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1. Yongquan (Jing-Well Point)
Location: Located in the depression of the center of the sole. Flex the foot and curl the toes to find the hollow area, at the junction of the white skin and black skin. The point is accessed with the patient in a kneeling position.
Indications: Lower back pain. Difficulty in defecation. Internal heat accumulation in the heart. Wind rash, wind epilepsy. Heart pain, loss of appetite. Female infertility. Cough. Fever.
Throat obstruction, chest and hypochondriac fullness. Dizziness. Male symptoms resembling Gu disease (parasitic disease). Female symptoms resembling pregnancy. Pain extending to the tips of all five fingers. Inability of the foot to touch the ground for walking.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion: Insert needle 0.3 cun deep. Do not allow bleeding. Moxibustion: 3 moxa cones.
Commentary: Yongquan is the Jing-Well point where Qi emerges from the Kidney channel. The Zhen Qi (True Qi) of the Zang organs descends to the Kidney. Since the Kidney governs Water, the point is located in the sole of the foot and named Yongquan (Surging Spring). The Kidney is the organ that generates vital Qi and is the root of life. Therefore, needling this point must not cause bleeding. If reckless needling causes uncontrolled bleeding, death will ensue. Exercise extreme caution.

2. RanGu (Ying-Spring Point)
Location: Anterior to the tuberosity of the medial malleolus, in the depression below the anterior border of the talus (Ran bone).
Indications: Swelling inside the pharynx. Fearfulness in the heart, as if being pursued by someone. Salivation. Panting and calling out. Shortness of breath. Edema of the dorsum of the foot, inability to walk. Cold hernia, lower abdominal fullness. Qi rushing up to the chest and hypochondrium. Hemoptysis. Throat obstruction. Dysuria with dribbling. Female infertility. Male seminal emission. Soreness of the feet, inability to stand for long periods. Feet alternating between cold and hot. Tongue deviation, irritability, fullness, and Xiao Ke (wasting-thirst syndrome). Umbilical convulsion in newborns. Lockjaw, flaccidity, collapse, and severe diarrhea.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion: Insert needle 0.3 cun deep. Bleeding is contraindicated. Moxibustion: 3 moxa cones.
Commentary: RanGu is the Ying-Spring point where Qi flows into the Kidney channel. Ying-Spring points of Yin channels belong to Fire. Within Kan (Water trigram), there is a Yang fire without roots; this minor fire can generate Qi. This point is also named Longyuan (Dragon Abyss), implying the meaning of a hidden dragon in the abyss. It is indicated for male and female seminal emission and infertility. This fire burns in the deep valley and is not overcome by water, hence the name RanGu. In my province of Sichuan, there are salt-producing areas with self-artesian wells where fire emerges from underground, inexhaustible and endless. This is a clear proof of the minor fire of RanGu.

3. Taixi (Shu-Stream Point)
Location: Posterior to the medial malleolus, superior to the calcaneus, in the depression where the arterial pulse is palpable.
Indications: Chronic malaria, cough and upward reversal of Qi. Heart pain like being pierced by an awl. Coldness of hands and feet extending to the joints. Death if panting occurs. Vomiting of phlegm, mouth filled with glue-like substance. Frequent belching, cold hernia.
Heat diseases with no sweating. Apathy and desire to lie down. Yellow urine, Xiao Dan (wasting-thirst). Difficulty in defecation, throat swelling. Hemoptysis or Pi masses (abdominal lumps). Alternating chills and fever, cough, loss of appetite. Abdominal and hypochondriac pain. Emaciation. Cold extremities.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion: Insert needle 0.3 cun deep. Moxibustion: 3 moxa cones.
Commentary: Taixi is the Shu-Stream point where the Kidney channel Qi pours into, belonging to Earth. It is a crucial point among the Twelve Yuan-Source points of the Nine Needles. To determine the strength of Zang Qi in chronic or critical illnesses, one must palpate the pulse here. The pulse diagnosis method in *Jin Gui Yao Lue* distinguishes between Cun Kou (Radial artery), Fu Yang (Dorsalis pedis artery), and Shao Yin (Posterior tibial artery). Fu Yang corresponds to the Yuan-Source point Chongyang of the Stomach; Shao Yin corresponds to Taixi. I once treated a case of acute Sha syndrome (heat stroke/toxic heat) with sudden collapse and coma on the road. The Cun Kou pulse was absent, but the Taixi pulse was present. Using the Ten Xuans (opening ten fingertips) method, the patient recovered. If the Taixi pulse has ceased, the condition is incurable.

4. Fuliu (Jing-River Point)
Location: Two cun above the tip of the medial malleolus, in the depression where the pulse beats continuously.
Indications: Pulling pain in the waist and spine, inability to bend, extend, rise, or sit. Blurred vision. Irritability and excessive talking. Dry tongue, stomach heat. Intestinal parasites causing salivation. Foot weakness and inability to wear shoes. Body coldness unable to warm itself. Borborygmus in the abdomen. Abdominal distension like a drum. Edema of the four limbs. Five types of Water diseases (edema). Urine varying in color: green, red, yellow, white, black.
For green [Liver/Wood], select the Jing-Well point. For red [Heart/Fire], select the Ying-Spring point. For yellow [Spleen/Earth], select the Shu-Stream point. For white [Lung/Metal], select the Jing-River point. For black [Kidney/Water], select the He-Sea point. Blood hemorrhoids with post-evacuation edema. Five types of Lin syndrome with urine resembling scattered fire. Bone chills and fever. Profuse night sweats.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion: Insert needle 0.3 cun deep. Retain needle for seven respiratory cycles. Moxibustion: 5 moxa cones.
Commentary: The point name Fuliu implies "returning flow." The collateral branch of the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney channel enters the heel, divides below into two branches. One goes posteriorly, circling Dazhong to connect with the Foot-Taiyang Bladder channel. The other goes anteriorly downward through Shuiquan and Zhaohai, marking the starting point of the Yin Qiao vessel, ascending to Jiaoxin, which is also two cun above the medial malleolus. This is the collateral branch. The main channel from Taixi ascends directly, then flows into this point two cun above and slightly posterior to the medial malleolus, sharing the same meaning as flowing from Yongquan to RanGu. Hence it is named Fuliu. Fuliu is posterior, while Jiaoxin is anterior, separated by a small tendon. Jiaoxin belongs to the Yin Qiao vessel. Further upward at the bifurcation is the Zhubin point, the starting point of the Yin Wei vessel. Thus, the Yin Qiao and Yin Wei vessels are described as collaterals of the Foot-Shaoyin channel.

5. Yingu (He-Sea Point)
Location: Medial to the knee, posterior to the medial condyle of the tibia, beneath the large tendon (semimembranosus/semitendinosus) and above the small tendon. Palpable upon pressure. Accessible only with the knee flexed.
Indications: Knee pain with inability to flex or extend. Tongue deviation with salivation. Irritability, rebellious Qi, difficult urination. Urgent pulling pain in the lower abdomen radiating to the genitals. Menstrual leakage in women, continuous and unceasing. Abdominal distension and fullness with dyspnea. Yellow urine. Male symptoms resembling Gu disease. Female symptoms resembling pregnancy.
Acupuncture & Moxibustion: Insert needle 0.4 cun deep. Retain needle for seven respiratory cycles. Moxibustion: 3 moxa cones.
Commentary: Yingu is the He-Sea Water point where the Foot-Shaoyin Kidney channel enters. The point is located posterior and inferior to the medial condyle, between the large and small tendons, which support each other. To locate the point, the patient must first slightly flex the knee. The practitioner should carefully palpate the pulsating vessel between the tendons, then separate the upper and lower, large and small tendons before inserting the needle. This is the highest and most deeply concealed point of the Foot-Yin channels, hence named Yingu (Yin Valley).