PERCUSSOR HAMMER, DOUBLE ENDED WITH ACUPUNCTURE NEEDLES ON EACH END, IN ORIGINAL CARD BOX
Inscription
DERMAL NEEDLES/ (ALIAS SEVEN-STAR NEEDLES: PLUM-BLOSSOM NEEDLES) / HAMMER TYPE, DOUBLE-ENDED / [in Chinese characters:] Hautuo Brand / This needle is used to tap the skin to stimulate the nerves, producing a reflex effect that helps achieve therapeutic results. It is particularly effective for hypertension and pain related to joints and nerves.
Production date
1965-2003
Production organisations
CHINA NATIONAL CHEMICAL IMPORT & EXPORT CORP
Labels
This plum blossom needle box is marked with the brand name Hua Tuo (Hwato). More than a simple trademark, the name draws on Hua Tuo’s reputation in Chinese medical history to give the product historical depth and professional authority.
By contrast, the museum’s original catalogue described the object as a “double ended percussor hammer with acupuncture needles”. While accurate in formal terms, this classification places the object within a Western biomedical framework and overlooks the cultural meanings carried by its Chinese context.
Additionally, the trademark belonged to the Suzhou Medical Appliance Factory, while export was handled by the Shanghai Branch of the China National Chemicals Import & Export Corporation. This suggests that acupuncture did not circulate globally as a complete medical system, but was translated through branding and packaging into a form that was easier to recognise and sell. This strategy attempts to establish authority and credibility in cross-cultural circulation, yet its effectiveness remains open to question. It may have increased acupuncture’s recognisability in Western markets, but it also promoted a form of acceptance shaped by translation and simplification, rather than by a fuller understanding of Chinese medical knowledge on its own terms.
Linhui Shi, Hidden Histories MA Project Researcher
