Lung 4: Xiabai – Protecting White

Jonathan Clogstoun-Willmott

January 14, 2022

Lung 4 is the fourth point along the Lung acupuncture channel.

It has two main actions apart from local action at the point:

Descends Lung qi
Steadies and regulates Qi and Blood in the chest

Location

Lung point 4 lies on the lateral side of the biceps, 5 cun superior to the elbow crease. The distance between axilla and elbow creases is 9 cun. This point is 1 cun inferior to Lung point 3. The point lies anterior to the humerus in the depression lateral to the biceps brachii muscle.

Needling

Perpendicular to the skin, up to 1 cun.

Needling sensation:

Dull ache locally which may spread up or down the meridian.

Indications for Lung 4

Cough, difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
Chest or heart pain, fullness of chest with anxiety
Local pain in the area of the point
Purple-white wind blotches on the skin

The first two indications above indicate fullness in the chest.

This point, though not much used, being one of several that can ‘descend’ Qi stuck in the chest, is very appropriate for these conditions.

Comment on Lung 4

This point is little used except for local pain, but its indications make it not dissimilar to Lung point 3, and its name suggests that the people who gave it its name saw something interesting in the point that perhaps we overlook.

There are various translations, including ‘Clasping White’, ‘Guarding White’, ‘Valiant White’ and ‘Chivalrous White’.

White is the traditional colour that goes with Metal energies, the energy of the Lungs. It has to do with purity of thought, clarity of conceptualisation, refinement of attitude. In a sense this point helps your body make better use of oxygen and Qi, refreshing tissues and raising one’s thinking to a higher plane.

This idea of ‘white’ may also suggest a limpid openness in the chest, where Qi can flow unrestrained. So perhaps this would be a point to consider more often when there is phlegm or other blockages there.

There is an ethical dimension here, with objectivity and distancing oneself from pre-conceived or former opinions. This takes courage.

Perhaps this point not only helps clear the chest of stagnant phlegm, blood and gunge, but also helps us stand up better and be clearer in our objectives.

This ability to clear the upper part of the thorax means that it occupies an important part in the acupuncture formula handed down to us from Thousand Ducat Formulas.

Breathing problems

That text suggests Lung 4 Xiabai for shortness of breath and pain in the chest and adds the following points:

Xiabai LU-4 (this point)
Qimen LIV-14 (the exit point on the Liver channel)
Changqiang DU-1 (not a point much used, but right at the most inferior point of the trunk, so useful for pulling Qi down)
Tiantu REN-22 (at the top of the thorax, so good for pushing Qi down)
Zhongchong P-9 (a point mainly to clear Heat or excess Yang)

Click for a few short but scholarly paragraphs on the Metal element.

Get back from Lung point 4 to Acupuncture Point Locations

For other points on the Lung channel, click below:

Lung-1	Zhongfu	Middle Mansion
Lung-2	Yunmen	Cloud Gate
Lung-3	Tianfu	Heavenly Palace
Lung-4	Xiabai	Protecting White
Lung-5	Chize	Foot Marsh
Lung-6	Kongxui	Great Opening
Lung-7	Lique	Broken Sequence
Lung-8	Jingqu	Channel Gutter
Lung-9	Taiyuan	Great Abyss
Lung-10	Yujo	Fish Region
Lung-11	Shaoshang	Lesser Shang