GB-18 (Cheng Ling) Spirit Support

What does GB-18 Cheng Ling do?

GB-18 benefits the head and alleviates pain, and benefits the nose and descends Lung qi — a scalp point with, unusually, a nose-and-Lung action.

• Benefits the head and alleviates pain — the local scalp action, behind its use for headache and vertigo
• Benefits the nose and descends Lung qi — a striking action for a point on top of the head; the Lung opens to the nose in classical physiology, and descending Lung qi is behind the nasal indications

A Yang Linking (Yang Wei) meeting point. Our record classifies GB-18 as a Meeting Point of the Gall Bladder channel with the Yang Linking (Yang Wei) vessel. The Yang Wei networks the yang channels of the exterior; several Gall Bladder scalp points meet it as the channel zig-zags across the head. That meeting is the usual account of the point’s reach beyond the purely local.

The nose-and-Lung action, on the scalp. A point on top of the head that treats the nose and descends Lung qi is the kind of long-range relationship the channel system is built on — the Gall Bladder channel crossing the scalp, the Lung governing the nose below. It gives GB-18 a use for nasal congestion and runny nose alongside its headache role.

On the name. “Cheng Ling” means Spirit Support or Receiving Spirit — cheng to receive or support, ling the spirit or numen. The reading usually offered ties the “spirit” to the head as the residence of the spirit, the point supporting it high on the skull.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, classification, action and translation records; the Yang Wei meeting classification queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is GB-18 Cheng Ling used for?

GB-18 is used for headache, dizziness (vertigo), nosebleed, and runny nose. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Headache
• Vertigo (dizziness)
• Epistaxis (nosebleed)
• Rhinorrhoea (runny nose / nasal discharge)

Head above, nose below. Headache and vertigo are the local scalp action; nosebleed and runny nose are the nose-and-Lung action reaching down from the head. It is a coherent head-and-nose list for a point high on the skull.

An honest note. New, severe, or changed headache — especially with fever, neck stiffness, or neurological signs — requires urgent assessment. Vertigo that is sudden, severe, or comes with deafness, double vision or weakness requires assessment, as some causes are serious. A nosebleed that will not stop, is heavy, or follows a head injury needs care. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With GB-20 Feng Chi and DU-20 Bai Hui for headache and dizziness, and with LI-20 Ying Xiang and LU-07 Lie Que for the nose. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-20, GB-20, LI-20 and LU-07 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is GB-18 Cheng Ling located?

GB-18 is on top of the head, four cun behind the front hairline and a little over two cun out from the midline.

• 4 cun above the anterior (front) hairline
• 2.25 cun lateral to the midline of the head
• On the Gall Bladder’s scalp line, which runs parallel to and lateral of the midline Governing-vessel line

Measured from the front hairline and the midline. Two measurements fix it: 4 cun back from the front hairline, and 2.25 cun out from the midline. It sits roughly level with DU-20 Bai Hui (the vertex) but out to the side, on the Gall Bladder’s parallel scalp line. Where the front hairline is unclear, the standard construction (measuring the head’s proportional cun) is used.

On the name. “Cheng Ling” — Spirit Support, the head as the seat of the spirit, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the DU-20 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 435): In the parietal region, on a curved line drawn between Toulinqi GB-15 and Fengchi GB-20, following the contour of the cranium, 1.5 cun posterior to Zhengying GB-17.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 213): On the head, 4 cun above the anterior hairline and 2.25 cun lateral to the midline of the head.

How is GB-18 Cheng Ling needled?

Our own record states subcutaneous insertion of 0.3–0.5 inch, with moxibustion applicable — the shallow, flat technique the scalp requires. 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: subcutaneous, 0.3–0.5 inch — a flat insertion threaded under the scalp along the skull, as scalp points are, the bone being immediately deep.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable, though moxa on the haired scalp is used with care.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies in the scalp (the galea) over the skull; branches of the superficial temporal and occipital vessels and nerves run in the scalp; the bone of the skull is immediately beneath.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point: bone immediately beneath, no cavity, no organ. The scalp is vascular, so bleeding and bruising are common at scalp points even when harmless. Our record carries no arterial caution at GB-18, and it is not among the nine points that do; the subcutaneous technique reflects the thin scalp over bone.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at GB-18 could be located, and none is needed at a subcutaneous depth over bone. No case report naming GB-18 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on GB-18, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates GB-18. Where the point appears it is one component of a headache or scalp protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. GB-18 Cheng Ling (“Spirit Support”) is a Gall Bladder scalp point and a Meeting Point with the Yang Linking (Yang Wei) vessel. It benefits the head and alleviates pain, and — unusually for a point on the crown — it benefits the nose and descends Lung qi, giving it nasal indications (nosebleed, runny nose) alongside headache and vertigo. It is needled subcutaneously along the scalp.

A note on searching for it. “GB 18”, “G 18” and “Chengling” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — and “Chengling” is a common Chinese given and place name. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (classification, action, indication and location records; the Yang Wei meeting classification queried, against our own data).