What Fengfu does
Fengfu 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
- Expels Interior and Exterior Wind
- Nourishes Marrow and benefits the Brain
- Calms the Mind
Location
The written location is summarised from the classical record; use the landmark named there together with the diagram.
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. The external occipital protuberance is the hump on the back of the skull, on the midline and slightly above the craniocervical junction. Feel for a hollow on the posterior midline directly under that bump, between the two muscle bellies where the trapezius begins. The point sits about one cun above the posterior hairline, and pressure there is usually tender.
Deqi
De qi at this point is felt as local distension, heaviness or aching, and may travel a short way along the channel. Local distension and heaviness at the nape of the neck are the expected response, sometimes spreading up to the occiput, down the spine or out to the vertex. Strong stimulation is avoided. An electric or shooting sensation means the needle has gone too deep and is taken out at once.
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: 90 degrees, perpendicular Depth: Standard depth half a to one cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is contraindicated at this point. The classical reason is that fire at the nape may fan wind where wind already gathers, and the site lies over the brainstem.
Cupping
Cupping is contraindicated here in the classical record, and suction is not applied over the occiput at the point.
Gua sha
Gua sha is recorded as questionable, so it is not part of routine practice at the point itself.
Bleeding
Bloodletting is contraindicated at this point in the classical record.
Skin uses
Fengfu lies at the occiput, is recorded as a meeting point of the Governing Vessel and the Yang Linking vessel, and its actions are to expel Wind, both interior and exterior, and to calm the Mind. The location and Wind action give an indirect skin reading: where a skin picture is described as Wind-led, with itching that moves or comes and goes, the recorded function of settling Wind is what supports the connection. The classical passage speaks of Wind rising to the head, headache and neck stiffness, not of the skin. Its sources contain no skin-specific classical indication, so the rationale above remains indirect and is not trial evidence.
No skin-specific classical indication is recorded for this point. The rationale above is an indirect, traditional reading of the point, not a promise of benefit.
Point classifications
| Classification | Value |
|---|---|
| Classical groups | Sun Si Miao Ghost Point |
Classical record
Wind qi follows Fengfu and ascends, then becomes brain wind.
Classical citation for this point.
Places Fengfu as the sixth Ghost Point, Gui Zhen, the Ghost Pillow, for mental disorders and for conditions in which the spirit is disturbed.
Qianjin Yaofang (千金要方, Thousand Gold Prescriptions) by Sun Simiao.
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 reference treats this as a critical safety point, because the medulla oblongata lies in the deep layer beneath it. The tip is never angled upward toward the foramen magnum; it is directed slightly toward the chin or nose instead, and depth is held between half a cun and one cun. Ask the patient to drop the head a little forward first, which opens the space and loosens the neck. Withdraw at once if they report an electric shock feeling, severe dizziness or difficulty breathing, since that suggests contact with neural structures. Lifting and thrusting are omitted, and moxibustion is classically avoided because fire may fan wind at this site.
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 Fengfu do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes the conditions it is used with, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
Why is moxa avoided at this point?
The reference lists moxibustion as contraindicated. The classical reason is that fire at the nape may fan wind pathology where wind already gathers, and the site sits over the brainstem, so heat is not applied at the point itself.
What does the name Wind Mansion describe?
A gateway. The Suwen line has wind qi following Fengfu and ascending before it becomes brain wind, so the point is where wind entering the head is met and turned back. That is why one point serves both a chill caught in the wind and internal wind with convulsion or loss of speech.