P-05 (Jian Shi) Intermediary Courier

What does P-05 Jian Shi do?

P-05 transforms phlegm, and it settles and calms the spirit — and it is the Jing-River and Metal point of the Pericardium channel, one of the classical points for malaria and for phlegm-related mental disturbance.

• Transforms phlegm — the action its mental and malarial indications rest on
• Settles and calms the spirit — the Pericardium’s spirit action, the Pericardium protecting the Heart that houses the spirit

Phlegm misting the orifices is the thread through its indications. In classical theory phlegm clouding the orifices of the Heart produces disordered mental states — and P-05 transforms phlegm and calms the spirit together, which is why its indications include mania, epilepsy and mental disorder. It is the same reasoning our ST-40, BL-08 and ST-23 records set out for their own phlegm actions, here on the channel of the Heart-protector.

Its five-shu role: neither a named role nor the controlling element, but the controlled one. The Pericardium is a yin Fire channel, and P-05 is its Metal point — and Fire controls Metal (Metal is what Fire acts upon), so P-05 is neither tonification, sedation nor horary. It sits alongside P-03, the Water point that controls Fire, as the two points of the channel outside the tonify/sedate/horary trio: P-09 Wood (tonification), P-08 Fire (horary), P-07 Earth (sedation), with P-05 and P-03 carrying no named role. All five derived from our own element column.

On the name. “Jian Shi” means Intermediary Courier or Intermediary Messenger — jian between or intermediary, shi an envoy or messenger. The Pericardium is described in the classical texts as the envoy or minister of the Heart — the official who carries out the sovereign’s will — and this point’s name reflects that role, the messenger between the Heart and the body.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, element, action and translation records; the full Pericardium five-shu series queried and P-05 confirmed the Metal point outside the named roles, and the BL-08, ST-23 and ST-40 phlegm records checked, against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is P-05 Jian Shi used for?

P-05 is used for cardiac pain and palpitations, stomach ache and vomiting, febrile disease and irritability, malaria, mental disorders and epilepsy, axillary swelling, and arm contracture. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Cardiac pain and palpitations
• Stomach ache and vomiting
• Febrile diseases and irritability
• Malaria
• Mental disorders and epilepsy
• Swelling of the axilla
• Contracture of the arm

The mental and malarial entries are the point’s speciality. Mania, epilepsy and mental disorder follow the phlegm-and-spirit action; malaria is a classical Jing-River and Pericardium indication, the recurring fever-and-chills pattern belonging to the deep, phlegm-obstructed presentations this point addresses. The cardiac and stomach entries are the channel’s.

An honest note, and several entries need one. MALARIA IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Fever in anyone who has travelled to a malarial region requires immediate medical assessment — falciparum malaria can kill within days and is diagnosable and treatable. This record documents the historical indication and makes no claim that acupuncture treats malaria; our DU-13 record carries the same warning. EPILEPSY REQUIRES DIAGNOSIS AND PRESCRIBED MANAGEMENT, and a first or prolonged seizure is an emergency. MANIA AND SEVERE MENTAL DISTURBANCE REQUIRE PSYCHIATRIC ASSESSMENT. CARDIAC PAIN IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. This record documents classical use only, and nothing here should delay care.

How it is combined. With P-06 Nei Guan just distal — the two are on the same tendon interval, and P-06 is the channel’s most-used point. With P-07 Da Ling and HT-07 Shen Men for the spirit indications. With ST-40 Feng Long, the phlegm point, and DU-14 Da Zhui for malaria. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the DU-13, DU-14, HT-07, P-06, P-07 and ST-40 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is P-05 Jian Shi located?

P-05 is on the inner forearm, three cun above the wrist crease, between the two tendons in the middle of the wrist.

• 3 cun proximal to P-07 Da Ling at the wrist
• Between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis — the two tendons that stand out in the middle of the front of the wrist
• P-06 Nei Guan lies between them at 2 cun above the wrist; P-04 Xi Men at 5 cun

Four Pericardium points share one tendon interval on the forearm. P-04 Xi Men at 5 cun, P-05 at 3 cun, P-06 Nei Guan at 2 cun, P-07 Da Ling at the wrist — all between palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis, distinguished by measurement alone, and carrying four different classifications (Xi-Cleft, Jing-River, Luo/Confluent, Shu-Stream/Yuan/sedation). As this library repeats wherever points crowd, mistaking one for a neighbour substitutes a category. Our P-07 record notes that palmaris longus is absent in a minority of people, which removes half the landmark — the same caveat applies here.

On the name. “Jian Shi” — Intermediary Courier, the Pericardium as the Heart’s envoy.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the P-04, P-06 and P-07 records queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 374): On the flexor aspect of the forearm, 3 cun proximal to Daling P-7, between the tendons of palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 201): 3 cun above the transverse crease of the wrist, between the tendons of m. palmaris longus and m. flexor carpi radialis.

How is P-05 Jian Shi needled?

Our own record states perpendicular insertion of 0.5–1.0 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.

• Angle and depth as recorded: perpendicular, 0.5–1.0 inch.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies between palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis; the median nerve runs deep between and just beneath those tendons in the forearm; the median artery’s remnant accompanies it in some people; the radial artery lies further to the thumb side.

Hazard, stated proportionately. There is no body cavity here and no organ. The structure worth knowing is the median nerve, which runs deep in the same tendon interval this point uses — the same nerve our P-06 record discusses, with its cadaveric and ultrasound findings, at the point two cun distal. Those measurements were made at P-06 and are not transferred here. Our P-05 record carries no arterial caution — nine points in the library do, counted by query, and P-05 is not among them.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at P-05 could be located, and none is borrowed. Neither measured-depth study this library uses reaches the forearm. No case report naming P-05 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the P-06 median-nerve findings queried from our own data and attributed to P-06; the nine arterial cautions queried), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on P-05, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates P-05. Where the point appears it is one component of a cardiac, mental or febrile protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

The channel’s evidence belongs to P-06 Nei Guan, two cun distal on the same tendon interval — the one acupuncture point with a strong Western evidence base. Evidence about P-06 is evidence about P-06, and the short distance makes that worth stating.

What this page can state with confidence. P-05 is the Jing-River and Metal point of the Pericardium channel, and its element carries no named five-shu role (Fire controls Metal). Its malaria and mental-disorder indications are its speciality, both following the phlegm-and-spirit action. Its name reflects the Pericardium’s classical role as the envoy of the Heart. And it sits in the crowded four-point tendon interval of the forearm, where the neighbouring P-06’s findings belong to P-06.

The malaria warning is the operative content. Fever after travel to a malarial region needs immediate assessment.

A note on searching for it. “PC 5”, “P 5” and “Jianshi” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — “Jianshi” matches personal and place names — and our library codes this channel P- while much of the literature uses PC-. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (element, action, indication and location records; the Pericardium five-shu series and the four forearm points queried, against our own data).