Lung LU
手太阴肺经
Shou Taiyin Feijing
Teaching charts start this channel in the middle burner, bring it to the chest at LU1, then down the inner arm across the elbow crease, over the pulse at the wrist, and out to the thumb.
Yin metal channel, paired with Large Intestine. The clock time is a memory aid, not a diagnosis.
- Breathing and the chest
- Protective qi at the surface
- Skin and the first sign of a cold
- Grief, in the five-element set
- Organ system
- Lung
- Teaching clock
- 3–5 a.m.
Paired with Large Intestine.
Points in this atlas
7 of 11 classical numbers. Add the missing ones in order beside their neighbors.
Central Treasury
Chest point where the Lung channel surfaces.
Use caution
Cubit Marsh
Elbow crease point for lung-heat patterns and local elbow tension.
Maximum Opening
Forearm cleft point, taught for acute lung-channel patterns.
Broken Sequence
Wrist point for the nape, a fresh cold, and the Ren vessel.
Use caution
Great Abyss
Wrist-pulse point for lung qi and the vessels category.
Use caution
Fish Border
Thenar point taught for throat heat and local thumb tension.
Lesser Shang
Thumb-tip well point. Learn it; do not bleed it at home.
Use caution
Herbs that enter Lung
Angelica dahurica root
Opens the nose and the yang brightness of the face.
Pinellia rhizome
The main phlegm herb. Raw pinellia is toxic. Only prepared herb belongs in a formula.
Field mint
Cool and aromatic. A light herb for wind-heat and a tight head.
Aged tangerine peel
Moves qi in the middle and dries damp phlegm.
Poria
A mild fungus that leaches damp and quiets the heart in textbooks.
Licorice root
Harmonizes formulas. Also the herb most likely to cause trouble if eaten daily in quantity.
Goji berry
A food-like fruit for liver and kidney yin, especially the eyes in texts.
Cinnamon twig
Warms the channels and helps a mild surface pattern.
Magnolia bark
Moves qi and dries damp in a stuck, full abdomen.
Astragalus root
Tonifies qi and is said to firm the surface.
Scutellaria root
Clears heat and dries damp, especially in the upper burner and the gut.
Honeysuckle flower
A sweet cold flower for heat in the upper body.
Chrysanthemum flower
Cools the head and is the flower students learn for the eyes.
Ephedra
Strongly releases the surface. A regulated plant, not a home stimulant.
Ophiopogon tuber
Moistens the lung and stomach and quiets irritability from dryness.
Ginseng root
Strongly tonifies source qi. Easy to misuse, and not a stimulant.
Fresh ginger
Warms the middle and is the kitchen herb for mild nausea.
Cimicifuga rhizome
Raises yang and vents a heat rash in textbook language.
Gypsum
A mineral that texts use for big heat and big thirst.
Schisandra fruit
Astringes the lung and is said to hold leaking qi.
Coix seed
A grain-like seed that drains damp and eases a heavy body.
Polygala root
Connects the heart and kidney, in the phrase, and transforms phlegm that clouds the spirit.
Anemarrhena rhizome
Clears heat and also moistens, unlike the drying bitters.
Gardenia fruit
Drains heat and irritability through the three burners, in the usual phrase.