believed to remove “blockages” and restore the flow of energy.
From pop diva Lady Gaga to Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps, many celebrities outside China have become fans of the treatment.
In recent years, the therapy has been widely embraced by a younger generation of Chinese as a way to relieve stress, but also as a fashion statement.
Some like the red circular marks on their bodies that are left by cupping, calling them the “coolest tattoos”, and intentionally wearing revealing clothing to flaunt the marks.
Tui Na, which involves using fingers, hands, elbows or other body parts to massage the patient, again to help with energy flow, also requires knowledge of acupoints, plus a mastery of the appropriate pressure.
As news of the five-year-old “practitioner” from Shandong province in eastern China went viral in January, some people expressed safety concerns because acupuncture requires accuracy in the depth and angle of the needles.
“The girl who applied acupuncture on another person is a daredevil, and the person who received the treatment was even more so,” a person on Douyin said.
Yu said her daughter’s treatments were always carried out under the supervision of her grandmother.

In China, to be a licensed TCM professional, a person is required to have either studied it at university or have learned from a licensed TCM doctor with at least 15 years experience.
They should learn from the doctor for at least three years before assisting at a professional TCM practice for an average of eight years, and have their apprenticeship notarised.


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Trending in China

Video of China girl, 5, inserting acupuncture needles into hand under guidance of TCM grandmother stuns social media

A five-year-old girl in China has stunned mainland social media by learning to practice Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture, and more, from her grandmother. Photo: SCMP composite/Douyin

The youngster knows at exactly which points and angles she is required to insert the needles. Photo: Douyin

Some online observers have expressed safety concerns due to the girl’s tender age, but her mother says she only practices TCM under the watchful eye of her grandmother. Photo: Douyin

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News

People & Culture

Child sterilises needles, inserts smoothly, steadily, knows correct points
Perfects skill after years of practice, also masters cupping, massage


A five-year-old girl in China who learned to practise the ancient technique of acupuncture from her Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor grandmother has amazed mainland social media.


Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Children in China

Michael Phelps

Video of China girl, 5, inserting acupuncture needles into hand under guidance of TCM grandmother stuns social media

Child sterilises needles, inserts smoothly, steadily, knows correct points Perfects skill after years of practice, also masters cupping, massage

Child sterilises needles, inserts smoothly, steadily, knows correct points

Perfects skill after years of practice, also masters cupping, massage