Zhong Kui Middle, Flower

What does Zhong Kui do?

Zhong Kui descends rebellious Stomach qi to stop vomiting and hiccup, and harmonises the stomach — an extra point on the back of the middle finger, best known for nausea, including morning sickness.

• Descends rebellious Stomach qi — settling qi that rises the wrong way, to stop vomiting and hiccup
• Harmonises the stomach, easing nausea — especially morning sickness in pregnancy
• An empirical point for oesophageal spasm, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), and gastric reflux

A stomach point on the finger. Zhong Kui is a small extra point on the middle finger, used empirically for the stomach rebelling upward — nausea, vomiting, hiccup, reflux and the sense of food not going down (oesophageal spasm, dysphagia). Its most cited use is morning sickness. It works classically by moxa as much as by needle (see below), which makes it accessible.

On the name. “Zhong Kui” — zhong middle (the middle finger), kui variously read as chief, eminent, or a flower; the sense is the prominent point of the middle finger (over its middle knuckle).

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point action, location and translation records queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is Zhong Kui used for?

Zhong Kui is used for nausea, vomiting and hiccups — especially morning sickness in pregnancy. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Hiccups
• Especially the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (morning sickness)

The stomach rebelling upward. Every entry is rebellious Stomach qi — nausea, vomiting, hiccup — which the point’s descending action addresses, and morning sickness is the presentation it is most reached for.

An honest note. Persistent or severe vomiting requires medical assessment — it causes dehydration, and in pregnancy severe, unrelenting vomiting (hyperemesis gravidarum) needs medical care. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) always warrants assessment, as it can signal serious disease. Intractable hiccups (over 48 hours) warrant evaluation. This record documents empirical use only.

How it is combined. With P-06 Nei Guan — the great point for nausea and morning sickness — and REN-12 Zhong Wan and ST-36 Zu San Li for the stomach. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point indication and action records; the P-06, REN-12 and ST-36 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is Zhong Kui located?

Zhong Kui is on the back of the middle finger, on the crease over the middle knuckle.

• On the dorsal (back) aspect of the middle finger
• At the midpoint of the proximal interphalangeal joint — the crease over the middle knuckle of the finger, on the back

The middle knuckle of the middle finger. Bend the middle finger and find the crease over its middle joint on the back of the finger; Zhong Kui sits at the centre of that crease. It is an easy, definite landmark — and, sitting directly over bone with thin skin, it is a point suited to moxa or a very shallow prick rather than deep needling.

On the name. “Zhong Kui” — the prominent point of the middle finger, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point location and translation records, retained unchanged, against our own data).

• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 249-250): On midpoint of the proximal interphalangeal joint of the middle finger at dorsum aspect

How is Zhong Kui treated?

Our own record notes it is classically treated with moxibustion rather than needled — 3–7 moxa cones, or mild moxibustion for 5–15 minutes; if needled, insertion is very shallow (about 0.1–0.3 cun), the point sitting directly over bone with thin tissue. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique.

• Moxibustion (the usual method): 3–7 cones, or mild moxa for several minutes — the technique most consistently recommended across sources.
• If needled: very shallow, ~0.1–0.3 cun perpendicular, because bone lies directly beneath thin skin.
• Sources differ: some describe a simple shallow perpendicular insertion of 0.2–0.3 cun; others (citing the Zhen Jiu Da Cheng) say standard needling is generally avoided here because of the thin tissue over bone, recommending a very shallow prick, bloodletting, or moxa instead. Moxa is the most consistently recommended.
• Regional anatomy: the middle-finger joint (thin skin over the interphalangeal joint), with the dorsal digital vessels and nerves at the finger’s margins.

Hazard, stated proportionately. This is a low-hazard point: bone immediately beneath, no cavity, no organ. The finger is sensitive and needling is sharply felt, which (with the thin tissue) is why moxa is preferred. Moxa carries the usual burn precautions. Our record carries no arterial caution at Zhong Kui.

What is not claimed. No safe-depth study is needed at this shallow depth or for moxa. No case report was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point needling record, retained unchanged including the source discrepancy, against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on Zhong Kui, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates Zhong Kui. Where it appears it is one component of an anti-nausea protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. Zhong Kui (EX-UE-4) is an extra point on the back of the middle finger, over the middle knuckle, used empirically to descend rebellious Stomach qi — for nausea, vomiting and hiccup, above all morning sickness. It is usually treated by moxibustion (bone lies close beneath thin skin), or needled only very shallowly.

A safety note. Severe vomiting in pregnancy and difficulty swallowing are matters for medical care; this page records empirical use and says so.

A note on searching for it. Coded EX-UE-4 (numbering varies: M-UE-16). Any claim should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (extra-point action, indication and location records queried, against our own data).