照海 : Zhaohai : Shining Sea

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Confluent point of the Yin Qiao Mai, coupled with Lieque Lu-7
Binding point of the foot Shaoyin Sinews

Meetings:

Meeting of Kidney with Yin Qiao Mai

Location:

1 cun below the prominence of the medial malleolus, in the grrove formed by two ligamentous bundles of tibialis posterior anteriorly and flexor digitorum longus posteriorly. These may be highlighted by flexing and inverting the foot.

Needling:

Oblique insertion directed superiorly 0.3 - 0.5 cun

Classical Needling:

"The Shaoyin usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyin is to be pierced 2 fen deep and remain inserted for three exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of four fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of six exhalations, and it is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Benefits the throat
Nourishes the Kidneys and clears deficiency Heat
Regulates the Yin Qiao Mai
Calms the Shen
Regulates the Lower Jiao

TCM Indications:

• Swelling and pain of the throat, dry throat, Plumstone Qi (globus hystericus).
  
• Redness and pain of the eyes originating at the inner canthus, vision disturbed by seeing spots and stars, head wind, dizziness.
  
• Insomnia, somnolence, night-time epilepsy, sadness, fright, nightmares, five palms agitated and hot.
  
• Frequent urination, enuresis, dribbling urination in women, blood painful urinary dysfunction, oedema, constipation.
  
• Irregular menstruation, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, chronic cold of the uterus leading to infertility, difficult labour, persistent flow of lochia, post-partum pain in the umbilical region, red and white leucorrhoea, uterine prolapse.
  
• Itching of the genitals, sudden involuntary erection, seminal emission, Shan (疝) Disorder, hypogastric pain.
  
• Hot or cold sensation in the lower abdomen, Sudden Turmoil (霍亂, Huo Luan) Disorder, distension and fullness of the chest and abdomen, oppressive sensation of the body.
  
• Tightness and contraction of the inner aspect of the leg, weariness or pain of the four limbs, cold damp Leg Qi (腳氣, Jiao Qi), deficiency in the elderly, cramps of the feet and hands, hemiplegia.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Medial calcaneal branches of tibial nerve (S1 - S2)

Dermatome Segment: L4

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

One of the 36 vital points of Feng Yiyuan 馮一元 listed in the Wu Bei Zhi 武備志 (Treatise on Armament Technology) by Mao Yuanyi 茅元儀 (1621) (McCarthy, 2016, Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat).

A particularly painful strike causing immediate Qi drainage, confusion and potential mental illness later in life (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

Major Combinations:

• For most types of acute throat pain:
    First needle Baihui Du-20, then Taichong Liv-3, Zhaohai Kid-6 and Sanyinjiao Sp-6
    (Xi-Hong Fu, 席弘賦, Ode of Xi-Hong. First recorded in: Xu Feng, 徐鳳, 1439: Zhen Jiu Da Quan, 針灸大全, Complete Collection of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Swelling of the throat with inability to swallow:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Qiangu SI-2 and Zhongfeng Liv-4
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Night time epilepsy:
    Moxa Zhaohai Kid-6 and Shenmai Bl-62
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Zhen Jiu Yu Jing, 針灸聚英, Glorious Anthology of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Somnolence:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Taixi Kid-3, Baihui Du-20, Tianjing SJ-10, Erjian LI-2, Sanjian LI-3, Lidui St-45 and Ganshu Bl-18
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Uterine prolapse:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Shenmai Bl-62, Shuiquan Kid-5 and Ququan Liv-8
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Uterine prolapse:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Shaofu He-8, Taichong Liv-3 and Ququan Liv-8
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Uterine prolapse:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Ququan Liv-8 and Dadun Liv-1
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Cold Shan Disorder:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Dadun Liv-1
    (Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Bai Zheng Fu, 百症賦, Ode of a Hundred Symptoms).
  
  
• Lower abdominal pain from the seven kinds of Shan Disorder:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Sanyinjiao Sp-6 and Ququan Liv-8
    (Ode to Xi-Hong).
  
  
• Dark urine and obstruction of the water pathway:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Jingmen GB-25
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Heat sensation and pain of the hypogastrium:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Taixi Kid-3, Guanyuan Ren-4 and Weizhong Bl-40
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Constipation:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Taibai Sp-3 and Zhangmeng Liv-13
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Constipation:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Zhigou SJ-6
    (Yu Long Fu, 玉龍賦, Ode of the Jade Dragon. First recorded in Gao Wu, 高武, 1529: Zhen Jiu Yu Jing, 針灸聚英, Glorious Anthology of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Constipation:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Taibai Sp-3, Zhangmen Liv-13 and Zhigou SJ-6
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Diseases below the ankle:
    Zhaohai Kid-6 with Shenmai Bl-62
    (Yang Jizhou, 杨继洲, 1601: Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, 針灸大成, Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).

Notes:

The connection with the Yin Qiao Mai is derived from the Ling Shu Ch. 23, On Heat Diseases, which advises using this point to remove disease from the Yin Qiao Mai when the eyes are red and sore and this originates from the inner canthus.

It also recommends using the Yin Qiao Mai along with Dadu Liv-1 and bleeding the Luo for dysuria from a bulging disease (maybe prostate?).


Ling Shu Ch. 73, Each According to His Ability, suggests pricking (Wu & Wu, 2010) or applying Moxa (Unschuld, 2016) to the Qiao Mai when the location of a suffering is unknown. It warns that this point should be used for a woman and Shenmen Bl-62 on a man, and prohibits the reverse.

In Tung acupuncture the Shui Jing, Water Crystal, point (66.13) is located 1 cun inferior to this and is indicated for abdominal and uterine problems involving distension and masses (Chu, 2015).

Medieval phlebotomy point (Hans von Gersdorff, 1517: Feldtbüch der Wundartzney, www.nlm.nih.gov)

The name refers to a clear pool of water than can be a metaphorical reference to the eyes, similar to the Essential Subtleties of the Silver Sea, a classic of ophthalmology attributed to Sun Si-Miao. It may also be a reference to using a still pool of water as a mirror, used as a metaphor for self-reflection, mentioned in Dao De Jing Ch. 15:

"Who can make the muddy water clear?
Let it be still, and it will gradually become clear."

This connects this point with meditation and Neidan Inner Alchemy which often refer to the Extraordinary Vessels.

Personal experience has revealed that Shimian Ex-LE-15, located in the centre of the heel, is a powerful inducer of sleep when massaged. Being on the heel and between Shenmai Bl-62 and Shaohai Kid-6, it may be the original meeting point of the Qiao Mai. The skin, being thick here, may not have been conducive to needling through the heel, especially if trying to induce sleep, and so its locations were moved to either side. This could suggest that lower locations that can penetrate under the heel to this point may be better than the traditional locations that are just under the malleoli and enter the joint space here.

In Tibetan medicine:
Moxa point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)

In an interesting parallel, the Arabic word for Kaaba the holiest site in Islam, derives from the root Kaf-Ayn-Ba which refers to "a focal point where things/paths come together and create a balance" and is used in the Qu'ran in reference to kaabayn (5:6; the ankles/heels; Islam, 2023). This suggests a spiritual connection to the ankles/heels in Islam that parallels Zhuangzi's comment that "the True Man breathes from his heels" (Zhuangzi, book 6) and the origin of the Qiao Mai as an anatomical metaphor for what we use to walk on the Way (Dao / Tariqa).

Reference Notes:

Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.

For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here