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Noach Bittelman, L.Ac.

A Brief History of Master Tung Acupuncture & Dr. Young Wei Chieh

Over the past 15 years, the international acupuncture community has become aware of the system of acupuncture knows as Master Tung Acupuncture. The Master Tung system can be traced back to Master Tung Ching Ch'ang, a brilliant acupuncturist who fled to Taiwan from Mainland China as the communists were taking control of China. When Master Tung left China, he took with him the book which contained his family's secret acupuncture system; over the years, Master Tung added his own findings to this system, turning it into a complete system of acupuncture. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Master Tung Ching Ch'ang decided that the time had come to teach his family's acupuncture system to outsiders, and in 1973 he published the first book revealing the Master Tung point system: Master Tung's Upright System of Extra Points (Dong Shi Zheng Jing Qi Xue).


While Master Tung Ching Ch'ang taught numerous students over the years, it was only to those students who studied with him in the late 1960s and early 1970s that he taught the Master Tung family acupuncture system. In the earlier years, Master Tung primarily used acupuncture points from the classic 14-channel system, and this is what he taught to his students from those years. Dr. Young Wi Chieh studied very closely with Master Tung during this later part of Master Tung's career, learning both 14-channel and Tung style acupuncture systems from the great master, becoming Master Tung's closest disciple.


About Dr. Young Wei Chieh


Dr. Young Wei Chieh, born in Shandong, China, grew up in Taiwan, and began learning Chinese Medicine at a young age from within his own family. After spending many years studying acupuncture with Master Tung, in 1975, Dr. Young published an acupuncture text titled Zhen Jiu Jing Wei, in which he detailed many of the principles of the Master Tung system of acupuncture. Master Tung read and approved this text before he passed on in 1975.


In 1980, Dr. Young published the text Master Tung Acupuncture, giving much more detailed explanations of this system of acupuncture. In 1986, Dr. Young came to the United States at the invitation of Miriam Lee, obm, whom Dr. Young had tutored when she came to Taiwan to learn with Master Tung. For six months in Palo Alto, California, Dr. Young gave bi-weekly lectures in the Master Tung acupuncture system. These lectures initiated the spread of Master Tung acupuncture in the United States.


In 1990, Dr. Young became the first Doctor of Chinese Medicine from Taiwan to be invited to teach in mainland China. He lectured in Shanghai on Tung's Acupuncture, thereby initiating the spread of Master Tung Acupuncture in China.


Dr. Young Wei Chieh has practiced Chinese Medicine for over 40 years, and has seen more than 400,000 patients. He has spent decades uncovering the theoretical basis behind Master Tung Acupuncture, and has successfully expanded the application of many of the Master Tung points far beyond their original uses. Dr. Young's refinement and expansion of the Master Tung bleeding techniques is legendary in the acupuncture world, allowing him to successfully resolve complicated and difficult problems with elegance and ease.


In addition to his mastery of both Master Tung and 14-channel acupuncture systems, Dr. Young Wei Chieh is a scholar of the classical literature of Chinese Medicine, having written commentaries on the Huang Di Nei Jing and the Ling Shu. He is also recognized as a master herbalist and accomplished student of the I-Ching, having studied with Liu Du Zhou, China's late master of the Shang Han Lun, and Zhu Bo Kun, the late master of the I-Ching.


Dr. Young has written 30 books on all aspects of Chinese Medicine, published prolifically in Chinese Medical journals, and lectured extensively to Chinese Medicine doctors across the globe including Spain, Germany, Taiwan, United States and Israel. He has been awarded distinguished prizes for his accomplishments and contributions to the field of Chinese Medicine, is regularly invited to be the keynote speaker at major international Chinese Medicine conferences and continues to share his new discoveries with eager audiences around the world.


Effects on the Acupuncture World


It is no exaggeration to say that Dr. Young Wei Chieh has single-handedly revolutionized the acupuncture world. Through his lectures, classes, books, and articles, he has brought the Master Tung acupuncture system to thousands of acupuncturists across the globe, introducing practitioners to a system which is much more powerful than the 14-channel system of acupuncture.


Dr. Young in Israel


Dr. Young came to Israel in 2013 and taught the Complete Foundation Course in Master Tung Acupuncture. He is planning to return to Israel to teach an advanced level class in the spring of 2018. To be eligible to participate in Dr. Young's advanced class, students must have taken the foundation course in Master Tung Acupuncture. The next foundation course will be taught by one of Dr. Young's senior disciples, Noach Yehuda Bittelman, LAc. in November 2018 in Jerusalem. More information about the foundation class can be found in English here or in Hebrew here.



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