A gentle but focused local point near the nose and upper lip. Kouheliao (LI-19) opens the nose, moves Qi in the face, and is called on wherever the nose is blocked or the face is tight — a quiet specialist at the very end of the Large Intestine channel's journey.
Contraindications
LI-19 is a safe, superficial facial point. Standard clean-needle technique and shallow insertion are all that is required. Avoid strong or deep needling in this delicate area.
Name & story
The name 口禾髎 Kouheliao is poetic in its simplicity: 口 means "mouth", 禾 means "grain" or "millet" (the crop that feeds us), and 髎 means "bone-hole" or "crevice". Together it suggests a hollow near the mouth where the grain enters — the very gateway of nourishment. The point sits right there, in the groove beneath the nostril, at the edge of the upper lip, as if marking the threshold between breath and food.
Point family & character
Kouheliao (LI-19) belongs to the Large Intestine Meridian (LI). It sits near the end of the channel's long journey up the arm and across the face, just one point before the channel terminates at Yingxiang LI-20. As a local facial point it carries no special category title — no He-Sea, no Yuan Source — but its value is purely local and immediate: it is the channel's penultimate station, positioned to address the nose and upper lip directly.
Five-element dynamics
The Large Intestine Meridian (LI) belongs to the Metal element and its Yang channel. Metal governs the nose and the skin — the body's interface with the outside world. It is the element of letting go, of clearing what is no longer needed. When Wind or Cold invades the nose, or when Heat accumulates in the face, the Metal channel stagnates. LI-19 sits right at the face, where the channel's Qi arrives after its long climb from the fingertip — making it a direct, local expression of Metal's ability to open, clear and release.
Location
Find the midpoint of the outer edge of the nostril (the ala nasi), then move slightly downward and inward toward the upper lip — the point sits in the small groove there, roughly 0.5 Cun lateral to the midline of the philtrum (the vertical groove of the upper lip), level with the lower border of the nostril.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies in the upper lip region, over the orbicularis oris muscle, close to the nasolabial groove.
Needling
The needle is inserted obliquely or perpendicularly, with a gentle, shallow insertion suited to this delicate facial area.
Safe depth
The golden tip
For a stuffy nose or sluggish sense of smell, find the small groove just below and to the side of the nostril, near the upper lip. Press gently with a fingertip and hold for one to two minutes, breathing slowly through the nose. Combining this with the same pressure on Yingxiang LI-20 (at the side of the nostril) and Hegu LI-4 (in the web of the hand) makes a simple, effective home routine for nasal congestion.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.