Jingming, Chengqi and Qiuhou
Star睛明、承泣、球後 (Jīngmíng, Chéngqì, Qiúhòu)
Modern Chinese point-pair (对穴) teaching, as compiled by Guo Changqing and colleagues at the School of Acupuncture, Moxibustion and Tuina, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Points
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Meeting point of the Bladder, Small Intestine and Stomach channels with the Yin and Yang Qiao Mai at the inner canthus; brightens the eyes and expels wind-heat.
Patient seated and looking up, or lying supine. The point is 0.1 cun above the inner canthus. With the patient's eyes closed, ease the eyeball laterally with a finger and insert slowly and perpendicularly, 0.3–0.5 cun; the needle crosses the subcutaneous tissue and reaches the medial rectus. Do not lift, thrust, twist or rotate the needle.
- ⚠ Major vessel
- ⚠ Eye
-
Stomach channel point below the pupil, meeting with the Yang Qiao Mai and Ren Mai; expels wind and stops tearing.
Patient seated or supine, looking straight ahead. The point lies directly below the pupil, between the eyeball and the infraorbital margin. Lift the eyeball upward and hold it with the left thumb, then insert slowly and perpendicularly along the infraorbital ridge, 0.5–0.8 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue and inferior tarsal muscle into the inferior oblique and inferior rectus. Keep any manipulation very small.
- ⚠ Eye
-
Extra point along the orbital floor; its only function is to benefit the eyes and vision.
Patient seated or supine with the eyes closed. At the junction of the outer quarter and inner three-quarters of the infraorbital margin. Push the eyeball gently upward and insert slowly and perpendicularly, 0.3–0.5 cun, without lifting, thrusting, twisting or rotating. The needle passes the subcutaneous tissue, orbicularis oculi, inferior tarsal muscle, inferior oblique and the orbital fat before reaching the inferior rectus.
Needling Safety
Cited hazards for these points. Tick what applies to the patient to see the cautions that follow from it.
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BL1 Jingming
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⚠ Vascular injury or haematoma has been reported after needling this point. Wu J, Hu Y, Zhu Y, Yin P, Litscher G, Xu S 2015, Table 4 (Organ injury) and Table 8 (Hemorrhage)
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⚠ Close to the eyeball: risk of ocular injury and haematoma. World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Other points), p. 25
-
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ST1 Chengqi
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⚠ Close to the eyeball: risk of ocular injury and haematoma. World Health Organization 1999, Section II §5.2 (Other points), p. 25
-
No cited needling data yet for EX-HN7. No flag here does not mean no risk.
Treatment Principle
Expel wind and clear heat, brighten the eyes and resolve phlegm.
Indications
Method
All three points are needled slowly and perpendicularly into the orbit with the eyeball displaced away from the needle — laterally for Jingming, upward for Chengqi and Qiuhou. No manipulation is used at any of them.
⚠ Cautions
All three are high-risk orbital points and should be needled only by practitioners trained in periorbital technique. Insert slowly, never lift, thrust or rotate, withdraw slowly, and press each site firmly for at least a minute afterwards; bruising around the eye is common even with correct technique. Moxibustion is contraindicated at Jingming. Glaucoma, optic neuritis and sudden loss of vision need ophthalmological care.
About
A set of three points around the eye — at the inner canthus, below the pupil and toward the outer part of the lower orbital rim — that together cover most of the orbit. The source uses it across the range of eye disease, from inflammation and tearing to refractive error, glaucoma and disorders of the optic nerve.
Rationale
Jingming is where five channels meet, including both Qiao vessels, which govern the opening and closing of the eyes; Chengqi is the first point of the Stomach channel and a meeting point with the Yang Qiao Mai and Ren Mai. Qiuhou, whose name means 'behind the ball', reaches the back of the eye along the orbital floor. Needling the orbit from three sides brings each channel's action directly to the eye.
Clinical Notes
The source's 0.5–0.8 cun for Chengqi is slightly beyond the 0.3–0.7 cun in our point record, while its 0.3–0.5 cun for Qiuhou is shallower than our record's 0.5–1.0 cun. Stay at the shallow end until experienced with the technique.
Sources
- Guo Changqing (ed.). Acupuncture of Acupoint Combinations: Quick Lookups. Daylesford: Heart Space Publications, 2020 (English edition; © China Science and Technology Press). ISBN 978-0-6489215-5-4. Chapter 2, combination 7.
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