What Feishu does
Feishu is treated here as a practical point rather than a curiosity: where it sits, how it is needled, what the tradition says it does, and the skin conditions in this database that name it.
Actions
- Tonifies Lung Qi and Nourishes Lung Yin
- Defuses and Descends Rebellious Lung Qi
- Clears Lung Heat
- Expels Exterior Wind
Location
One and a half cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the 3rd thoracic vertebra (T3).
How to find it
Find the bony landmark first, then feel for the hollow or tender spot the location describes. The point is usually sensitive when pressed. Begin at the seventh cervical vertebra, the bump that stays palpable while the neck is bent and straightened, whereas the sixth slips forward and disappears as the neck moves. Count three spinous processes down from C7 to reach T3, or find T3 directly at the level of the inner end of the shoulder blade when the patient sits with the arms hanging. The point is one and a half cun lateral to the lower border of that process. Pohu BL-42 lies at the same height but three cun out, and the points on the inner line between Fengmen BL-12 and Baihuanshu BL-30 belong to the medial branch of the channel.
Deqi
De qi at this point is felt as local distension, heaviness or aching, and may travel a short way along the channel.
A cun is a proportional body measurement, not a fixed length: one cun is about the width of the thumb at the knuckle, 1.5 cun about two finger widths, and 3 cun about the width of four fingers. On an average adult one cun is roughly one inch, but it scales with the person, which is why the texts measure in cun rather than centimetres.
Technique
Needling
Angle: 45 degrees, oblique Depth: Standard depth half a to one cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
The reference marks moxibustion as particularly recommended at Feishu and gives ten to fifteen minutes. It suits the depleted picture, where lung qi is weak and colds return repeatedly, and it is often chosen instead of a tonifying needle in children or in patients who dislike needling. Where heat is present, with fever, thirst and yellow sputum, moxa is not the method described.
Skin uses
- Cough Fever Wheezing Sneezing Dry mouth Chest pain Dry throat Bronchitis Consumption Night sweat Rapid pulse Lung abscess Restlessness Breathlessness Chest fullness Manic behaviour Copious sputum Aversion to cold Suicidal thoughts Yellow sticky sputum
Point classifications
| Classification | Value |
|---|---|
| Channel | Meridian |
Classical record
Lung Heat with inability to breathe while lying down, rebellious Qi with vomiting of foam, wheezing breath following one after another, fullness of the chest with urgent sensation in the lateral chest and sternum, difficult breathing... Feishu governs these.
Classical citation for this point.
Each of the five zang has a point on the back where its qi infuses; that of the lung is Feishu.
Ling Shu (Spiritual Pivot), chapter on the back shu points, as recorded in the classical literature.
Safety
Who should treat this point
Acupuncture and moxibustion are practitioner procedures. This page is educational and is not a guide to self-treatment.
Caution
Safety flags: the reference marks it as a dangerous point. Needle with care, adjust depth to the patient's build, and modify or avoid the point where a flag applies. The pleura lies close beneath this point, roughly one and a half cun below the skin in an average adult, so a perpendicular needle taken to depth can puncture the lung. The reference therefore advises an oblique insertion angled towards the spine and a limit of 0.8 cun. Emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or any condition that enlarges the lungs raises the risk, and a thin patient has less tissue between skin and pleural cavity, so depth is reduced again. The angle follows the ribs rather than the spaces between them.
Deficiency and constitution
In a depleted patient the point is worked gently and briefly.
Before treatment
Educational reference only. Skin that is spreading, painful, blistering or accompanied by fever needs medical assessment.
Modern evidence and safety
General references for acupuncture safety and skin evidence. They are not specific to this point, and they are not a claim that needling it treats any condition.
- Acupuncture-related adverse events: systematic review and meta-analyses of prospective clinical studies. BMJ Open, 2021. PMID: 34489268.
- Acupuncture for atopic dermatitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 2024. PMID: 39638592.
- Manual acupuncture for the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Surgery, 2025. PMID: 40696933.
- Acupuncture in Dermatology: An Update to a Systematic Review. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2021. PMID: 32955916.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
What does Feishu do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes cough fever wheezing sneezing dry mouth chest pain dry throat bronchitis consumption night sweat rapid pulse lung abscess restlessness breathlessness chest fullness manic behaviour copious sputum aversion to cold suicidal thoughts yellow sticky sputum, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
How is it needled?
45° (Oblique). Standard depth 0.5 - 0.8 cun. De qi: Localized distension and soreness spreading across the upper back. Deqi may radiate toward the spine or laterally along the ribs. Some patients report a sensation of warmth or opening in the chest. The sensation is typically mild to moderate in intensity.
Is it safe?
Dangerous point - requires extra caution Deep needling contraindicated - shallow insertion only Needle Depth 0.5 - 0.8 cun Needle Angle 45° (Oblique) Body Area Back - Upper (Thoracic)
How do I count down to the third thoracic vertebra?
Start at the seventh cervical vertebra, the bony bump at the base of the neck that stays put when the neck is bent and straightened, while the sixth slips forward and disappears. Count three spinous processes below it to reach T3, or find T3 directly at the level of the inner end of the shoulder blade with the patient seated and the arms hanging. The point is one and a half cun lateral to the lower border of that process.
Why is a lung point used for despair?
Traditional theory houses the corporeal soul, the po, in the lung, and treats grief and despair as its disturbances. The classical records that Feishu, especially with Gaohuangshu BL-43, nourishes lung yin and settles the mind, and it notes that Pohu BL-42 at the same level of the back is also listed for suicidal thinking. This is historical reasoning, and anyone expressing suicidal thoughts needs urgent professional help.