Free Shipping on US orders over $15
Shopping cart

Acupoint · Acupressure only

Sizhukong

丝竹空 sī zhú kōng

Location diagram: Sizhukong (TE-23), in the depression at the lateral end of the eyebrow.
Location of Sizhukong (TE-23).

Location

Standard location. On the head, in the depression at the lateral end of the eyebrow.

How to find it. Find the outer end of the eyebrow, then feel just above it for a small hollow on the edge of the orbital bone. It is close to, but above, the outer corner of the eye.

The point is above the bone edge, not on the eye itself, and it lies lateral to the hollow of Taiyang.

Acupressure

How
Press with the pad of the middle finger, angled slightly towards the temple rather than towards the eye.
Hold
20 to 30 seconds on each side.
Frequency
Once or twice a day.
In a sequence
After Cuanzhu (BL-2) and the brow line, continuing outward into Taiyang (EX-HN5).

What it is used for

Skin and face

  • Outer-brow tension and the tail of a frown.
  • Temple and outer-eye tension after close work, alongside Taiyang (EX-HN5).
  • The closing point of the brow sequence on facial-acupressure.
  • Tension that travels out towards the temple on gua-sha-face lines.

Actions

  • Expels wind-heat from the head
  • Benefits the eyes
  • Relieves temporal headache
  • Releases the outer end of the brow

Practitioner note

Needling is a practitioner procedure and is not described on this page. Where it is relevant to a treatment, the beauty page for that practice explains what a practitioner does.

Safety

Safety and when to get help

  • Press outward or upward, never inward onto the eye.
  • Light pressure only, because the orbital rim is directly below.
  • Do not press on a stye, a chalazion or an infected area.
  • The site writes this channel as SJ-23; the point is the same one as TE-23 in the WHO standard.

Used with

Taiyang (EX-HN5) Cuanzhu (BL-2) Yangbai (GB-14)

Common questions

Is Sizhukong SJ-23 or TE-23?

Both. The WHO standard uses TE for the Triple Energiser channel; this site's older prefix is SJ. It is the same point.

Should I press towards the eye?

No. The direction is outward towards the temple or upward, never inward towards the eyeball.

Where is it in relation to Taiyang?

Sizhukong is at the outer end of the brow; Taiyang is further out and back, in the temple hollow.

How it is understood

Sizhukong is the last point of the Triple Energiser channel on the head, and it sits at the outer end of the eyebrow, just above the orbital rim. The tradition uses it for wind-heat in the head, temporal headache, red or tired eyes and a twitching eyelid. In a facial routine it closes the brow line: work starts at Cuanzhu on the inner end and finishes here.

Sources

Guidelines and standards

TE-23 Sizhukong

On the head, in the depression at the lateral end of the eyebrow.

WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific, 2008.

Location quoted from the WHO standard. The classical record for this point has not been verified against a primary text here, so it is not quoted.