The point where tears and tension meet the foot. Zulinqi (GB-41) opens the Girdling vessel, smooths the flow of Qi along the sides of the body, and brings relief to the eyes, the chest, the flanks and the cycle — a point of remarkable reach for something so small and so far from the centre.
Contraindications
GB-41 is a safe and commonly used distal point with no notable contraindications for routine use. Standard clean-needle technique and appropriate depth apply.
Name & story
The name 足临泣 Zulinqi means something like "Foot Governor of Tears" — or more poetically, "where tears arrive at the foot". The character 临 (lín) carries the sense of overseeing or being present at something; 泣 (qì) means tears or weeping. The Liver opens into the eyes, and when Liver Qi rises unruly or Heat disturbs the fluid of the eye, tears spill out unbidden. This point, says Deadman, "adjusts the fluid in the eye" — governing those tears, calming them, and restoring the balance between what overflows and what is held. That the point is on the foot, far from the eye, is one of those quiet wonders of the meridian system.
Point family & character
Zulinqi (GB-41) belongs to the Gallbladder Meridian (GB). In character it is the Shu-Stream point of the channel — and, crucially, the confluent point of the Dai Mai, the Girdling vessel, the one meridian that runs horizontally around the waist like a belt, binding all the vertical channels together. This makes GB-41 the gateway to the Dai Mai, used in combination with SJ-5 (Waiguan) whenever the Girdling vessel is being treated.
Five-element dynamics
The Gallbladder is the Yang channel of the Wood element, and the Shu-Stream points are classically associated with heaviness and the body's joints. But it is the Wood nature that gives GB-41 much of its character: Wood governs the smooth flow of Qi, the side-body, the eyes, the sinews and the menstrual cycle. When Wood is knotted — Qi Stagnation in the Liver and Gallbladder channels — pain, tightness, distension and emotional frustration follow along those channels' pathways. GB-41 is one of the key points for unblocking that stagnation: it spreads Qi through the flanks and chest, benefits the eyes, and, through the Dai Mai, influences the whole vertical axis of Yin channels including the Kidney, Liver and Spleen channels that govern menstruation.
Location
Find it on the top of the foot, between the 4th and 5th toes, in the hollow just behind where the 4th and 5th metatarsal bones meet. Running your finger along the groove between those two bones from the toe side toward the ankle, you will feel a natural dip — that is GB-41. It is proximal to the 4th metatarsophalangeal joint.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies on the dorsum of the foot, in the soft tissue between the 4th and 5th metatarsal bones, just distal to the junction of those bones — in the depression just proximal to the 4th metatarsophalangeal joint.
The golden tip
To find GB-41, place your finger in the groove on the top of the foot between your fourth and fifth toes and slide it slowly toward the ankle until you feel a natural hollow where the bones meet — there it is. Gentle circular pressure with a fingertip for one to two minutes on each foot can help ease flank tightness, premenstrual tension or tired, strained eyes. It pairs naturally with pressing SJ-5 on the outer wrist at the same time — the classical Dai Mai opening combination.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.