Classica Sinica Medica

氣穴 简体 气穴

qì xué

The qi points · qi xue

Also rendered: qi holes (Literal for 穴, but 'hole' is not English anatomical usage) · qi caves (Keeps the image of 穴 and is immediately wrong in a clinical line)

Vessels

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
qì xué
Simplified
气穴
Literal
氣 qì, qi; 穴 xué, a hole, a cave, and by extension an acupuncture point. The points where the qi can be got at. Chapter 32 closes by listing five of them for heat disease, each named by the vertebra it sits under and the region of the body it governs.
Shuowen
《說文解字》：穴，土室也，从宀八聲——「氣」讀 qì，本篇六見；**「穴」讀 xué，本篇惟此一見**（熱病氣穴）。「熱」讀 rè；「病」讀 bìng。**此節以冒號提領五句，是本篇唯一以「：」為句讀之處**，照錄不改。「三」讀 sān；「四」讀 sì；「六」讀 liù；「七」讀 qī；**「椎」讀 zhuī，本篇六見**——此為脊椎之椎，與第二十七篇「扣椎」之讀 chuí（木椎）者別；**「間」讀 jiān，本篇五見**，椎下之陷中也；「主」讀 zhǔ，本篇五見；「中」讀 zhōng，本篇三見；「鬲」讀 gé，本篇二見，即「膈」；「肝」讀 gān；「脾」讀 pí；「腎」讀 shèn；「下」讀 xià，本篇八見。**此節之例與上文五藏之序不合**：上文五藏之序為肝、心、脾、肺、腎，此處自三椎至七椎主胸中、鬲中、肝、脾、腎，**無心肺而有胸中鬲中**，舊注疑有脫文，或以為胸中鬲中即心肺之部，**各從底本，照錄存疑**。**《素問》第五十八篇即以「氣穴論」名篇**，可與此節相發。

In brief

Acupuncture points, understood as the places where qi can be reached. Chapter 32’s closing paragraph lists five of them for heat disease, each identified by the vertebra below which it lies and the region it governs: chest, diaphragm, liver, spleen, kidney. The list does not match the order of the five depots earlier in the chapter — there is no point for the heart or the lung — and the commentaries suspect lost text. The site transcribes it as it stands.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The points where qi is reached 熱病氣穴
氣穴者，氣之所注而可刺者也
熱病氣穴 — Suwen 32
2
Named by the vertebra above 三椎下間
本篇取穴皆以椎計，不言穴名
三椎下間主胸中熱 — Suwen 32
3
Each governs a region 主胸中熱
一穴主一部之熱，自上而下
主胸中熱 — Suwen 32
4
The diaphragm point 主鬲中熱
鬲即膈，本篇二見
四椎下間主鬲中熱 — Suwen 32
5
The three depot points 主肝熱、主脾熱、主腎熱
肝脾腎三穴，與上文五藏之序不合
五椎下間主肝熱 — Suwen 32
6
The chapter's own closing method 榮在骶也
穴法之外復言骨端之榮色
榮在骶也 — Suwen 32

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display
3 passages
素問·剌熱 Suwen 32 · 剌熱 Read in context →
熱病氣穴：三椎下間主胸中熱，四椎下間主鬲中熱，五椎下間主肝熱，六椎下間主脾熱，七椎下間主腎熱。 热病气穴：三椎下间主胸中热，四椎下间主鬲中热，五椎下间主肝热，六椎下间主脾热，七椎下间主肾热。
Rè bìng qì xué: sān zhuī xià jiān zhǔ xiōng zhōng rè, sì zhuī xià jiān zhǔ gé zhōng rè, wǔ zhuī xià jiān zhǔ gān rè, liù zhuī xià jiān zhǔ pí rè, qī zhuī xià jiān zhǔ shèn rè.
The qi points for heat disease: the space below the third vertebra governs heat in the chest; below the fourth, heat in the diaphragm; below the fifth, liver heat; below the sixth, spleen heat; below the seventh, kidney heat.
本篇末節之穴法。「三」、「四」、「五」、「六」、「七」讀 sān、sì、wǔ、liù、qī；**「椎」讀 zhuī，本篇六見**——本篇「椎」皆脊椎之椎，與第二十四篇大椎之為穴名者同名，與第二十七篇「扣椎」之讀 chuí 者異讀；「下」讀 xià；**「間」讀 jiān，本篇五見**，底本不作「间」；「主」讀 zhǔ；「中」讀 zhōng；**「鬲」讀 gé，本篇二見**，即「膈」之本字；「肝」、「脾」、「腎」讀 gān、pí、shèn。**此五穴自上而下，三椎至七椎，主胸中、鬲中、肝、脾、腎**：上文五藏熱病之序為肝心肺脾腎，此則無心肺，或以胸中鬲中當之，**舊注疑有脫文，照錄存疑**。下文「項上三椎陷者，中也」即言此取穴之分寸所從起，「榮在骶也」則復言骨端之榮色——一上一下，合為脊背分部之法。
素問·氣穴論 Suwen 58 · 氣穴論 Read in context →
黄帝問曰：余聞氣穴三百六十五，以應一歲，未知其所，願卒聞之。 黄帝问曰：余闻气穴三百六十五，以应一岁，未知其所，愿卒闻之。
Huáng dì wèn yuē: yú wén qì xué sān bǎi liù shí wǔ, yǐ yìng yī suì, wèi zhī qí suǒ, yuàn zú wén zhī.
The Emperor asks: I have heard that the qi points are three hundred and sixty-five, answering to one year. I do not yet know where they lie. I wish to hear the whole of it.
「黄帝問曰：余聞「氣」讀 qì「穴」讀 xué三百六十五，以應一歲，未知其所，願卒聞之。」——**本篇「氣穴」4見，讀 qì xué**；**全篇之首問即設此二字，以下所列三百六十五穴之目，皆此一問之所起**；**篇末「署曰氣穴所在」復點其名，一篇始終以此為目**；**本目第三十二篇所立，以椎下與所主之部定穴；本篇則為穴數之總帳**；**本篇「穴」字46見，凡言穴者皆氣穴之細目**；「三」讀 sān、**三百六十五者，以應一歲之日，本篇二見此數**
素問·陰陽應象大論 Suwen 5 · 陰陽應象大論 Read in context →
帝曰：余聞上古聖人，論理人形，列别藏府，端絡經脉，會通六合，各從其經，氣穴所發，各有處名。谿谷屬骨，皆有所起，分部逆從，各有條理。四時陰陽，盡有經紀，外内之應，皆有表裏，其信然乎？ 帝曰：余闻上古圣人，论理人形，列别藏府，端络经脉，会通六合，各从其经，气穴所发，各有处名。溪谷属骨，皆有所起，分部逆从，各有条理。四时阴阳，尽有经纪，外内之应，皆有表里，其信然乎？
dì yuē: yú wén shàng gǔ shèng rén, lùn lǐ rén xíng, liè bié zàng fǔ, duān luò jīng mài, huì tōng liù hé, gè cóng qí jīng, qì xué suǒ fā, gè yǒu chù míng. xī gǔ shǔ gǔ, jiē yǒu suǒ qǐ, fēn bù nì cóng, gè yǒu tiáo lǐ. sì shí yīn yáng, jìn yǒu jīng jì, wài nèi zhī yìng, jiē yǒu biǎo lǐ, qí xìn rán hū?
The Emperor says: I have heard that the sages of high antiquity discussed the patterns of the human form, set out and distinguished the viscera and bowels, ordered the network of the channels, and brought the six conjunctions into communication, each following its own channel; that the places where the qi and the acupoints emerge each have their names; that the ravines and valleys belonging to the bones each have their origin; that the divisions, the rebellious and the compliant, each have their order; that the yin and yang of the four seasons all have their fixed measure; and that the correspondence of outer and inner all has its outer and inner aspect. Is this indeed so?
「氣穴所發，各有處名」——氣穴所發各有處名，谿谷屬骨皆有所起；**「氣穴」本篇1見**

Compounds built on this term

氣穴
qì xué
the qi points
本篇一見（《素問》第五十八篇即以之為篇名）
椎下間
zhuī xià jiān
the space below the vertebra
本篇五見，取穴之定位法
背俞
bèi shù
the back transport points
本站已立目（id 766），與此之椎下取穴相表裡
俞
shù
transport point
本站已立目（id 557），穴之通名

How it has been translated

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

Wiseman & Fengqi holesThey keep 穴 as 'hole', which is the literal sense and the one the graph draws, at the cost of clinical idiom.
Unschuld[holes for the] qiUnschuld supplies a gloss, acknowledging that the Chinese says hole where we would say point.
This sitethe qi pointsWe say points. 穴 means a hole, but in this chapter it is used as a technical term for a place that is needled, and 'point' is the English word that does that work.

Entry status

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2026-09

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