Dicang, Jiache, Xiaguan and Yangbai
Star地倉、頰車、下關、陽白 (Dìcāng, Jiáchē, Xiàguān, Yángbái)
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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Stomach–Large Intestine–Yang Qiao meeting point at the corner of the mouth; frees the mouth and treats deviation.
Patient seated or supine, looking straight ahead. Below ST3, level with the corner of the mouth, in line with the pupil (about 0.4 cun lateral to the mouth corner). Thread the needle transversely toward ST6, 1.0–2.5 cun, passing between risorius and buccinator into masseter, until an ache with numbness is felt locally.
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Stomach channel point on masseter; frees the jaw and meets ST4 from below.
Patient seated or lying down. A finger's breadth in front of and above the angle of the mandible, on the bulge of masseter when the teeth are clenched; the bulge becomes a hollow when the jaw relaxes. Thread transversely toward ST4, 1.0–2.0 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue and deep fascia into masseter, until an ache with numbness is felt locally.
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Stomach–Gallbladder meeting point in front of the ear; opens the jaw joint and relieves pain.
Patient seated or lying down. Below the zygomatic arch and in front of the condyloid process, in the hollow over the mandibular notch — locate it with the mouth closed. Insert perpendicularly, 1.0–1.5 cun, through the parotid and masseter toward the infratemporal fossa, until an ache with numbness is felt locally.
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Gallbladder–Yang Wei meeting point on the forehead; carries the treatment up to the brow and eye.
Patient seated or supine. With the patient looking ahead, the point is directly above the pupil, 1 cun above the eyebrow. Insert transversely, 0.5–0.8 cun, through the subcutaneous tissue into the connective tissue beneath the galea aponeurotica, until an ache with numbness is felt locally.
Treatment Principle
Expel wind and relieve pain; free the flow in the channels and the collaterals.
Method
The two lower-face points are threaded toward each other under the cheek (Dicang to Jiache and Jiache to Dicang), Xiaguan is needled perpendicularly in front of the ear, and Yangbai transversely on the forehead. Patient seated or supine, seeking an ache with numbness at each site.
⚠ Cautions
Threading between Dicang and Jiache is a long subcutaneous insertion; keep the needle superficial and press on withdrawal, as the face bruises easily. Locate Xiaguan with the mouth shut, since the hollow closes when the jaw opens.
About
Four points distributed from the corner of the mouth to the forehead, used together to expel wind, stop pain and restore the flow in the channels and collaterals of the face — the collaterals being the fine branches that spread out from the main channels.
Rationale
Three of the points are on the Stomach channel, which begins beside the nose and runs down around the mouth and back along the jaw to the temple; the fourth, Yangbai, is where the Gallbladder, Stomach, Large Intestine and Triple Energiser channels meet the Yang Wei Mai on the forehead. Dicang and Xiaguan are themselves meeting points (with the Large Intestine channel and Yang Qiao Mai, and with the Gallbladder channel respectively). Threading Dicang and Jiache toward one another links the mouth and jaw along a single needle path, a well-known approach to deviation of the mouth.
Clinical Notes
The source's depths run longer than our point records at every site (Dicang 1.0–2.5 cun threaded, Jiache 1.0–2.0 cun threaded, Xiaguan 1.0–1.5 cun, Yangbai 0.5–0.8 cun). The long figures at Dicang and Jiache reflect a threading technique rather than depth; at Xiaguan, 0.5–1.0 cun suffices for most patients.
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 8.
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