Ren Mai (Conception Vessel) Channel
Purple Palace
紫宫Zǐ GōngAnatomical location
On the midline, at the level of the second intercostal space.
Main function
Regulates the Qi of the chest, relieves chest oppression.
Therapeutic indications
- Chest pain
- cough
- asthma
- palpitations
- vomiting
Name and classical tradition
Zigong, 紫宫, is the “purple palace.” 紫 means purple; 宫 (宮), palace. The name has an astronomical referent: 紫宮 is another way of naming the Purple Enclosure (紫微垣), the region of the sky around the North Pole where Chinese astronomy placed the dwelling of the Celestial Emperor. Applied to the body, the purple palace is the abode of the Heart, the sovereign. The sources point out this correspondence, although no ancient commentary on the point states it.
It is the central piece of the series of court names that the Ren Mai unfolds across the chest, with CV18, the jade hall, below it, and CV20, the imperial canopy, above it. Its earliest record is in the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), and it has no alternative names. At its level, on the Kidney channel, is KI25, Shencang, the storehouse of the spirit.
