Question

which pointy pursuit was developed in china and is commonly used for pain relief

Answer 1

Physicians and psychiatrists—to say nothing of patients suffering from psychic disorders—have long searched for pharmacological ways to ease emotional suffering, even if that suffering could never be medicated away entirely. In the Victorian era, the drug of choice was laudanum, a high-octane mix of ethanol and opium that packed just the chemical wallop it sounds it would. The drug was used as a painkiller, an antidepressant, and an antihysteric, and it often worked quite well—provided you overlooked the fact that it was also wildly addictive and frequently lethal