The Law of 5 Elements
Artist
Designer Unknown
Artist
J.R. Worsley
United Kingdom, 1923 - 2003
Date1972
MediumOffset Lithograph
Dimensions30 x 21 3/4 in. (76.2 x 55.2 cm)
ClassificationsPoster
Credit LinePoster House Permanent Collection
Object numberPH.6250
DescriptionThe charts on this poster explain the theory of Five-Element Acupuncture, believed to have been introduced to the West by British acupuncturist Professor J. T. Worsley in the 1960s; it was intended to be hung in the medical offices of acupuncturists. Worsley traveled to Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea in the 1950s and ‘60s to further his studies in osteopathy, naturopathy, and acupuncture. There he came across the Five-Element system that looks at every aspect of a person’s physical, mental, and spiritual state to make a diagnosis. In 1971, after Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was successfully anesthetized with acupuncture during an emergency surgery in China, the technique became all the rage in the United States. The Worsley Institute in Portland, Oregon, is one of the places that still trains acupuncturists in this method and the poster continues to be used in acupuncture practices.On View
Not on view
