The He-Sea point of the San Jiao channel — a point that clears Heat, dissolves Phlegm and lifts the spirit. Tianjing (SJ-10) is where the channel's energy pools and deepens, making it especially powerful for lumps, nodules, and a mind clouded by stubborn emotional weight.
Name & story
The name 天井 Tianjing means "Heavenly Well". Picture a well shaft sinking down from heaven — deep, cool, and still. The point sits in a natural hollow above the elbow, like a small well in the flesh, and its quality is precisely that: cool, descending, clearing. Just as a well draws water up from the earth's depths, this point draws out what is stuck — Heat, Phlegm, old grief — and brings a kind of cooling clarity with it.
Point family & character
Tianjing (SJ-10) belongs to the San Jiao channel (SJ). In character it is the He-Sea point of the channel — the point where the channel's Qi gathers and flows most deeply, like a river reaching the sea. It is also the Earth point of the San Jiao channel. In the five-element framework, the San Jiao is a Fire channel, so its Earth point has the quality of Fire meeting Earth — transformation and resolution of what accumulates.
Five-element dynamics
The San Jiao channel belongs to the Fire element, and Tianjing is its Earth point — the place where Fire's movement meets Earth's capacity to transform and resolve. Earth, in Chinese medicine, governs digestion — not only of food, but of emotions and experiences. When grief, worry or unresolved feeling gets stuck in the body, it can congeal into Phlegm, and Phlegm can form lumps. Tianjing's Earth quality within a Fire channel gives it the particular power to dissolve these accumulations: it clears Heat, transforms Phlegm, and helps the body process what it could not digest before.
Location
Find the bony tip of the elbow (the olecranon). With the elbow flexed, there is a natural depression just above that tip — about 1 Cun above the olecranon. Tianjing (SJ-10) sits right there, in that hollow.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies in the depression above the olecranon (the bony tip of the elbow), in the hollow found when the elbow is flexed.
Needling
The needle is inserted perpendicularly, straight into the depression above the olecranon.
Safe depth
0.5–1 Cun.
Moxa, cupping & Tui Na
Moxibustion can be applied to this point. Massage and acupressure of the hollow above the elbow are accessible for self-care. Because the point clears rather than warms, moxa is used selectively — more appropriate when there is Cold or Qi Stagnation without strong Heat.
Functions
Clears Heat and resolves Phlegm; dissipates nodules and scrofula. Regulates Qi and dispels Stagnation. Transforms Phlegm-Fire. Calms the Shen and relieves depression. Clears the San Jiao channel and alleviates pain in the arm and elbow. Benefits the eyes and ears.
Indications
Scrofula (lymph node swellings in the neck), goitre and nodules — especially those involving Phlegm accumulation. Epilepsy and seizures. Elbow pain, swelling and stiffness; pain along the arm. Migraine and temporal headache. Urticaria (skin rashes and itching, with a Wind-Heat quality). Deafness and tinnitus. Chest oppression and hypochondriac pain. Febrile conditions.
Mind & spirit (Shen)
Tianjing (SJ-10) has a quietly profound effect on the mind. In Chinese medicine, grief and melancholy — when they linger too long — can congeal into Phlegm that clouds the Shen. The person feels heavy, foggy, unable to move forward, as though something old and unresolved is sitting in the chest. Tianjing addresses precisely this: it clears the Phlegm-Fire that disturbs the heart-mind, lifts depression rooted in stuck emotion, and brings back a sense of mental spaciousness. It is a point for the person who carries grief they have not been able to let go of.
Point combinations
With GB-21 (Jianjing) and SI-9 for scrofula and lymph node swellings in the neck and axilla. With LI-11 (Quchi) for skin conditions involving Wind-Heat, such as urticaria. With PC-6 (Neiguan) and GB-34 for hypochondriac pain and emotional constraint. With local elbow points for elbow pain and restricted movement.
Clinical spotlight
Tianjing (SJ-10) is most distinctive among the He-Sea points for its ability to resolve Phlegm accumulations — particularly the kind that manifest as visible lumps: scrofula, lymph node swellings, and nodules. Classical texts single it out precisely for this. It is also one of the few points where the physical and emotional aspects of Phlegm are treated together: the same action that dissolves a neck lump can lift a heavy, grief-laden mind. This double action — clearing Phlegm in the body and clearing Phlegm from the Shen — makes it a subtle but powerful point in both physical and psycho-emotional practice.
The golden tip
The hollow just above the tip of the elbow is easy to find and easy to press. For elbow stiffness, a foggy or heavy mood, or a general sense of being emotionally stuck, try pressing or rubbing this depression gently for one to two minutes, with the arm comfortably bent. It can also be warmed with a heat pack when the area feels cold or stiff. For skin irritation or lymph swellings, consult a practitioner for proper needling.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.