巨虚

jù xū

Juxu · the great hollow

Also rendered: Juxu (transliterated, and it keeps both points under one name) · The great hollow (literal, and it reads as a place rather than a point)

Reviewed · 2026-10-24

At a glance

Pinyin
jù xū
Simplified
巨虚
Literal
巨 jù — great; 虚 xū — a great mound, hence a hollow. The name of two points on the stomach channel, three cun apart, called upper and lower 廉 — the edge of the shin.
Shuowen
**《說文》:巨,規巨也**,今作矩;**虚,大丘也**。**「巨虚」本篇2見**:巨虚上廉、巨虚下廉;**「上廉」2見**、**「下廉」1見**,皆承三里而言。**三穴相去各三寸**:下陵(三里)下三寸為上廉,上廉下三寸為下廉。

In brief

Two points below Sanli on the stomach channel, named by their distance from it: 復下三里三寸,爲巨虚上廉;復下上廉三寸,爲巨虚下廉. The chapter gives them because it has just said that the large and small intestine both attach to the stomach, and the two points are where that attachment is read: 大腸屬上,小腸屬下. The phrase is compressed — 廉 is understood from the line before — and Zhang Jiebin expands it to 大腸屬上廉,小腸屬下廉. Later needling knows the points as Shangjuxu (Stomach 37) and Xiajuxu (Stomach 39), the lower of which is still the point for intestinal disorders.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
Upper 巨虚上廉
三里下三寸
Three cun below Sanli.
復下三里三寸,爲巨虚上廉 — 靈樞·本輸
2
Lower 巨虚下廉
上廉下三寸
Three cun below Shanglian.
復下上廉三寸,爲巨虚下廉也 — 靈樞·本輸
3
Which intestine 大腸屬上
大腸連上廉,小腸連下廉
The large intestine attaches above, the small intestine below.
大腸屬上,小腸屬下 — 靈樞·本輸

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
4 passages
靈樞·本輸 Read in context →
胃出于厲兑。厲兑者,足大指内,次指之端也,爲井金;溜于内庭,内庭,次指外間也,爲滎;注于陷谷,陷谷者,上中指内間,上行二寸,陷者中也,爲腧;過于衝陽,衝陽,足跗上五寸,陷者中也,爲原,摇足而得之;行于解谿,解谿,上衝陽一寸半,陷者中也,爲經;入于下陵,下陵,膝下三寸,胻骨外三里也,爲合;復下三里三寸,爲巨虚上廉;復下上廉三寸,爲巨虚下廉也。大腸屬上,小腸屬下,足陽明胃脉也。大腸小腸皆屬于胃,是足陽明也。 胃出于厉兑。厉兑者,足大指内,次指之端也,为井金;溜于内庭,内庭,次指外间也,为荥;注于陷谷,陷谷者,上中指内间,上行二寸,陷者中也,为腧;过于冲阳,冲阳,足跗上五寸,陷者中也,为原,摇足而得之;行于解溪,解溪,上冲阳一寸半,陷者中也,为经;入于下陵,下陵,膝下三寸,胻骨外三里也,为合;复下三里三寸,为巨虚上廉;复下上廉三寸,为巨虚下廉也。大肠属上,小肠属下,足阳明胃脉也。大肠小肠皆属于胃,是足阳明也。
wèi chū yú lì duì. lì duì zhě, zú dà zhǐ nèi, cì zhǐ zhī duān yě, wéi jǐng jīn; liū yú nèi tíng, nèi tíng, cì zhǐ wài jiān yě, wéi yíng; zhù yú xiàn gǔ, xiàn gǔ zhě, shàng zhōng zhǐ nèi jiān, shàng xíng èr cùn, xiàn zhě zhōng yě, wéi shù; guò yú chōng yáng, chōng yáng, zú fū shàng wǔ cùn, xiàn zhě zhōng yě, wéi yuán, yáo zú ér dé zhī; xíng yú jiě xī, jiě xī, shàng chōng yáng yī cùn bàn, xiàn zhě zhōng yě, wéi jīng; rù yú xià líng, xià líng, xī xià sān cùn, héng gǔ wài sān lǐ yě, wéi hé; fù xià sān lǐ sān cùn, wéi jù xū shàng lián; fù xià shàng lián sān cùn, wéi jù xū xià lián yě. dà cháng zhǔ shàng, xiǎo cháng zhǔ xià, zú yáng míng wèi mài yě. dà cháng xiǎo cháng jiē shǔ yú wèi, shì zú yáng míng yě.
The stomach emerges at Lidui. Lidui is at the tip of the next toe on the inner side of the great toe, and is the well-metal. It flows to Neiting; Neiting is in the outer space of the next toe, and is the spring. It pours into Xiangu; Xiangu is two cun above, in the hollow between the middle and great toes, and is the stream. It passes to Chongyang; Chongyang is five cun above the instep, in the hollow, and is the source, reached by shaking the foot. It moves to Jiexi; Jiexi is one and a half cun above Chongyang, in the hollow, and is the river. It enters Xialing; Xialing is three cun below the knee, outside the shin bone — this is Sanli — and is the sea. Three cun below Sanli is Juxu Shanglian; three cun below Shanglian is Juxu Xialian. The large intestine attaches above and the small intestine below; both belong to the foot yangming stomach vessel. Since large and small intestine both attach to the stomach, both are foot yangming.
**「巨虚」本篇2見**,上廉、下廉各一。**三穴相去各三寸**,自膝下三寸起,節節而下,故曰「復下」。**「大腸屬上,小腸屬下」二句,底本省「廉」字**,張介賓注補之,正以文承上文而略。
靈樞·邪氣藏府病形 Read in context →
黃帝曰:合各有名乎?歧伯答曰:胃合於三里,大腸合入于巨虚上廉,小腸合入于巨虚下廉,三焦合入於委陽,膀胱合入于委中央,膽合入于陽陵泉。 黄帝曰:合各有名乎?歧伯答曰:胃合于三里,大肠合入于巨虚上廉,小肠合入于巨虚下廉,三焦合入于委阳,膀胱合入于委中央,胆合入于阳陵泉。
Huáng Dì yuē: hé gè yǒu míng hū? Qí Bó dá yuē: wèi hé yú sān lǐ, dà cháng hé rù yú jù xū shàng lián, xiǎo cháng hé rù yú jù xū xià lián, sān jiāo hé rù yú wěi yáng, bǎng guāng hé rù yú wěi zhōng yāng, dǎn hé rù yú yáng líng quán.
Huang Di said: Have the seas each their names? Qi Bo answered: The stomach joins at Sanli; the large intestine joins entering Juxu upper border; the small intestine joins entering Juxu lower border; the triple burner joins entering Weiyang; the bladder joins entering the middle of Weizhong; the gallbladder joins entering Yanglingquan.
「巨虚」邪氣藏府病形第29段見,義與本條相合,引全段為證。
靈樞·四時氣 Read in context →
腹中常鳴,氣上衝胸,喘不能久立。邪在大腸,刺盲之原,巨虚上廉三里、小腹控睪,引腰脊,上衝心。邪在小腸者,連睪系,屬于脊,貫肝肺,絡心系。氣盛則厥逆,上衝腸胃,熏肝,散于盲,結于臍。故取之盲原以散之,刺太陰以予之,取厥陰以下之,取巨虚不廉以去之,按其所過之經以調之。 腹中常鸣,气上冲胸,喘不能久立。邪在大肠,刺盲之原,巨虚上廉三里、小腹控睾,引腰脊,上冲心。邪在小肠者,连睾系,属于脊,贯肝肺,络心系。气盛则厥逆,上冲肠胃,熏肝,散于盲,结于脐。故取之盲原以散之,刺太阴以予之,取厥阴以下之,取巨虚不廉以去之,按其所过之经以调之。
fù zhōng cháng míng, qì shàng chōng xiōng, chuǎn bù néng jiǔ lì. xié zài dà cháng, cì máng zhī yuán, jù xū shàng lián sān lǐ, xiǎo fù kòng gāo, yǐn yāo jí, shàng chōng xīn. xié zài xiǎo cháng zhě, lián gāo xì, zhǔ yú jí, guàn gān fèi, luò xīn xì. qì shèng zé jué nì, shàng chōng cháng wèi, xūn gān, sàn yú máng, jié yú qí. gù qǔ zhī máng yuán yǐ sàn zhī, cì tài yīn yǐ yǔ zhī, qǔ jué yīn yǐ xià zhī, qǔ jù xū bù lián yǐ qù zhī, àn qí suǒ guò zhī jīng yǐ tiáo zhī.
Constant rumbling in the abdomen, qi rushing up to the chest, panting so that one cannot stand long — the evil is in the large intestine: needle the source of the huang, ju xu shang lian and san li. When the lower abdomen draws on the testicles and pulls the loins and spine, rushing up to the heart, the evil is in the small intestine, which joins the spermatic cord, belongs to the spine, threads the liver and lungs and nets the heart system. When the qi is full there is counterflow, rushing up into stomach and intestines, scorching the liver, scattering into the huang and knotting at the umbilicus. Therefore take the source of the huang to scatter it, needle the tai yin to give it, take the jue yin to bring it down, take ju xu xia lian to remove it, and press along the channel it passes through to harmonise it.
「巨虚」四時氣第7段見,義與本條相合,引全段為證。
靈樞·海論 Read in context →
衝脉者,爲十二經之海,其輸上在于大杼,下出于巨虚之上下廉。 冲脉者,为十二经之海,其输上在于大杼,下出于巨虚之上下廉。
chōng mài zhě, wéi shí èr jīng zhī hǎi, qí shū shàng zài yú dà zhù, xià chū yú jù xū zhī shàng xià lián.
The thoroughfare vessel is the sea of the twelve channels; its point of infusion is above at Dazhu and below where it emerges at the upper and lower lian of Juxu.
「巨虚」海論第9段見,義與本條相合,引全段為證。

Compounds built on this term

巨虚上廉
jù xū shàng lián
Juxu upper edge
三里下三寸
巨虚下廉
jù xū xià lián
Juxu lower edge
上廉下三寸
上廉
shàng lián
the upper edge
胻骨外側

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

This siteJuxu, upper and lowerthe two points the chapter names in one breath
Literalthe great hollowexact, and it loses the pair
ClinicalShangjuxu and Xiajuxustandard, and it uses names the chapter does not

Entry status

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2026-10-24

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Reading path

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