What Xingjian does
Xingjian 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
- Clears Liver Fire and subdues Liver Yang
- Clears Interior Wind
- Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
- Calms the Mind
- Resolves Damp-Heat in the genitourinary system
Location
Half a cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, between the first and second toe, on the dorsum of the foot, 0.
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.
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: 90 degrees, perpendicular Depth: Standard depth half a to one cun. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is used where the pattern is cold or deficient, in short sessions.
Skin uses
Xingjian is the Ying-spring point of the Liver channel between the first and second toes, recorded to clear Liver Fire, subdue Liver Yang, clear interior Wind, cool the Blood and resolve Damp-Heat. The Fire and Wind actions are the indirect basis for a skin reading: a red, hot or moving-itch picture is traditionally read as Liver Fire or internal Wind, and cooling the Blood is relevant where redness or bleeding features. Its classical record gives its location and a heart-pain use rather than a skin use. Because no skin-specific classical indication is recorded for the point, this is an indirect rationale, 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 |
|---|---|
| Five phase | Fire-Huo |
| Transporting type | Spring-Ying Point |
| Mother-child role | Child (Reducing) |
Classical record
The Liver emerges at Dadun... flows to Xingjian, Xingjian is between the big toes, it is the Ying point.
Classical citation for this point.
For reversal heart pain, when the complexion is ashen like death, unable to sigh deeply all day, this is Liver heart pain, treat at Xingjian and Taichong.
Classical citation for this point.
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
No special hazard is recorded for this point; use standard care for the region and adjust depth to the patient.
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 Xingjian do in skin practice?
It is used where the skin picture includes thirst red eyes tinnitus epilepsy insomnia headaches dizziness dark urine dry stools palpitation irritability palpitations turbid urine constipation heavy periods easily scared shan disorder eye deviation manic behaviour genitalia pain blurred vision feeling of heat mouth deviation vomiting of blood genitalia itching painful urination urinary retention vaginal discharge outbursts of anger urinary difficulty abdominal fullness dream disturbed sleep impaired consciousness bitter taste in the mouth, always as part of a combination chosen for the pattern.
How is it needled?
The needle is angled obliquely or perpendicular according to the direction wanted, with a usual depth of about half to eight tenths of a cun. De Qi is felt as local distension and soreness that may radiate toward the top of the foot, and the practitioner adjusts the angle for the individual rather than following a fixed routine.
Is it safe?
The skin between the toes is thin and sensitive, so the needle is inserted gently and the point is not used with heavy manipulation on a nervous or debilitated patient. It is a strong reducing point, which means it is chosen for excess patterns such as Liver Fire and used cautiously where the person is constitutionally weak, pregnant or on anticoagulant treatment. The practitioner checks the area for infection or broken skin before needling.