What Zhongfu does
Zhongfu 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
- Promotes the descending of Lung Qi and stops cough
- Resolves Phlegm from the Lungs
- Disperses fullness from the chest and stops chest pain
Location
Six cun measured from the landmark shown in the diagram and the location text, on the lateral aspect of the chest, in the 1st intercostal space, 6 cun lateral to the midline, 1 cun inferior to Yunmen LU-2.
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. Find the deltopectoral triangle by asking the patient to extend the hand forward against resistance; the triangle is bounded above by the clavicle and laterally by the coracoid process. Locate Yunmen LU-2 at its centre, then palpate one cun along the border of the deltoid to reach Zhongfu in the first intercostal space, about six cun lateral to the midline. The first intercostal space is easy to find as the hollow just above the costal cartilage of the second rib.
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: Depth depends on the build of the patient. Direction: Needle in the direction the location describes.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is used where the pattern is cold or deficient, in short sessions.
Skin uses
Zhongfu is the front-mu point of the Lung on the chest, recorded to promote the descent of Lung Qi, stop cough, resolve Phlegm and ease the chest. The skin reading is indirect through the Lung channel: descending and diffusing Lung Qi is traditionally connected with the surface, so where Heat or Phlegm in the Lung is thought to show on the skin, the recorded action is the basis for considering the point. Its classical entry is largely respiratory, with facial swelling mentioned among other signs rather than as a skin indication. No skin-specific classical indication is recorded for the point, and the reasoning above is therefore indirect, 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 |
|---|---|
| Channel | Meridian |
Classical record
Located below Yunmen, 1 cun, in the depression between the ribs above the breast at the 3rd intercostal space, where a pulsation can be felt. Take the point with the patient supine.
Classical citation for this point.
Lung system tightness, chest pain, aversion to cold, chest fullness, restlessness, a tendency to vomit bile, chest heat, wheezing, rebellious Qi chasing itself, copious turbid sputum, inability to lie down, shoulder and back wind, sweating, swelling of the face and abdomen, food lodged in the diaphragm unable to descend, throat obstruction, shoulder breathing, Lung distension, bone pain of the skin, and cold and heat with vexation and fullness: Zhongfu is the master.
Zhen Jiu Jia Yi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture)
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 lung apex lies directly beneath this point, so deep or medially directed needling risks a pneumothorax. The recommended approach is parallel to the ribs at a shallow depth of about half to eight tenths of a cun, directed toward the lateral chest wall, and thin patients need extra care because the lung may sit closer to the surface.
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 Zhongfu 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 Zhongfu considered a dangerous point?
The apex of the lung sits directly beneath the first intercostal space, so a needle directed deeply or toward the midline can puncture the lung and cause a pneumothorax. Practitioners needle obliquely or transversely toward the side of the chest at a shallow depth, watch for chest pain, coughing or breathlessness, and stop immediately if any of those appear.