DU-06 (Ji Zhong) Spinal Center

What does DU-06 Ji Zhong do?

DU-06 fortifies the Spleen and drains damp, and it benefits the spine — and it is the only point in this stretch of the Governing Vessel whose action names an ORGAN rather than a region.

• Fortifies the Spleen and drains damp — a named organ action, unique on this stretch
• Benefits the spine

Why the Spleen, at this level. DU-06 sits below the eleventh thoracic vertebra, and BL-20 Pi Shu — the Back-Shu point of the Spleen — sits at the same level 1.5 cun out on either side. A midline point carrying the Spleen action of the points flanking it is the segmental logic of the back stated plainly, and it is the clearest instance of that logic in this run.

Its position in the run, verified against our own records. DU-06 is the lowest thoracic point of the Governing Vessel. Below it the vessel skips T12 entirely — querying our own location records returns no Governing Vessel point at that level — and resumes at DU-05 below L1. Above it, DU-07 sits at T10 and DU-08 at T9. The run is not one point per vertebra, and DU-06 is where the largest gap begins.

On the name. “Ji Zhong” means Spinal Centre. Ji is the spine itself — the same character as in the extra points Hua Tuo Jia Ji, the paravertebral series — and zhong is centre or middle. It reads as the middle of the back, and it is one of very few point names on this vessel that names the spine directly rather than a gate, a pivot or a region.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (vessel, action, location and translation records; the DU-05, DU-07, DU-08 and BL-20 levels and the Hua Tuo Jia Ji record queried, and the absence of a T12 point confirmed, against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is DU-06 Ji Zhong used for?

DU-06 is used for epigastric pain, diarrhoea, jaundice, back stiffness and pain, and epilepsy. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Pain in the epigastric region
• Diarrhoea
• Jaundice
• Stiffness and pain of the back
• Epilepsy

Jaundice is the entry that stands out — it appears at no other point in the DU-01 to DU-07 stretch. It belongs to the same middle-burner grouping as the epigastric and digestive entries, and in classical terms to the damp the recorded action drains.

An honest note, and it is the most important passage on this page. JAUNDICE — yellowing of the skin or the whites of the eyes — ALWAYS REQUIRES PROMPT MEDICAL ASSESSMENT. It is a sign of liver, biliary or blood disease, and some of its causes are urgent. There is no circumstance in which new jaundice should be managed by any classical indication on this page rather than investigated. Epigastric pain that is severe, persistent, or accompanied by weight loss, vomiting or difficulty swallowing needs assessment. Epilepsy requires diagnosis and prescribed management, and a first or prolonged seizure is an emergency. This record documents historical use only.

Epilepsy along the Governing Vessel. Our DU-01 and DU-02 records carry it too, and it recurs at points along the vessel’s whole length. It is a feature of the vessel rather than of this point — and notably our DU-05 record, between DU-04 and DU-06, does not carry it.

How it is combined. With BL-20 Pi Shu at the same level laterally — the Spleen’s Back-Shu point, matching this point’s Spleen action. With DU-05 below and DU-07 above. With ST-36 Zu San Li and SP-06 San Yin Jiao distally. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-01, DU-02, DU-05, DU-07, BL-20, ST-36 and SP-06 records queried and compared against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is DU-06 Ji Zhong located?

DU-06 is on the midline of the back, in the depression below the spinous process of the ELEVENTH THORACIC vertebra.

• On the midline, below the T11 spinous process
• DU-05 Xuan Shu lies below at L1 — with T12 skipped entirely; DU-07 Zhong Shu lies above at T10
• BL-20 Pi Shu, the Spleen’s Back-Shu point, sits at the same level 1.5 cun to each side

The gap below this point is the largest in the run, and it is where counting goes wrong. Querying our own location records: DU-07 at T10, DU-06 at T11, nothing at T12, DU-05 at L1, DU-04 at L2, nothing at L3, DU-03 at L4. A reader stepping down one vertebra per point will place DU-05 at T12 and everything below it one level too high. Two gaps in five points is enough that the run should be counted by level, never by sequence.

How the count is checked. The reliable landmark on the lower back is the intercristal line between the tops of the hip bones, which crosses the spine at about L4 where DU-03 sits; our DU-03 record sets that out in full. Counting up from there — L4, L3, L2, L1, T12, T11 — reaches DU-06 with the two empty levels accounted for.

On the name. “Ji Zhong” — Spinal Centre. Positional, and unusually literal for this vessel.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the DU-03 to DU-08 levels and the BL-20 position queried, and the absence of T12 and L3 points confirmed, against our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 539): On the midline of the back, in the depression below the spinous process of the eleventh thoracic vertebra.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 230): Below the spinous process of the eleventh thoracic vertebra.

How is DU-06 Ji Zhong needled, and why does our record not mention moxibustion?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–1.0 inch — and it is the ONLY point in the DU-01 to DU-07 stretch whose record does not state moxibustion as applicable. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.5–1.0 inch.
• Moxibustion: not stated at this point. Comparing all six records in this stretch, moxibustion is recorded as applicable at DU-01, DU-02, DU-03, DU-05 and DU-07 — and at DU-06 alone it is absent.
• Regional anatomy: the supraspinous and interspinous ligaments lie in the midline with the thoracolumbar fascia and erector spinae either side; the vertebral arch lies beneath, and within the canal at this level lies the spinal cord, close to its lower end.

The omission is worth naming, and so is the limit of what our data supports. The classical literature records a moxibustion prohibition at Ji Zhong — it appears in the traditional lists of points where moxibustion was forbidden. Our own record does not state a prohibition; it simply does not state moxibustion at all, in a stretch where every one of its five neighbours does. The omission is consistent with the classical position, and this record reports both facts separately rather than merging them: what our data holds is an absence, not a prohibition, and the classical prohibition is named as a classical position rather than presented as our record’s content.

Hazard, stated proportionately. With the needle perpendicular in the midline the vertebral arch lies beneath it, and the recorded depth keeps it in ligament and muscle. DU-06 sits at cord level — the spinal cord ends around L1–L2 in adults, so T11 is above the terminus, and our DU-03 and DU-05 records set that boundary out from both sides. This is not a high-hazard point; the recorded depth is what makes that so.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at DU-06 could be located, and none is borrowed. The paediatric CT study this library uses measures the Governing Vessel points DU-09 to DU-14, skin to the epidural layer — a definition directly relevant here — but DU-06 is not among them and no figure is carried across. No case report naming DU-06 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged, and the moxibustion statements across DU-01 to DU-07 compared; the point list of PMID 26922245 / PMC4769822 confirmed not to include DU-06), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on DU-06, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates DU-06. Where the point appears it is one component of a back or digestive protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point. Nothing here is offered as evidence that acupuncture treats jaundice, epilepsy or any liver condition — the indication list records historical use.

What this page can state with confidence. Four things, all checkable. DU-06 is the lowest thoracic point of the Governing Vessel; T12 carries none. It is the only point in this stretch whose record omits moxibustion, and the classical texts record a moxibustion prohibition at Ji Zhong — two separate facts, reported separately. It is the only point in the stretch whose action names an organ, the Spleen, matching BL-20 at the same level. And jaundice appears at no other point in DU-01 to DU-07.

The jaundice warning bears repeating, because it is the one place on this page where a classical indication and modern practice diverge sharply. New yellowing of the skin or eyes needs prompt medical assessment, always.

A note on searching for it. “GV 6”, “DU 6” and “Jizhong” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material matched on transliteration. Our library codes this vessel DU- while much of the literature uses GV-. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication, location and needling records; the DU-01 to DU-08 levels, indication lists and moxibustion statements queried and compared against our own data).