"At least five needle fragments were visible within the broken jade tube section. "This definitively identifies them as one type of the 'Nine Needles' described in ancient medical texts," explained Wang Chuning, a doctoral researcher at Peking University, according to Xinhua News Agency.The significance of this steel innovation was emphasized by experts. "Iron needles rust easily, risking infection. Gold or silver needles are too soft and difficult to make this thin," noted Zhou Qi, a research fellow at the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, adding that steel needles enabled more sophisticated techniques and longer retention in the body, representing a major leap from stone or crude metal tools. "This is the" Gu Man, director of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, told the Global Times.According to Gu, the discovery proves that advanced "frying" steel technology had already been applied to acupuncture needle production by the Western Han Dynasty at the latest.