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Ying-Spring and Fire point
Sun Si-miao Ghost point (3rd trinity)
Exit point to Guanchong SJ-1
Horary point of the Pericardium channel
Nine Points for Returning Yang (First Trinity: Separation)
Between the second and third metacarpal bones, proximal to the metacarpo-phalangeal joint, in a depression at the radial side of the third metacarpal bone.
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 cun
"The Jueyin usually has much Blood and little Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be bled.
"The hand Yin and Yang receive their Qi via nearby paths so their Qi arrive swiftly. The depth of piercing must not exceed 2 fen and must not remain inserted for longer than one exhalation" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of three&z, and (the needle) is retained for a duration of six exhalations. It is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).
Clears Heat from the Pericardium and revives consciousness
Clears Heat from the Heart and calms the Shen
Harmonises the Stomach and clears Heat from the Middle Jiao
Clears the Ying-Nutritive level and cools Blood
Shared with Zhigou SJ-6. Balanced by ䷧ (Ququan Liv-8 or Xiaxi GB-43).
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
Superficial Innervation: Median nerve branches to fingers from C6 - C8 and ulnar nerve (communicating to median branch) from C8 - T1
Dermatome Segment: C7
Listed in the Wu Bei Zhi 武備志 (Treatise on Armament Technology) by Mao Yuanyi 茅元儀 (1621), Article 21: Delayed Death Touches with Twelve-Hour (Shichen 時辰) Diagrams. This point is associated with You 酉 Cock (5-7 pm) and if pressed during this time while striking Lingxu Kid-24 is said to cause death within 2 days from severe trauma to the left innominate artery (McCarthy, 2016, Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat).
Striking this point adds Heat to the Heart but its main martial application is as the point where the Qi emanates from the hands, whether healing or disruptive, or if the hand is open or closed (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).
Important point in qigong where qi is projected from the hands.
Ling Shu Ch. 6 suggests piercing the Ying points (and Shu points according to Unschuld, 2016, but not according to Wu & Wu, 201) of the Yin channels if a disease is in the Yin of the Yin realm (e.g. the Zang organs) suggesting this point (and Daling Pc-7) in diseases of the Heart. The Heart had no channel in Ling Shu, if disease had reached that far death was considered immanent.
Ling Shu Ch. 9, On Ends and Beginnings, advises that in the case of Heat associated with receding Yin Qi the Yang conduit should be pierced once and the Yin conduits twice. Based on other recommendation to use the He-Sea of the Yang conduits (Ch. 19) and the Yuan-Source with the Ying-Spring points (Chs. 6, 19 and 24) to clear Heat from the Zangfu, that would suggest this point, Daling Pc-7 and Tianjing SJ-10 as a protocol to clear Heat in the Pericardium/San Jiao. Next it advises that in Cold associated with receding Yang Qi the Yang should be pierced twice and the Yin once but no such obvious protocol is evident for this situation. Another interpretation that would match with common practice today, based on the idea of odd numbers being Yang/moving/clearing while even numbers are Yin/tonifying/reinforcing, is that the points on the channel to be cleared are pierced on one side only while those on the channel to be tonified are pierced bilaterally.
Ling Shu Ch. 19, on the Four Seasonal Qi, advises selecting the Jing-Well and Ying-Spring openings in winter, piercing deeply and retaining for a while. However, the character for "retain" 留 is a combination of 田 "a field," possibly referring to the idea of waiting for things to grow, and 卯 which is the 4th Earthly Branch (Mao, Rabbit, ䷡, 5-7 am, Large Intestine) and said to derive from a Shang Dynasty glyph, originally referring to a blood sacrifice (a person or animal cut in half) before coming to mean bloodletting and "pouring out" (Smith, 2011). This might suggest it was actually referring to bleeding these points, and maybe even letting the points bleed for a time rather than retaining the needle.
Ling Shu Ch. 44, On the Qi Moving in Accordance with the Norms, indicates that the Ying-Spring points should be pierced in spring or when the disease is associated with a change in complexion. The seasonal aspect should not be interpreted literally as it describes the colours as "controlled by spring". It also describes the morning, afternoon, evening and night cycle of the day to be like the four seasons of the year with morning corresponding to spring. Only five channels are discussed so this point must have served the for the Heart too.
Ghost Points:
The third trinity of Ghost Points, consisting of this point, Chengjiang Ren-24 and Jiache St-6, is mainly concerned with extreme isolation as the body attempts to deprive itself of any stimulation in order move into a state of suicidal ideation. It generally refers to institutionalised situations, including catatonic states. In a modern clinical setting this trinity is probably better represented by depression with social isolation, loss of appetite or interest in stimulation, tension in the jaw and extreme rumination.
Guicu, Ghost Cave, refers to a level of isolation when the person covers themselves or wants to sit alone in the dark. Their inability to absorb results in vomiting bile, diarrhoea with undigested food and malabsorption. They will probably need to be fed through a drip. They may have a jaundiced hue, alternate between hot and cold and experience episodes of extreme fear.
This point is generally bled (Yuen, 2005, 3 Spirits & 7 Souls).
In the Twelve Branches the Ghost Points follow a cycle from top to bottom with this point representing Wei, 未 and the Small Intestine channel (Ayal, 2021, The 13 Ghost Points 十三鬼穴).
The Nine Points for Returning Yang are used for assisting those close to death. They may be used to resuscitate collapse from deserted Yang, or if it is their time, to assist them in their passage. They are divided into three trinities, related to separation, transition and reunion.
This point belongs to the first trinity, related to separation. They open the orifices, restrain Yang, calm the Shen, strengthen the Middle Burner and establish Heart/Kidney communication. Symptoms include:
- Separation from physical sustenance: food, air, sleep
- Breathing becomes laboured and slows down
- Appetite goes down
- Wants to sleep more but sleep becomes restless with tossing and turning.
This point calms the Shen. It is a major point for stopping bleeding and since the Blood holds the Shen it is also a major point for stopping the Shen from slipping away. It is also a powerful point for addressing fear and apprehension of change.
J. Yuen lectures on death/dying and the spirit of points, posted as Facebook comments, 19 Dec 2020.
In the Maoshan Daoist tradition, when the 12 earthly branches, I Ching trigrams and elements are mapped onto the hand the knuckle of the middle finger next to this point equates to the branch 丑 Chou, the Trigram ☴ Xun, Wind and the element of Earth (Read, 2020, FB Post; 17QQ.com, 2020, Eight trigrams and twelve Branches of the earth palm).
Medieval phlebotomy point (Hans von Gersdorff, 1517: Feldtbüch der Wundartzney, www.nlm.nih.gov)
In ayurvedic medicine:
Talahridya marma point
Size: 1/2 angula (cun)
Structure: Muscular
Effect of Injury: Early death (sadhyapranahar marma)
(Harish Johari, 1996, Ayurvedic Massage, Sanatan Society; Anupama Bhattacharya, n.d. Marma Shastra)
Lad and Durve (2008) in Marma Points of Ayurveda call this point Tala Hrida and associate it with the doshas: Prana Vayu, Vyana Vayu, Udana Vayu, Sadhaka Pitta and Avalambaka Kapha.
They give the following functions:
- Balances heart and mind
- Harmonises emotions and relieves stress
- Regulates functions of the lungs and diaphragm
- Benefits the hand
In Tibetan medicine:
Bleeding point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings).
This point is also one of the "Six Wind Points" which can be stimulated with warmth from oils, hands, compresses or hot stones to treat disorders of Wind, seen in Tibetan medicine as problems of anxiety, insomnia, nervousness, mood swings, irritability, stiffness, memory loss, and trembling as well as discomfort and pain in the lower back, hips and joints. The other Wind Points are Baihui Du-20, Dazhui Du-14, Tiantu Ren-22, Shanzhong Ren-17 and Yongquan Kid-1 (Tibet House US, https://tibethouse.us/stress-tibetan-medicine/, Accessed 18th May 2019).
In Thai massage:
Acupressure point indicated for neck pain/injury/arthritis, motion sickness, nausea and vomiting (Salguero & Roylance, 2011, Encyclopedia of Thai Massage)
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
Steve Woodley Acupuncture & Traditional Medicine
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