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Shu-Stream and Wood point
Confluent point of the Du Mai, coupled with Shenmai Bl-62
Mother point of the Small Intestine channel
On the ulnar border of the hand, in the substantial depression proximal to the head of the fifth metacarpal bone.
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 2 cun, directed towards Sanjian L.I.-3.
Needle with the hand in a loose fist so the metacarpal bones are lying in the same place, especially if needling towards the opposite side of the hand
"The Taiyang 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 two fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of two exhalations, and it is moxaed with one cone" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).
Benefits the occiput, neck and back
Activates the channel and alleviates pain
Clears Wind and Heat and treats malaria
Calms the Shen and treats epilepsy
Clears Heat and benefits the sesory orifices
Regulates the Du Mai
Superficial Innervation: Ulnar nerve (digital branch) from C8 and T1
Dermatome Segment: C8
Not easy to get at unless controlling the hand in a lock, a strike here will cause great pain and Qi drainage as well as non-communication between Heaven and Earth, the upper and lower body, causing confusion of the senses, tension in the body and an adverse effect on the Liver (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).
Trigrams: Zhen (Thunder) below, Li (Fire) above.
Movement within, clarity without — thunder beneath fire. The arousing movement is illuminated by clarity. This is biting through: the active, decisive removal of an obstacle that stands in the way of union.
Nuclear Trigrams: Lines 2-3-4 form Gen (Mountain). Lines 3-4-5 form Kan (Water). Beneath the biting through, there is stillness (Gen) and danger (Kan). The hidden message: the obstacle is not trivial. There is danger in the removal, and it requires the stillness of careful judgement.
Judgement:
噬嗑：亨。利用獄。
Biting Through. Success. Favourable to use the law.
There is an obstacle standing in the way of union. It must be bitten through. This requires clarity (Li) and decisive action (Zhen). It is not a time for compromise. It is a time for the law, for the decisive removal of what blocks the way.
Lines:
| Line | Yin/Yang | Image | Literal Translation | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yang | 屄校滅足，無咎 | Shackles cover the toes. No trouble. | Yang at the bottom. The beginning of the bite. The punishment is light — shackles on the toes. It prevents further transgression. No trouble because the correction is applied early. |
| 2 | Yin | 噬膚滅鼻，無咎 | Biting through flesh, covering the nose. No trouble. | Yin at 2, central and correct. The bite is deeper — through the flesh. The nose is covered, meaning the bite is thorough. No trouble because the correction is appropriate to the offence. |
| 3 | Yin | 噬腊肉，遇毒。小吝，無咎 | Biting through dried meat, encountering poison. Small Regret, no trouble. | The threshold. The obstacle is old and tough — dried meat. There is poison in it. Small Regret because the task is unpleasant, but no trouble because it must be done. Regret because the stagnation is unpleasant, not because the action is wrong. |
| 4 | Yang | 噬乾肉，得金矢，利艱貞，吉 | Biting through dried meat with bone, obtaining a metal arrow. Favourable to persevere in hardship. Gain. | The ruler line. Yang at 4. The obstacle is hardest here — dried meat with bone. But the metal arrow is found: the tool for the job. Perseverance in hardship brings Gain because the tool is exactly what is needed. |
| 5 | Yin | 噬乾肉，得黄金。貞厲，無咎 | Biting through dried meat, obtaining yellow gold. Perseverance brings Danger. No trouble. | Yin at 5, the place of honour. The obstacle is still tough — dried meat. But yellow gold is found: the reward. Perseverance brings Danger because the position is yin in a yang place. But no trouble because the work is correct. |
| 6 | Yang | 何校滅耳，凶 | Wearing the cangue, covering the ears. Loss. | Yang at the top. The punishment is now severe — the cangue, a heavy wooden collar. The ears are covered, meaning the offender cannot hear the correction. Loss because the correction has come too late. |
Image:
雷電，噬嗑。先王以明罰敕法。
Thunder and lightning: Shi He. Thus the former kings made punishments clear and the laws strict.
Thunder and lightning — the crash and the flash. The former kings made punishments clear (明罰) and the laws strict (敕法). The image is not gentle. Thunder and lightning are the forces that clear the air. The law is the same: it bites through the obstacle so that union can occur. Without the bite, there is no clarity.
Acupuncture Point Connections:
Shared with Shaocong He-9.
Inverted into ䷕ (Dadu Sp-2 or Jiexi St-41).
Balanced by ䷯ (a href="/Point+Notes/point/Kid-5">Shuiquan Kid-5 or Jinmen Bl-63).
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
One of the main distal points for neck and shoulder pain along with Tiaoku St-38 for shoulders and Luozhen (extra) for the neck.
In five element acupuncture this point is reinforced to tonify Small Intestine deficiencies.
Ling Shu Ch. 19, on the Four Seasonal Qi, advises using the Shu-Stream points, unless the diseases are in the Fu organs, in which case the He-Sea points are chosen.
Ling Shu Ch. 23, On Heat Diseases, gives a different list of points for the "59 Piercings" to Su Wen Ch. 61. They include three on the outer and three on the inner side of the hands which most likely includes this point.
Cecil-Sterman explains that combining the Shu-Stream and Jing-Well points directed outwards is a method of expelling Pathogens from the Taiyang.
In Tung acupuncture the Wan Shu Yi, Wrist Flow One, point is located slightly proximal to this point. Its indications seem similar to this point echoing the Du and Taiyang channels (Back, neck, shoulder, arm, hip and side of foot pain, dizziness, vertigo, tinnitus and urinary disorders). It is often combined with Wan Shun Er, slightly distal to Wangu SI-4 (Chu, 2015).
Yuen (2005, The Eight Extraordinary Vessels) notes that this point, along with Zulinqi GB-41, is a Shu-Stream point instead of a Luo point like all the other extraordinary vessels because the Du, along with the Dai mai, are concerned with projecting out into the world while the other extraordinary vessels are about taking in from the outside world.
In the Maoshan Daoist tradition, when the 12 earthly branches, I Ching trigrams and elements are mapped onto the hand the knuckle of the little finger next to this point equates to the branch 亥 Hai and the element of Water with no Trigram association (Read, 2020, FB Post; 17QQ.com, 2020, Eight trigrams and twelve Branches of the earth palm).
In Mayan medicine:
Used to treat pain in the upper extremities (Garcia, Sierra, Balam, 1999: Wind in the Blood)
Medieval phlebotomy point (Hans von Gersdorff, 1517: Feldtbüch der Wundartzney, www.nlm.nih.gov)
In ayurvedic medicine:
Kurchashira marma point
Size: 1 angula (cun)
Structure: Tendon
Effect of Injury: Pain (rujakar marma)
(Harish Johari, 1996, Ayurvedic Massage, Sanatan Society; Anupama Bhattacharya, n.d. Marma Shastra)
In Tibetan medicine:
Bleeding point (AMNH, Tibetan Medical Paintings)
In Thai massage:
Acupressure point (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
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