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W EI M AI/ LINKING V ESSELS ; part #1

Introduction, Pathways, Pathology, Symptomology,
Relationship with Chong Mai and Dai Mai.

Yang Wei Mai,

Yin Wei Mai,
from the
Neiwaigong
tushuo
(Larre & Rochat,
1997).

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LARRE & ROCHAT
Introductory Discussion (Larre & Rochat, 1997)
Claude Larre: This character wei is not specific to Chinese medicine as such, it is a kind of rope,
or the way things are attached. The ten thousand beings are attached (wei) between heaven and earth.
It is not enough to say that things are placed between heaven and earth. When we say that in our
minds, we should add that through the essential influx and the receptive attitude of earth then things
surge and they have their place. But it is through this wei that they have a place and they have to be
maintained there by some device. The device for maintaining things is at the four corners where they
are fixed. On earth it is normal that stability is expressed through four. The link between things and
earth is the core of the conception of the si wei, the four attachments. How is something which is
invisible able to be fixed and maintained in a new place? We know that the ten thousand beings are
alive, and so if there is something that can guarantee that they would be stable, that something also
has to be alive. So the wei is a device for living beings to be attached to earth.
Mythologically, the stability of earth is usually represented by the four feet of the tortoise; the
tortoise being the sacred animal which gives fixity to everything everywhere between heaven and
earth. And there must be a balance of yin and yang; if it were fixed by yang it would not be totally
fixed, and if it were fixed by yin it would not be totally fixed. A living being has to be fixed through
some yin yang device.
Comment: The concept of the receptors for specific attachments is one of the most fundamental
breakthroughs in modern biology and a great body of contemporary science was dependent on that
discovery.
Claude Larre: The Chinese have made a progressively well organised representation of the way
things are made, produced, maintained and changed, and in general life it is the same, because the
last change is death. When they are fixed, that fixity is made because of the necessity in life to have a
place, and to have the means to make things fixed and stable. So the Western mind through
chemistry, physics or biology would have the same preoccupation - it is the same world and the same
mind when we come to fundamentals. If two civilisations are able to give a good representation of the
life of the universe, I think that the more they come to the area where there is nothing to see, the more
they will have the same ways of thinking. There may be more use of numbers in the Chinese
thinking, because they have a very clear and very systematic presentation of numerology. The
Western mind makes mathematical formula, which could have never happened with the Chinese
because they give numbers a particular form of symbolism.
Elisabeth Rochat: The character for wei is made with two parts, the left part is radical number
120, the thread of silk. This gives the image of a net, a network, and the ability to link or bind
something. The other part is also part of the character for the triple heater, san jiao with fire in the
lower part.
According to Wieger lesson 168A, this represents a bird with a short tail, which emphasises the
linking of the feathers on the body of the bird. This idea appears in a lot of characters containing this
image, for example, a bunch of bananas. The idea is that the bananas are bunched in the same way as

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the feathers of the bird fold over each other. It gives the idea of a special kind of linking or
attachment.
This character wei with the phonetic zhui and the thread of silk radical has the meaning of to tie, to
hold fast. To attach as with a rope, or to hold in a great net. The great net has a very firm and solid
main string, which attaches all the smaller parts of the net. Through that there are several other
meanings which are more figurative.
The meaning is to preserve something, because when something is maintained and held it is also
preserved. You can protect your boat by mooring it very firmly. And you can preserve the kingdom
by ruling with great laws and principles to ensure stability and to impress something on the mind and
the behaviour of the people. For instance this expression si wei, the four attachments, has a universal
meaning as Father Larre said, but when speaking of the kingdom, it is a very common expression for
the four fundamental virtues; to preserve the balance of the kingdom by being at the same time and in
equal proportion benevolent, just and fair, to have balance between punishment and retribution and so
on. The principle is to have something very firm and secure as a reference point, and all kinds of
people and things and behaviours can rely on these fixed things.
Claude Larre: The four cardinal virtues necessary for the stability of the state, are civility, justice,
integrity and truth. Those four must make a totality. For every action there is not only a model but a
way to carry it out. In the same way the four directions are for the regulation of everything because
we know that the expression dong xi east and west, means everything under the sun, rising in the
east and setting in the west. All this must be attached in the net. Lao zi would say that the net of
heaven is so large and so perfect that it covers and takes in everything without losing a single drop.
In the particular case of the wei mai we know that they are yin and yang and that they are four. I think
that we are not concerned with the limbs as such, because this primary organisation of the
extraordinary meridians has more to do with the beginning of life where the limbs are not yet formed,
and it takes time for the baby to be able to use this physical activity through the exertion of the four
limbs. So instead of the limbs, which are more characteristic of the ordinary meridians, the ancient
Chinese would talk of the same principle of activity but at the level of the attachment of the yin and
the yang in this particular life.
We have some sort of projection of life starting from the fundamental organisation of four by two,
which is the eight meridians, and when the organisation is more complete and the constitution of the
individual has reached a certain level, then all the activity is expressed by four multiplied by three
which gives us the twelve meridians. But since these meridians are for normal practical life they are
called the ordinary meridians. The others are still there, and may be used for specific reasons. We
have the first four, which give a kind of complete whole, then there are the two qiao mai with this
kind of upsurge of the vitality of life, and the two wei, with a kind of firmness of attachment, linking
for the same stabilisation as the four directions which are the quality of qi in the north, the west, the
east and the south. Similarly the four virtues are not for the individual, they are for the state. They are
covering all the population.
Elisabeth Rochat: Si wei may be used to describe the four limbs, and it is by the four limbs that
we come into relationship with the exterior. The four limbs are for movement and motion and the

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extremities of the four limbs, with the jing well points, are in communication with the qi coming from
the exterior. We will find that again in the pathology of the wei mai, especially the yang wei mai. The
four attachments provide a good balance on the left and the right, above and below. If one of these
four attachments and moorings is not strong enough, the body is in a state of imbalance. It is the
same thing in the country, if one of the great principles ensuring the continuity of the kingdom is too
weak or too strong, there is trouble. And it is the same again at the level of the cosmos; the four
directions are the reference points - attaching the world and allowing all kinds of diverse and different
qi and influences in a good succession and an harmonious composition.
This character wei for the wei mai contains all these ideas. Here we can begin to see the difference
between the qiao and the wei. With the qiao the main idea was putting in motion, and rising up from
the earth, with a community of qi within the yin and yang qiao mai, a perpetual compenetration. Here
with the wei mai we have rather the way to maintain the order because the yin and yang, and all kinds
of yin and all kinds of yang in the body are maintained in a good proportion in order to compose an
harmonious unity.
The usual interpretation of this character wei by the commentators of the classics is to be able to
hold firmly in the hands, to maintain and to support something. The yang wei mai is said, by the
commentators of the Nan jing, to attach, to link, to tie and to support all the yang, and the same thing
with the yin for the yin wei mai They use this character wei like a verb, often adding another
character which gives the idea that the wei mai are able to be present everywhere the yin or yang
exist, like a net or like a great principle. For instance the yang wei has this wei activity on all the
yang. And the meaning is like the virtue or the great rule, the principle of ruling for the yang inside
the body. This is not the same as the du mai. The du mai is the first organisation and appearance of
the yang function in the body, in the lower abdomen, the heart, the spinal cord, the brain and the
eyes. But now that the body is nearly finished and complete there are many yang functions appearing
- all the meridians and luo, and also an exterior as well as an interior part with exchanges between the
two. All this detailed yang function needs a unique rule. They need the main rope of the net to be held
together and maintained. And the same thing applies for the yin. Yin and yang wei mai are
responsible for that. This is the reason why there are many expressions with the character wei.
Li Shizhen said that they are the gang wei for the body. Gang is the great principle for something,
the main rope of the net. And this is one way of saying that the wei ensure the fundamental
equilibrium in the body, through their influence on all the yang and all the yin. This is the reason why
commentators have said that the yang wei mai masters the exterior, and the movement towards the
exterior, and the yin wei masters the interior and the movement towards the interior.
Other texts say that yang wei mai has a special mastering and circulation in the area proper to the
defensive qi (wei qi) and the yin wei mai in the area proper to the nutrition (ying qi). Another text,
which is quite modern, says that the meaning is to ensure all the connections of the yang and to
ensure all the connections of the yin. Here the phrase wei xi is used, to suggest the ability to catch
even the smallest and the largest aspects. It suggests a kind of fishing net which, if it is both solid
enough and fine enough, can catch every kind of fish, tiny little fish as well as big fish. It is firm and
solid but the principles are uniting and solidifying for the greatest yang and the most minute yin. It

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gives the idea of connection and relationship too. We will see that many of the points given for the
wei treat this function of the yang within itself and the yin within itself. There is a very nice sentence
in Chinese which says:

That which is moving and circulating between all the yin meridians
has the name of yin wei. And that which is moving between all the
yang meridians is called the yang wei.

Another character used to explain wei is chi and it is made with the hand pointing firmly, to hold
and maintain.

PATHWAYS OF YIN AND YANG WEI MAI

Nan jing difficulty 28:

Yang wei and yin wei fasten and hold the body together (wei luo) in
situations of overflowing or of accumulation (yi xu) which prevent the
circular movement by which irrigation is poured out to all the
meridians. Thus the yang wei arise at the gathering of all the yang,
and the yin wei at the crossing of all the yin.

This text gives us one of the best and most concise descriptions of the pathways of the
extraordinary meridians. The first point here is that there is no pathway given for the yin or yang wei
mai. They appear together and not in a separate presentation as was the case for the six other
meridians. They have a common function, to fasten and hold the body together. They maintain the
relationship of the yin and yang inside the body so that all the yin and all the yang are in a good
relationship and in good proportion.
It seems that the function is more important than the pathway here, with the idea that they are
present everywhere. It is difficult to construct a special pathway for the wei mai and especially for the
yang wei mai, as there are points given here and there in different texts, but they do not make a
pathway. In the Nan jing there is no pathway given, but just this function, to fasten and hold.
The text ‘in situations of overflowing ... poured out in all the meridians' is perhaps an
interpolation from another part of the book, as it is very similar to the text of difficulty 27. We cannot
be sure whether it is deliberately linked here with the wei mai. The wei mai hold in order and keep
everything at a good level, like a water level. If the yin is too strong, it can prevent the yang
circulating well. If the yang is too strong it can prevent the yin movement occurring normally, which
gives rise to all kinds of blockage and lack of communication between yin and yang.
The location of the starting points for these two meridians are also given in a strange way. They
are not exactly points and not exactly anatomical positions. We have these two different expressions:
zhu yin zhi jiao, and zhu yang zhi hui. The meaning of zhu is all. And there is a variation in the last
characters between jiao and hui. Jiao is a meeting and a crossing. Hui is also a meeting, but not in the
same way. It is a meeting where people are gathered together, an official meeting, an association,
official business in a society, whereas jiao is more personal, relational, and includes sexual
relationships. But both are a way to meet, and one is for the yang and the other for the yin; each has
their own proper way and movement. What is proper for the yin is this kind of intimate way to cross
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and exchange, and the movement of gathering proper to the yang is more to organise in a meeting
together.
This hui character appears in the names of seven points, and apart from the first point of the ren
mai, hui yin which as we have seen always has this ambivalence of yin and yang being the meeting
point of du mai and ren mai, all the others are on yang meridians. For example, bai hui (Du-20), and
hui yang (BL-35). The others are all on the shao yang meridians, hui zong (SJ-7), nao hui (SJ-13),
ting hui (GB-2) and di wu hui (GB-42).
Conversely, we find jiao in san yin jiao (Sp-6), the point for the crossing and exchange of the
three yin, and also in yin jiao (Ren-7) the general crossing and exchange of yin. Another point is jiao
xin (KID-8) which is the approach to the meeting at san yin jiao. Apart from that this jiao character
can also be found in the name of yang jiao (GB-35) and finally the last point of the du mai (yin jiao),
which is the meeting point with the ren mai, giving a parallel with hui yin at the beginning of the ren
mai and indicating this kind of circle between ren mai and du mai.
So we can see that jiao is used more for the yin, and hui for the yang, with all the possibility of
opening to the exchange, through Gallbladder-35 for example, or through the first point of ren mai
and the last point of du mai. And this really expresses the difference in the idea of meeting for the yin
and the yang; the yin being most personal and internal, the yang more exterior. Both are equally
important.
We know that at the location of hui yin (Ren-1) not only the ren mai but also the du mai are
entered, and in many texts this point is given as the supporting point for the du mai. At yin jiao (Du-
28) we have the junction of the ren mai and du mai above at the level of the gums.
Generally, these two expressions 'crossing of all the yin' and 'gathering of all the yang' are used
to designate the points Kidney-9 (zhu bin) and Bladder-63 (jin men), but they are not exactly the
names for these points. Other texts say that yin wei arises at the point Kidney-9, and the yang wei
mai at Bladder-63. But in the Nan jing these two expressions are certainly mentioned without any
indication of a pathway. It is proper to the yin wei mai to be able to ensure all kinds of meetings and
exchanges between the yin, and it is the main function and definition of the yang wei mai to be able to
ensure and to rule the meeting and gathering of all the yang. The pathway is not the issue.
Whereas the two qiao mai started at exactly the same level and at the same place, the middle of the
heel, here the level is quite different, because Bladder-63 is at ground level, just after the point shen
mai (BL-62) and for the yin wei mai Kidney-9 is higher.
We can see that in the description of the pathway by Li Shizhen yin wei is able to go to the top of
the head by itself. The yin qiao mai merges with the yang qiao mai at the eyes and the brain, but the
yin wei mai is more isolated. The yin and yang wei mai do not merge with each other. Even in the
pathway described by Li Shizhen, they remain quite distant. And it is by the maintenance of this
difference and distinction that they are able to ensure equilibrium and good relationships. If all the
yang have a good relationship amongst themselves, and all the yin too, then the yin and the yang are
automatically in a good relationship.
Li Shizhen:

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The yin wei surges from where all the yin take contact, zhu yin zhi
jiao. Its mai is launched (fa) from the point zhu bin (KID-9) on the
shao yin of the foot which is, for the yin wei, a reserve (xi cleft
point). This point is located five cun above the internal malleolus, in
the centre of where the flesh of the calf separates. The mai rises,
running over the anterior, internal face of the thigh, and in rising,
penetrates the lower abdomen. It meets with the tai yin, jue yin, shao
yin and yang ming of the foot (spleen, liver, kidney and stomach
meridians) at fu she (Sp-13). It rises to meet tai yin at da heng (Sp-
15) and fu ai (Sp-16). It runs over the ribs and meets the jue yin of the
foot at qi men (Liv-14).

It rises to the thorax and diaphragm and surrounds the pharynx. It

meets with ren mai at tian tu (Ren-22) and lian quan (Ren-23), and
rises to reach the front of the top of the head where it ends. In all 14
points.

The yang wei surges from the meeting of all the yang, zhu yang zhi
hui. Its mai is launched (fa) from the point jin men (BL-63) of the tai
yang of the foot, which is located on the foot, one and a half cun below
the external malleolus. It rises to seven cun above the malleolus
where it meets the shao yang of the foot at yang jiao (GB-35) which is
its reserve (xi cleft point). It runs over the knee on the external face
and rising by the depression along the femur, reaches the side of the
lower abdomen. It meets with the shao yang of the foot at ju liao (GB-
29). It runs over the ribs, rising obliquely over them; it meets the yang
ming of the hand (large intestine meridian) and tai yang of the foot
and hand (bladder and small intestine meridians) at bi nao (LI-14); it
passes to the front of the shoulder and meets the shao yang of the
hand (triple heater meridian) at nao hui (SJ-13) and jian liao (SJ-15).
It returns and meets the shao yang of the foot and hand and the yang
ming of the foot (gallbladder, triple heater and stomach meridians) at
jian jing (GB-21).

It penetrates behind the shoulder and meets the tai yang of the hand
(small intestine meridian) and the yang qiao at nao yu (SI-10). It rises
and runs along the back of the ear; it meets the shao yang of the hand
and foot (triple heater and gallbladder) at feng chi (GB-20); it rises to
nao kong (GB-19), cheng ling (GB-18), zheng ying (GB-17), mu chuang
(GB-16) and lin qi (GB-15). It descends onto the forehead and creates
a meeting with the five mai: shao yang of the foot and hand
(gallbladder and triple heater meridians), yang ming of the foot and
hand (stomach and large intestine meridians) at yang bai (GB-14). It
runs along the head and penetrates the ear. It rises to ben shen (GB-
13) and stops. In all 32 points.

The pathway of yin wei mai includes the points Kidney-9, Spleen-12, 13, 15, 16, Liver-14 and
Ren mai-22 and 23. Spleen-12 is often mentioned in association with the yin wei mai but it is not in
the pathway given by Li Shizhen. The three yin of the foot, kidney, spleen and liver, and the ren mai
are represented, which is a way to suggest this kind of meeting of the yin power.
We have the same thing with the yang wei, here are all the points found in Li Shizhen and
different classical texts: Bladder-63, Gallbladder-35, 29, 24, Large Intestine-14, San Jiao-13, 15,
Small Intestine-10, Du mai-15, 16, Stomach-1 and Gallbladder-13 to 21. There are 20 points
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altogether, but they are never given all together. The most I have found is something like 18 points.
But there are many differences in presentation of the yang wei. Sometimes it reaches the top of the
head by the forehead, other times by the nape of the neck, it is difficult to find consistency and make
one definitive pathway for the yang wei mai. And perhaps it is not necessary.
All the yang meridians are represented here, the gallbladder being the most strongly indicated.
This pathway is almost a symbolic way to assert that the yang wei mai is behind each quality of yang
qi and each expression of the yang. I have seen the yang wei like a constellation present in the yang
and behind the yang movement, and you can touch these functions with these points on each yang
meridian.
Claude Larre: The description of life and the function of life are quite different. For the
description we have to differentiate between one point and another, for the functioning of life all
those distinctions disappear, because the functioning of life merges with other functions. But our
analytical mind is not prepared to receive that sort of information because it is contrary to our habits.
So whenever we feel that it is difficult to understand, it is not that the explanation is difficult to
understand, it is because we are asking things in our mind which are not really the way life is. We
have the representation of the unity of life, and at that very moment we are given a description of so
many scattered things. Then we do not understand. Or we are interested by the scattering and then the
necessity of the unity of life comes into the mind. So 99% of the difficulty comes from the way we
are managing our mind in relationship with text. It is only time which makes it flow and merge one
with the other.
Elisabeth Rochat: In his description Li Shizhen prefers to make the yang wei mai follow the
gallbladder meridian and to cross the head from the back to the front. But in some other texts we can
find the opposite movement, from the front to the back. Consequently the yang wei mai finishes at
Du-15 and 16. This is interesting because here we have a parallel with the end of the yin wei mai at
Ren-22 and 23. These last two extraordinary meridians, responsible for the yin and the yang merge
into the two most primitive meridians responsible at the origin for the yin and the yang. I think I
prefer this presentation because it closes the circle very nicely.
Now we can understand that the wei mai, which are responsible for the maintenance of the good
organisation and the good order within the yang and the yin, have to rely on the ren mai and du mai,
and also connect to the other meridians. A pathway or description of a trajectory is a way to indicate
the quality of the qi and the function, and the place where this function can be rooted. Maybe there is
no pathway, just an image, because the most important thing is the function that the pathway
symbolises. We must not limit the effect of a meridian just to a line; in the same way that we do not
limit the effect of a zang or fu to the anatomical mass.
Question: Why is a special emphasis given to the xi cleft points in the text?
Elisabeth Rochat: At yang jiao (GB-35) there is a particular reserve for the yang wei mai, and the
meaning is that in this place you can touch a certain quality of qi and make a certain vital movement in
the patient which is in touch with the function of the yang wei mai. It is perhaps not by chance that
this character jiao is the same character we found in the anchorage point for the yin wei mai.
Sometimes we do not know the limit of our imagination and perhaps we do not know the limit of all

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the Chinese speculations, but we must pay attention to whether these speculations were the thought
of just one man, or whether they were general enough to be part of the culture.

PATHOLOGY OF YIN AND YANG WEI MAI

Nan jing difficulty 29:

When the extraordinary meridians give rise to illnesses what are

they like?

Well, yang wei connects the yang, yin wei connects the yin. If yin
and yang cannot connect with one another then there is annoyance
(chang ran) and loss of will (shi zhi ). One is without strength, and one
no longer has a hold on oneself.

When yang wei gives rise to illnesses one suffers from cold and heat.
When yin wei gives rise to illnesses one suffers pains in the heart.

Elisabeth Rochat: The first description gives a pathology for both yin and yang wei mai without
differentiation. The wei function is unable to ensure the proper relationship between yin and yang and
there is deep dejection and a loss of will. This is the loss of the power to maintain and hold the very
central principle of the direction of life. The movement of qi, the will and the heart, is completely
dejected with annoyance and is unable to find the joy of the spirit and the good circulation of life.
Loss of will is the loss of the stability and solidity of the base life is relying on. That is the result of
the lack of the wei function on the yin and yang everywhere in the body. One is without strength, and
no longer has a hold on oneself.
The Chinese character to hold (chi) is often used to explain the wei function. We are unable to hold
what? Everything! We are unable to hold an idea. We are unable to maintain a purpose or intent,
unable to hold anything in the hand, because the yang are too weak and there is a scattering of the
muscular forces and all the connection making play between bones and flesh and muscles, and the
heart is not in a good state. It is a very general condition; everything unravels, with the mental aspect
of dejection and loss of connection between the heart and kidneys. It is also the inability to hold
oneself according to one's nature.
After that there is a presentation of the symptoms proper to the yang wei mai, and symptoms
proper to the yin wei mai. Here they are completely different. Remember in the case of the qiao mai
the symptoms were presented for the yang and the yin qiao mai and they were very often in a parallel,
possibly the contrary of each other, for example if the yin is tense, the yang is loose. Or there may be
a play between insomnia and sleepiness - very often the symptoms are just opposites. But here in the
case of the wei mai the symptoms are completely different. There is no connection between the
symptoms of cold and heat and pain in the heart. That is another way to emphasise the difference
between the yin and the yang.
So what is this cold and heat? It is linked with the inability of the defensive qi of the body to
protect against exterior influences and perverse influences. It is the inability to have health and
strength, and this is linked with the yang wei mai which is responsible for the exterior, responsible
for the yang and especially for the defense. If this kind of firmness and solidity, which is maintained
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in the outside of the body by the yang qi, is too weak, it is a pathology of the yang wei mai. One of
the main symptoms will be fear of the cold, and cold with fever. There is over-sensitivity to cold and
heat and also perhaps, for the first time in the pathology of the eight extraordinary meridians, a very
strong relationship with perverse energy coming from the exterior. Remember that with the four
attachments (si wei) we have the image of the four limbs, and the four limbs are said to be the proper
place for the defensive qi, especially at the extremities, which could be described as our own four
attachments to the exterior.
The strong relationship between the yang wei mai and the gallbladder meridian, the shao yang of
the foot, reminds us of the quality of shao yang to be the pivot, and this pathology of cold and heat is
the same as the intermittent fevers often linked with the pathology of shao yang.

When yin wei gives rise to illnesses one suffers pains in the heart.

Here, with the pathology of yin wei mai, we are concerned with the zang, particularly the zang of
the innermost part of the body which is in charge of the blood. This is the meaning of this symptom.
Of course, pain in the heart can be linked with the yin wei, but this is a way to symbolise that the yin
wei is linked to the blood, to the nutrition and to the internal part, the li, and the best way to sum that
up is the symptom of pain in the heart.
The general symptom for the yin and the yang is a kind of general loosening at each level, but if
we want to specify the yang wei and the yin wei, we have a symptom which emphasises the yang
activity and the yang responsibility of the yang wei mai at the exterior of the body with the defensive
qi, and for the yin the contrary.
In the symptoms of cold and heat we have all the possible pathology of the yang; the deficiency of
the yang in defense, and a kind of exaggeration of the yang sometimes due to a deficiency or perverse
qi leading to fever. In the case of the symptoms of yin wei mai, we have behind this pain in the heart
all kinds of possible obstruction in the chest and thorax, possibly due to the action of the cold, which
is an exaggeration of the yin movement and the yin quality. There may be obstruction of the
circulation especially in the spleen and kidney meridians, which have very close relationships with
yin wei mai; the kidney meridian being the starting point of yin wei mai, and the spleen having
several points in common. There may also be all kinds of counter-current in the liver meridian or ren
mai. That is all represented by the points given to the yin wei mai.
There are no special symptoms given to the wei mai in other texts, only variations on this same
pathology.

M ATSUMOTO & BIRCH (1986)

Yin and Yang Wei Mai Symptomology
The basic symptoms of the wei mai are noteworthy because they concern the emotional aspects of
disease. The Su Wen indicates the following for the yang wei mai:

For swelling and pain on the lumbar area, or irritability and a

swollen spot on the painful area, insert the needle into the vessel of
the yang wei. The place {to treat} is on the external aspect of the leg,
ten divisions above the bottom of the heel, where it meets tai yang.
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This point is possibly GB-35.

For the yin wei mai one might find these symptoms:

Lumbar pain caused by the fei yang vessel shows a swelling on the
painful spot or irritability with pain. If it gets worse, people become
afraid and sad. For this lumbar pain, insert a needle five divisions
above the internal ankle, this is the point feiyang, in front of the
kidney merdian, at the meeting place of the yin wei mai.

This is usually seen as KI-9.

The Nan Jing's descriptions are more clearly of an emotional nature:

For yang wei mai disease there is {both a physical and emotional}
suffering of cold or heat symptoms. . . {For} yin wei mai disease,
there is {both a physical and emotional} suffering of heart pain
symptoms.

The Nan Jing further explains the emotional relationship:

Yin and yang cannot balance; the {visible} emotions will be thinking
too much, obsession, loss of will and lack of self control.

Wang Shu He makes some important theoretical statements about the wei mai:

Yang is wei {protecting}, this controls the surface. Wei is qi. The
yang accepts the evil, the disease stays at the surface, but not at the
lining. Cold and heat bother the patient.

Yin is ying {nourishing}, ying is blood, the heart is {controls} the

blood, which is why the patient is bothered by heart pain.

This reconfirms the relationship of the triple warmer and pericardium and the surface, wei qi, and
lining, ying qi, through their luo points, SJ-5 and PC-6, the treatment points of the yang and yin wei
mai.
In a yang wei mai problem, the pulse will be floating with symptoms of brief eye dizziness, yang
excess, difficulty breathing, needing to raise the shoulders to breathe, feelings of coldness. In a yin
wei mai problem, the pulse will be big and full with symptoms of pain in the chest, feelings of
fullness at the sides of the body below the ribs accompanying heart pain. In males, if the yin wei
pulse feels like a "ball passing beneath the fingers”, there will be accompanying symptoms of feelings
of fullness at the sides of the ribs and pain in the lumbar area. In females, this will have the
accompanying symptom of a pain in the sexual organ that feels like a wound or injury.

LARRE & ROCHAT (1997)

RELATIONSHIP WITH CHONG MAI AND DAI MAI
Elisabeth Rochat: Chong mai and dai mai brought a kind of diversity. Chong mai, for example,
was a reunion of the yin and yang, the sea of blood and the sea of meridians. It was the starting point

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for all this crossing of yin and yang and occupying all the space of the form of the body. In the wei
mai we also have this kind of differentiation and organisation of the system, the yang system and the
yin system, because now we have the zang and the fu, the yang meridians and the yin meridians, the
defense and the nutrition, the biao and the li. All that must be maintained within itself and in good
relationship with the other pathways, the yin meridians with the yang meridians, especially the
coupled ones, the zang with the fu, the interior with the exterior; the defense with the nutrition and the
qi with the blood. This is an expression of the wei mai and a kind of link made with chong mai and
dai mai.
The relationship between the qiao mai and ren mai and du mai was at the level of the uprising
spring of life, with a merging one into the other. The ren mai and du mai merge into one another as
do the qiao mai.
Here with the chong mai and dai mai there is a different movement, and there is the same thing
with the wei mai. Each commands their proper territory and system, but in order to allow the
communication and balance between them, because one cannot exist without the other. This is always
the basic premise. They express all kinds of basic relationships within the yin and the yang systems.
Perhaps they also represent, with this idea of the four attachments and the four limbs and the four
directions, the complete extension of the body.
Their two particular points are on the heart master meridian, nei guan (P-6) and on the triple heater
meridian, wai guan (SJ-5). The names of these points also express this. Both point names contain the
same character guan, and both are the luo points of the heart master and triple heater meridians. One is
turned to the inner part (nei) the other to the exterior (wai). The parallelism between these two points
is quite evident.
Nei guan (P-6) has a special relationship with the zang and the interior, and with all the pathology
of congestion and obstruction at the level of the heart, and the thorax. For instance, hampering the
good circulation of blood and nutrition, coming from the heart and the chest.
Wai guan (SJ-5) is a point to restore all kinds of circulation, the two points making a kind of
double passage for circulation. Guan is a pass, a place where there is a passage under control. This is
a kind of double articulation, because guan can also have the meaning of articulation, to the inside or
to the outside in this kind of paired position on the arm. Both being luo points, wai guan is in a luo
relationship with the heart master meridian and nei guan with the triple heater meridian, to ensure the
equilibrium between one and the other.
If we refer to the pathology of the wei mai, nei guan is a very good point to treat the kind of pain in
the heart linked with the yin wei mai. And wai guan, as a point on the shao yang meridian, is a perfect
point to treat cold and heat from the exterior. The defensive qi is linked with the ability of the triple
heater to distribute the qi, the middle heater to assimilate enough essences coming from food, the
lower heater to give these influences the yang forces of defense, and the ability of the upper heater to
make them circulate well. So these two points are particularly well chosen for the pathology of the
wei mai, and they are related by their opposition, by their function, and by their names.
The expression nei guan can be found in the Ling shu, not as a point name, but as a pathological
situation of blockage, when the yin and the yang are no longer in a good communication. The yang is

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blocked in the exterior and the yin blocked at the interior and there is no more free communication
between these two systems. This point nei guan is also used when the yin is blocked at the inner part
and the yang is unable to penetrate the yin and restore the balance between the two systems. All these
kinds of connections are between the biao and the li, the yang wei mai mastering the biao and the yin
wei mai the li.
The pathology of the qiao mai was more internal. In insomnia and somnolence the biorhythms are
more concerned than the relationship with the exterior. The yang wei mai have the pathology of cold
and heat and a relationship with the exterior and the qi coming from external influences, which change
everyday. For the yang and yin qiao mai it was rather the adaptation of our own biorhythm to the
rhythm of the universe, and the normal succession of yin and yang.

Question: Could you say a little more on the difference between men and guan ?
Elisabeth Rochat: Men is a great opening of something. With the character guan we have the
same thing, but with something inside to control what is passing through. I think that is the main
difference.
Claude Larre: Guan is used for the customs in the harbour. You may pass through but you have to
stop. And they can be closed. If you pay the correct tax you can pass through. It is often used in
China to pass from one place to another, a kind of frontier control or barrier, often involving the
payment of a toll. Guan can also be a pass in the mountain, more than simply a wall with a door.
Elisabeth Rochat: This character guan has the meaning of to put into communication and to keep
in touch, as well as to close something, and to separate.

Question: Could you say a little more about the paired meridians, sharing the same master and
coupled points?
Elisabeth Rochat: It is really a question of the area of the body which is concerned. For instance,
with du mai and yang qiao mai we have the points hou xi, Small Intestine-3, and shen mai, Bladder-
62. The indications are for abnormalities occurring at the inner corner of the eyes, the nape of the
neck, the shoulder and all that. It is a way to treat the yang in its greatest extension through the tai
yang meridian. And it is related to the du mai and the yang qiao mai as the effect of the rising of yang
to supply the yang areas of the body and especially the upper part of the body, the top of the body and
the top of the back.
For the chong mai and yin wei mai we have gong sun, Spleen-4, and nei guan, Heart Master
(Pericardium)-6, which treat all kinds of perturbation and stagnation at the level of the chest and the
heart and the middle heater. And it is the conjunction of these two points that is used to free the area
of the upper heater and middle heater of congestion.
For the dai mai and yang wei mai we have lin qi, Gallbladder-41, and wai guan, San Jiao-5, for
the lateral part of the upper body, not so central as for du mai and yang qiao mai. The regions are the
external corner of the eyes, the back of the ear, and the cheeks and shoulders but in a lateral view.
With lie que, Lung-7, and zhao hai, Kidney-6, we have the whole system of the diaphragm, the
functioning of the lungs and the chest through the throat and pharynx. And this is the difference, for

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instance, between yin wei mai and chong mai where we were rather below the diaphragm. The end of
the pathway of the kidney meridian goes up through the throat to the root of the tongue, and we have
all this ascending movement accompanying the ren mai, and the ascending movement of the yin inside
the body. We can use these two points for that.
We can see a part of the general function of the extraordinary meridians in these points, and also
where one of these particular functions may be treated. For example, the chong mai has a relationship
with the stomach and the spleen, and the middle heater, and also with the heart. The yin wei mai has
something to do with the inner zang and especially with the heart through the blood, the nutrition and
so on. These two points are very well chosen to free this area, and in freeing this area to help the
restoration of the functions which are under the authority of these extraordinary meridians. It is the
same thing for the du mai and the yang qiao mai, and the dai mai and the yang wei mai, to be more
exterior and lateral, and enveloping. If you have the ability to make volume, you also have the ability
with the gallbladder meridian to create the laterality. The gallbladder meridian has an important role
and an important presence in the extraordinary meridians.

Question: Are the terms 'master and couple point' translations of the Chinese?
Elisabeth Rochat: In the Zhenjiu dacheng, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and
Moxibustion, the points gong sun, Spleen-4, and nei guan, Heart Master-6, are said to be in free
circulation with the chong mai, and in free circulation with the yin wei mai. After that they say that
there is a conjunction of the effect of these two points at the heart, thorax and stomach. And the
sentence construction is the same for the others. This is not the first book to present this kind of
systematisation of the eight meridians. There are other presentations of the coupling of these points
which say that they are in resonance with each other and with the eight extraordinary meridians.

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