G1A / G1N: A Conceptual Framework for Naming Practices and Epistemology in Global Needling Systems

Abstract This paper proposes the G1A/G1N conceptual framework for analyzing transformations in contemporary global needling systems. The framework distinguishes between two ideal types based on naming practices and epistemological alignment with the acupuncture tradition. Generation One Acupuncture (G1A) refers to individually founded needling systems worldwide that operate under the name acupuncture (or its equivalents in other languages). Such systems typically claim nominal continuity with the acupuncture tradition and retain or re-contextualize theoretical paradigms derived from classical Chinese medicine. Generation One Needling (G1N) refers to individually founded needling systems whose founders deliberately avoid the term acupuncture, adopting alternative nomenclature while interpreting needling mechanisms through anatomical or neurophysiological frameworks within a biomedical epistemic order. The distinction between G1A and G1N does not rest on ethnicity or geography but on naming practices and epistemological positioning in relation to the acupuncture tradition. Both categories function as ideal types rather than essentialist classifications. Keywords: Generation One; Acupuncture; Needling Therapies; Naming Practices; Ideal Types; Medical Epistemology; Science and Technology Studies (STS)