LI-17 (Tian Ding) Celestial Tripod

What does LI-17 Tian Ding do?

LI-17 benefits the throat and voice — a single, focused recorded action, and the whole reason to use this neck point.

• Benefits the throat and voice — the entire recorded action, matching its throat, voice and neck-swelling indications

A throat point, sitting on the throat. LI-17 is on the side of the neck beside the voice box, and its action and indications are all local to that region — loss of voice, sore throat, and the neck swellings (scrofula, goitre). It is not a distal or systemic point; it works where it sits. The Large Intestine channel ascends the neck here on its way to the face, which is why a throat point falls on it.

A word on the “celestial” name — and what LI-17 is not. Points with tian (celestial/heaven) in the name cluster on the neck and upper body, and several of them make up the classical group of Window of Heaven points for the head, throat and senses. LI-17 Tian Ding is a tian point on the neck — but it is not one of the ten Window of Heaven points in our data. That distinction belongs to its upper neighbour, LI-18 Fu Tu, which our records do classify as the Large Intestine channel’s Window of Heaven point. LI-17 shares the neighbourhood and the throat focus, not the classification.

On the name. “Tian Ding” means Celestial Tripod — tian heaven or the upper body, ding an ancient three-legged cauldron or tripod. The reading usually offered likens the neck rising to the head to the legs supporting the vessel above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action and translation records; the ten Window of Heaven points queried and LI-18 — not LI-17 — confirmed the Large Intestine member, against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is LI-17 Tian Ding used for?

LI-17 is used for sudden loss of voice, sore throat, scrofula, and goitre. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Sudden loss of voice
• Sore throat
• Scrofula — chronic swollen or matted neck nodes
• Goitre — enlargement of the thyroid, a swelling at the front of the neck

All four are conditions of the neck and throat — exactly where the point sits. Voice and sore throat are the throat action directly; scrofula and goitre are neck swellings the point lies beside. It is one of the coherent, single-region indication lists in our data.

An honest and necessary note. Sudden loss of voice, or hoarseness lasting more than three weeks, requires medical assessment — persistent voice change can signal disease of the larynx. Sore throat with difficulty swallowing or breathing is a medical emergency. Any goitre or thyroid swelling needs medical evaluation — thyroid function and structure must be assessed, and some thyroid enlargements are malignant. “Scrofula” is historical, and a persistent neck lump needs investigation (reactive nodes, tuberculosis, lymphoma and other cancers are all possible). This record documents classical use only; it is not a suggestion to treat a thyroid or neck mass with acupuncture in place of diagnosis.

How it is combined. With LI-18 Fu Tu just above and REN-22 Tian Tu at the throat notch for the voice and throat; with ST-09 Ren Ying and REN-23 Lian Quan in the region. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the LI-18, REN-22, REN-23 and ST-09 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is LI-17 Tian Ding located?

LI-17 is on the side of the neck, at the back edge of the large strap muscle (sternocleidomastoid), about level with the voice box.

• On the lateral (side) neck, at the posterior border of sternocleidomastoid — the prominent muscle that stands out when the head is turned
• Beside the laryngeal prominence (the “Adam’s apple”), roughly at that level
• At the midpoint of the line from LI-18 Fu Tu (above) to ST-12 Que Pen (at the collarbone, below)

Located between two fixed points on the neck. LI-18 Fu Tu sits higher on the posterior border of the muscle beside the larynx, and ST-12 Que Pen sits in the hollow above the collarbone; LI-17 is halfway between them along the muscle’s back edge. Turning the head lifts the sternocleidomastoid into relief and makes its posterior border easy to trace.

On the name. “Tian Ding” — Celestial Tripod, the neck as the tripod bearing the head, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the LI-18 and ST-12 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 118): On the lateral side of the neck, 1 cun inferior to Futu L.I.-18, on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 144): On the lateral side of the neck, at the posterior border of sternocleidomastoid muscle, beside the laryngeal protuberance, at the midpoint of the line connecting Futu (Ll-18) and Quepen (ST-12).

How is LI-17 Tian Ding needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.3–0.5 inch, with moxibustion applicable. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique — and the neck is a region where that matters more than most.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.3–0.5 inch — deliberately shallow, as neck points generally are.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies at the posterior border of sternocleidomastoid; deep to the region run the carotid artery and internal jugular vein within the carotid sheath (more anterior), the vagus and phrenic nerves, and the roots of the brachial plexus (more posterior and inferior); the external jugular vein crosses the muscle superficially.

Hazard, stated plainly. The neck is one of the higher-consequence regions of the body. Although LI-17’s own record carries no arterial caution, and it is not among the nine points that do, the great vessels of the neck lie in this region, which is exactly why the recorded depth is shallow. Our neighbouring ST-09 Ren Ying record does carry an explicit carotid caution, and the anatomy that gives ST-09 its warning runs through this whole area. This is emphatically not a point for self-treatment.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at LI-17 could be located, and none is borrowed; the shallow recorded depth and the neck anatomy speak for themselves. No case report naming LI-17 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions and the ST-09 carotid caution queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on LI-17, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates LI-17. Where the point appears it is one component of a throat or voice protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. LI-17 Tian Ding is a throat-and-voice point on the side of the neck, its single recorded action being “benefits the throat and voice” and all four indications — voice loss, sore throat, scrofula, goitre — being conditions of the neck it sits beside. It is a tian (celestial) point but not one of the ten Window of Heaven points; that classification belongs to its upper neighbour LI-18 Fu Tu, confirmed against our own data. Its recorded needling is shallow, and the great vessels of the neck lie in the region.

A safety note that outranks any TCM claim. Goitre, persistent hoarseness and neck lumps are all symptoms to have diagnosed. This page records classical use and, in the same breath, says to seek assessment.

A note on searching for it. “LI 17”, “L 17” and “Tianding” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — and “Tianding” is a common Chinese place and personal name. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and location records; the ten Window of Heaven points and the ST-09 caution queried, against our own data).