A Pointed Question
So... do you think vampires are affected by acupuncture?
Long story short. In the book Ancient Inventions, there's a section on ancient medicine, of which acupuncture is one field that's been around a while. It has some diagrams that were originally done by Wang Weiyi.
Who is the main character in this movie, Master of Needles.
The movie is relatively slow-moving but still pretty cool; we get to see ancient medicine, politics, and a sane if sometimes strained husband and wife relationship that has a happy ending. I give the movie particular props for reflecting the mindset of a guy who's so nerdily into his study of medicine that he misses the politics moving around him until it's almost too late to survive.
…Mind, I saw the political trap one minister laid for him as soon as it was set out, but I have an odd habit of reading all kinds of historical tidbits, including certain laws on coinage in the various empires. A dedicated doctor honestly might not have known.
So the movie's interesting in and of itself. But poking around the subject leads to further interesting facts. For example, that acupuncture is done differently in China, Korea, and Japan, for one; I'm still reading up on details but apparently Chinese acupuncture tends to use larger needles, Japan does more work on the scalp, and the Korean form may also poke in various herbal medicines and bee venom. (Which is a verified treatment for some kinds of arthritis, which is a real problem when you spend your life doing heavy-lifting kinds of work like farming or swinging swords.)
Here's one potentially interesting bit for fantasy writers: China used silver needles. Korea, however, tended to use copper. Given the common monster vulnerabilities in fiction, this is important.
So. Are vampires affected by acupuncture, or acupressure? Could a skilled martial artist take one down with pressure point jabs, thus evening the odds between supernatural strength and mere mortals? How about a werewolf? Other monsters?
After all, in the original Dracula, Van Helsing was a medical doctor. Who's to say doctors in other times and places weren't also monster hunters?
(Yes, this is part of an Idea....)