京門 : Jingmen : Capital Gate

Location Guides:

Classifications:

Front Mu of the Kidneys
Trigger point (Travell & Simons, 1998, Trigger Point Manual)

Meetings:

Meeting of Gall Bladder with Bladder Divergent, Kidney Divergent, Gall Bladder Divergent and Liver Divergent

Location:

Below the lateral aspect of the ribcage, anterior and inferior to the free end of the 12th rib. The Systematic Classic locates it in the lumbar region lateral to the spine, one cun and eight fen below the region of the free ribs. This is considerably different to the modern accepted location.

Needling:

Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun

Warnings:

In thin subjects deep needling may penetrate the peritoneal cavity.

Classical Needling:

"The Shaoyang usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyang is to be pierced 4 fen deep and remain inserted for five exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of three fen and (the needle) is retained for a duration of seven exhalations. It is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).

TCM Actions:

Tonifies the Kidneys and regulates the water passages
Fortifies the Spleen and regulates the Intestines
Strengthens the lumbar region

TCM Indications:

• Borborygmus, cold or damp (dong) diarrhoea, abdominal distension, vomiting, pain of he lower abdomen, painful Shan (疝) Disorder.
  
• Difficult urination, dark urine, swelling of the face, failure of the water passages to flow, desire to drink.
  
• Chills and fever, disgruntled with inability to catch the breath.
  
• Weakness of the spine, lumbar pain with inability to stand for long, pain of the lateral costal region and back, pain of the inner aspect of the shoulder blade,pain of the hip.

Neuroanatomy:

Superficial Innervation: Lateral cutaneous thoracic nerve from T12

Dermatome Segment: T12

Trigger Point Associations:

Muscle:
Latissimus dorsi (inferior) and "belch button"

Location Notes:
Inferior latissimus dosi trigger point should be located slightly superior and posterior on the latissimus dorsi muscle. "Belch button" is not consistently located on all people or found in a consistent location but below the angle of the 12th rib is the most common.

Pain Referral Pattern:
Latissimus dorsi: To subcostal region and anterior aspect of the shoulder.
"Belch Button": produces belching on pressure and possibly projectile vomiting in severe cases

Indications:
Mid-thoracic backache that is unresponsive to stretching or change of movement (latissimus dorsi) or stomach upset with gas ("belch button")

Martial Applications & Effects of Injury:

Striking this points sends a shock
wave which damages the kidneys. Struck hard, it will cause death through kidney failure, light to moderate strikes will cause bleeding from the penis and great pain in the kidney area (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).

In seizing martial arts (Qin Na) striking the lower back at approximately at this point is a method of striking the organs (Da Qi Guan, 打器官) in order to injure the kidneys (Yang, 2004, Analysis of Shaolin Chin Na, 2nd Edition).

This is one of the eight non-striking or forbidden points in Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Described as "The sides of the diaphragm" by Olson (2010, The Complete Guide to Northern Praying Mantis Kung Fu) and "the false ribs" by Wong Honfan (1946; in Ravenswood Academy, 2020, The Eight Forbidden Strikes of Praying Mantis Fist).

Major Combinations:

• Cold or Damp diarrhoea with undigested food in the stool:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Rangu Kid-2 and Yinlingquan Sp-9
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Cold or Damp diarrhoea with body pain:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Kunlun Bl-60
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Dark urine and obstruction of the water pathway:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Zhaohai Kid-6
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).
  
  
• Swelling of the lower abdomen:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Ligou Liv-5 and Zhongfeng Liv-4
    (Wang Zhizhong, 王執中, 1220: Zhen Jiu Zi Sheng Jing, 針灸資生經, Classic of Supporting Life with Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Lumbar pain with inability to stand for long or move:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Xingjian Liv-2
    (Haungfu Mi, 皇甫謐, 282: Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing, 針灸甲乙經, Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion).
  
  
• Lumbar pain with tension of the spine:
    Jingmen GB-25 with Zhishi Bl-52
    (Sun Simiao, 孫思邈, 625: Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方, Essential Prescriptions Worth A Thousand Gold).

Zhou Yi Hexagram:

䷆ Shi 師 The Army.

Trigrams: Kan (Water) below, Kun (Earth) above.

Danger within, receptivity without — the peril of conflict is contained by the yielding ground of the people. This is the army: danger organised and disciplined within a receptive structure.

Nuclear Trigrams: Lines 2-3-4 form Zhen (Thunder). Lines 3-4-5 form Kun (Earth). Beneath the army, there is thunder (movement, arousal) and earth (ground, support). The hidden message: the army is movement grounded in the people. Without the earth, the thunder is just noise.

Judgement:
貞，丈人，吉無咎。
Augury. A seasoned man is auspicious, no trouble.
Moxa is especially useful here, but seek an experienced practitioner for a good result without complication.

Overall: The army is dangerous (Kan), but it is contained within the people (Kun). The general is the single yang line that gives shape to the mass. If directed by a seasoned general, the army is a force for order, the treatment can be effective. Without these, it is a mob.

Lines:

Image:
地中有水，師。君子以容民畜眾。
Water within the earth: Shi. Thus the gentleman nourishes the people and accumulates the masses.

The image is of water hidden within the earth — the army is hidden within the people. The gentleman does not parade his forces. He nourishes (容, rong) the people and accumulates (畜, xu) the masses. The army is not separate from society; it is the organized strength of society itself.

Acupuncture Point Connections:
Shared with Zhongji Ren-3.
Inverted into ䷇ (Taixi Kid-3 or Feiyang Bl-58).
Opposed by ䷌ (Xinshu Bl-15 or Xiaochangshu Bl-27).

Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
Translations are my own, assisted by DSeek and compared to Richard Rutt's interpretion (2002).

Notes:

The Front Mu points make likely locations for application of leeches to reduce fevers according to François Broussais' (1772-1838) philosophy who believed in placing them over the diseased organs to reduce inflammation (Greenstone, 2010, The history of bloodletting, BCMJ, Vol. 52, No. 1, Pp 12-14).

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