紫宮 Zigong
“Purple Palace” · CV19
Conception Vessel · 19 of 24
Where. On the breastbone, level with the second rib space.
For. Chest tightness, cough, shortness of breath.
Press. Gentle, on the breastbone, about a minute.
紫宮，在華蓋下一寸六分陷者中按 · Press with me
Six slow breaths
About a minute. Press as you breathe out, ease as you breathe in.
鄰 · Neighbouring leaves
Where Zigong Sits on the Chest Midline
The dataset places Zigong on the chest, on the anterior midline, level with the second intercostal space. Every word of that address earns a closer look. The anterior midline is the vertical seam running down the exact front-centre of the trunk, and on the upper chest that seam is the breastbone itself, so the search narrows to a single line of bone almost immediately. Unlike points measured outward from the centre, this one involves no sideways arithmetic at all: the whole task is vertical, a matter of finding the right height. The height is given in the language of ribs — an intercostal space being the soft gap between two adjacent ribs, and the second intercostal space the gap between the second rib and the third.
Two neighbours in the same catalogue triangulate the position neatly. One space above sits Huagai (CV20), which the record places at the midpoint of the sternal angle; one space below sits Yutang (CV18), recorded level with the third intercostal space. The sternal angle is the transverse ridge where the upper breastbone changes slope, and it is also where the second rib joins the bone — which is why the phrase level with the second intercostal space resolves so cleanly: the space lies directly beneath that rib’s attachment, immediately below the ridge. Under the fingertip at the midline there is no gap at all, only the smooth flat face of the breastbone. The soft spaces flank the bone on either side; the point itself rests on solid, unambiguous ground.
That firm floor shapes how the point should be treated. Behind the breastbone lie the deep structures of the chest, and the bone stands between the surface and all of them, so gentle surface pressure engages skin and the thin tissue lying against the bone rather than anything further in. The honesty of the contact is part of the appeal: what the finger feels is exactly what is there. Breath matters too — settle for a few slow cycles first, because the bone face and the spaces beside it ride subtly upward on the inhale, and a quiet chest announces its landmarks far more readily than a busy one.
A Self-Palpation Walkthrough
Sit upright on a firm chair with the shoulders released so the chest wall softens. Begin at the top of the breastbone: find the suprasternal notch, the soft hollow at the base of the throat between the inner ends of the collarbones. Rest two fingertips there and slide them straight down along the face of the bone, roughly two thumb-widths, until they meet a distinct transverse ridge where the slope of the bone changes — the sternal angle. Now let the fingertips settle just below the ridge onto the smooth flat of the bone. That height, immediately beneath the ridge, corresponds to the second intercostal space, and on the midline it is where Zigong lives.
Three confirmations help before any pressing begins. First, check beside the bone: at the same height, walk a finger-width sideways off the edge of the breastbone and feel for the soft groove that runs between two firm cartilaginous ridges — that groove is the second intercostal space itself; then draw level back to the centre line. Second, audit the neighbours: the midpoint of the ridge above is Huagai, and one gentle slide further down the bone brings the third-space level where Yutang waits — if your three readings stack in that order, the map is right. Third, most people notice a faint, dull awareness at the true point and little sensation a finger-width away. None of these checks needs force; every one of them works feather-light.
The classic mistakes are worth naming so they lose their sting. Sliding past the ridge and landing low puts you among the lower intercostal spaces, a thumb-width or more astray. Mistaking the notch shadow at the very top for the angle throws everything high. Drifting sideways off the midline onto the rounded slopes of the ribs is the commonest slip of all, because the bone edge gives less feedback than people expect. When in doubt, lift the hand, take two slow breaths, return to the notch, and count your way down once, slowly. Repetition is how the sequence becomes second nature.
Reading the Name: The Purple Palace
Two characters carry the whole image. Zi 紫 means purple; gong 宮 means palace — a grand, walled residence, the grandest word in the architectural vocabulary of Chinese point names, outranking the gates, valleys, courtyards, and storehouses scattered along the channels. Chinese astronomy lent the pairing its prestige: the ring of stars encircling the celestial pole was traditionally called the Purple Palace, the walled court of the heavenly emperor, and earthly rulers borrowed the same name for their own palace compounds. The purple in the Forbidden City’s title descends from that same sky-palace lineage. To meet a point named Purple Palace is to meet the tradition at its most ceremonious.
Why raise a palace here? Classical teaching ranks the heart as the sovereign among the organs, enthroned within the chest; where a sovereign dwells, a palace stands, so the image settles naturally onto the front-of-chest midline facing the heart’s precincts. The neighbour above completes the picture with pleasing precision: Huagai means the ceremonial canopy carried above an emperor — canopy above, palace beneath, the two names furnishing one imaginary courtyard between them. Like all such readings, this is offered as an interpretation rather than a decree — point names gathered layers across centuries — but the fit between the imagery and the point’s station on the imperial avenue of the Ren vessel is hard to resist.
The pinyin spelling Zǐgōng records the sounds precisely: zi rides the dipping third tone, which sinks briefly before rising again, while gong holds the high, flat first tone. Say the pair aloud and the cadence performs its own meaning — a dip-and-rise of approach, then a steady held note, like stepping into a courtyard and standing tall. The hanzi are compact enough to memorise at a glance. As with so many points, the name is itself a small set of instructions: the tradition treats this as a place of gathering and audience, not a way-station things merely pass through.
Traditional Indications, Explained
The recorded indications read: chest oppression and pain, shortness of breath, cough with rebellious qi, wheezing with inability to breathe freely, and difficulty swallowing. Framed as tradition rather than promise, the list is strikingly coherent. In the classical frame the lung governs qi and respiration, and healthy breath is expected to descend smoothly; rebellious qi names the moment that descent fails and qi surges upward instead — cough and noisy, effortful wheezing were read as that rising gone unchecked. Chest oppression is a distinct traditional concept: a subjective weight or stuckness across the chest, understood as qi failing to move freely there. The pain recorded alongside it usually refers to the dull, blocked sensations described together with fullness, not to sudden severe pain, which has always belonged to urgent medical care.
Difficulty swallowing looks like the odd one out until the map is consulted. The anterior midline runs a single corridor from throat to upper abdomen, and classical records grouped swallowing complaints under obstruction along that passage — food or breath meeting a stuck place in the chest — so practice reached for points strung along the central line, this one included. Read together, the five entries sketch one theme: the traffic of the chest, of air and of what is swallowed, moving freely or failing to. Each entry records what classical practice reached for, not what any modern trial has measured.
It bears repeating plainly: these are the traditional uses recorded in a licensed dataset and classical literature, offered here for cultural and historical understanding. They are not claims that pressing this point treats disease, and nothing in this guide replaces assessment by a qualified clinician. Where modern research touches self-applied pressure at all, reviews suggest effects are modest and context-dependent, and evidence tied to any single point remains thin. Hold the tradition lightly, and hold the safety rules firmly.
Self-Care Acupressure at Home
With the point located by the walkthrough above, arrange the conditions before the pressure. Warm your hands first — chilled fingers make a guarded chest. Sit upright with the spine tall but unforced and the shoulders heavy, breathe out slowly, and rest the pads of the index and middle fingers — not the tips — on the spot on the breastbone. Begin with contact alone for a few breaths, feeling the bone rise faintly beneath still fingers; then add small, slow circles, letting the skin glide over the smooth face of the bone rather than grinding against it. Pressure should register as pleasant dullness or mild warmth, never sharpness. A common home rhythm is one to three minutes per session, once or twice daily, matched where possible to slow exhales so each circle rides the breath out. The point sits on the midline, so there is no second side to swap to — one quiet minute suffices.
Quality matters more than duration. Light, patient, regularly repeated contact fits the wellness register this page practises; hard jabbing teaches the body nothing and serves nobody. Many people find the habit easiest to keep anchored to an existing routine — after morning washing, during an afternoon pause, in an evening wind-down — because consistency, not intensity, is what self-care traditions actually ask for. Choose a quiet corner over a screen and let the minute of pressing double as a breathing pause: inhale through the nose, feel the chest expand under still fingers, press gently on the long exhale. If the mind races, count the exhales instead; the practice tolerates imperfection generously.
Treat the exercise as a small ceremony of attention rather than a treatment session. Notice what changes across weeks: perhaps the chest feels less guarded, perhaps breathing feels smoother while you press, perhaps nothing shifts except that you spend ninety seconds attending to your own body at the height of the breath. Every one of those outcomes fits the honest scope of self-acupressure. What does not fit is escalation — pressing harder, longer, or deeper to force a result. When curiosity pulls that way, return to gentleness, or simply stop for the day and try again tomorrow with lighter hands.
Cautions and Safe Practice
Honesty starts with the record itself. The licensed dataset carries a caution for this point: professional technique here stays sideways-or-slanting in its approach and strictly shallow, never deep. The warning belongs to the same family every high-chest point wears, because directed work toward the chest cavity is the province of trained hands managing real risks with exact technique. Home self-care manages the same geography differently and far more simply — by never leaving the surface at all. The solid bone under the fingertip makes that easy to honour: there is no gap inviting the finger inward at the midline, and the intention stays in skin and the thin tissue against the bone.
The practical rules are short. Skip the point entirely during any acute breathing difficulty, during a feverish illness, and over broken, irritated, or injured skin. After recent chest injury or surgery, wait until a clinician has cleared ordinary activity before adding any new point practice. Pregnant readers, and anyone living with heart or lung conditions, should consult a qualified practitioner before adding any new acupressure at all. Use finger pads, never elbows, knuckles, or tools; never press while holding the breath or through pain; and stop at once on sharp, electric, or radiating sensation, giving the spot the rest of the day off. Discomfort that worsens rather than settles is a signal to finish, not to persist.
And the wider rule stands over everything: this page is educational, and acupressure is self-care, not diagnosis or therapy. Seek prompt medical care — not a pressure routine — for chest pain, breathlessness at rest or on mild exertion, coughing blood, wheeze that will not settle, a cough lasting beyond a few weeks, difficulty swallowing that persists, or any symptom that frightens you. Persistent symptoms belong with a licensed practitioner, medical or East Asian medical as suits the complaint. The palace imagery is lovely, but the safest gift Zigong offers most people is a calm, kind acquaintance with their own chest, tended lightly.
Zigong, the Purple Palace, stands high on the breastbone at the level of the second intercostal space, one of the midline stations of the Ren vessel. Classical practice reached for it when the chest felt oppressed and painful, breath ran short, or cough surged upward. This guide walks through finding it by touch and pressing it gently and safely.
Cautions from the classical sources
- Angle the needle transversely or obliquely and keep it shallow.
Self-care limits
Frequently asked
- How do I find Zigong without knowing anything about cun?
- You barely need measurements at all — you need one ridge. Find the hollow at the base of the throat, slide your fingertips straight down the breastbone about two thumb-widths until you feel the transverse ridge of the sternal angle, and settle just below it on the flat of the bone. The recorded address, level with the second intercostal space, describes exactly that height, because the second rib joins the breastbone at the ridge and the second space opens immediately beneath it.
- Is pressing Zigong myself actually safe?
- Gentle fingertip pressure held on the surface of solid bone is generally reasonable self-care for healthy adults — it engages skin and the thin tissue against the breastbone, far short of the structures behind it. The recorded caution concerns deep professional techniques directed toward the chest, a category home acupressure never approaches. Respect the stop signals regardless: sharp pain, radiating sensation, or discomfort that worsens all mean finish immediately.
- What did classical practice use Zigong for?
- The traditional record lists chest oppression and pain, shortness of breath, cough with rebellious qi, wheezing with laboured breathing, and difficulty swallowing. Classical thinking grouped most of these as the traffic of the chest — breath especially — failing to descend or move freely, which made a high midline station a natural candidate for attention. Those are traditional frameworks documented for cultural understanding, not evidence-backed treatment claims.
- How do I tell the second intercostal space from the ones above and below it?
- Anchor on the sternal angle rather than counting from the top of the breastbone. The angle’s ridge is unmistakable once found, and the record places Huagai at its midpoint; Zigong sits just below the ridge at the second-space level, and one more space down brings the third-space level where Yutang sits. If your three readings stack in that order — ridge, just-below, one-lower — you have told the spaces apart without any arithmetic.
- Can acupressure at Zigong replace seeing a doctor about chest or breathing problems?
- No. Self-acupressure is a comfort practice, not a diagnostic tool, and symptoms such as chest pain, worsening breathlessness, coughing blood, or difficulty swallowing that persists need prompt professional assessment. Think of the two as different floors of the same building: daily self-care lives downstairs, and clinical medicine keeps the consulting room upstairs that you visit when symptoms persist or escalate. Neither substitutes for the other.
Sources
- 01WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region (2008), World Health Organization — nomenclature conventions.
- 02A Manual of Acupuncture, Peter Deadman, Mazin Al-Khafaji and Kevin Baker — point-name tradition and ren-vessel channel context.
- 03aijiu-mpvue (MIT License) licensed dataset, entry for CV19 Zigong — location, actions, and caution record.
Last reviewed
牌記This leaf, for machines
Old books ended with a colophon saying who printed them. Every leaf here carries the same facts as structured data for agents and search, with no layout in the way.
- GET /en/points/cv19/leaf.json
- GET /zh-hant/points/cv19/leaf.json
- GET /zh-cn/points/cv19/leaf.json
- /llms.txt — the index of every leaf
- JSON-LD in the page: MedicalWebPage, MedicalEntity and FAQPage
{
"id": "CV19",
"name": {
"en": "Zigong",
"gloss": "Purple Palace",
"zh-Hant": "紫宮",
"zh-Hans": "紫宫"
},
"channel": {
"id": "CV",
"order": 19,
"of": 24
},
"location": {
"text": "On the breastbone, level with the second rib space."
},
"for": [
"chest tightness",
"cough",
"shortness of breath"
],
"press": {
"text": "Gentle, on the breastbone, about a minute.",
"seconds": 60
},
"cautions": [],
"source": "Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing, book 3",
"url": "https://acupoints.com/en/points/cv19",
"lastReviewed": "2026-08-24"
}