BL-04 (Qu Cha) Deviating Turn

What does BL-04 Qu Cha do?

BL-04 shares the scalp run’s recorded actions — it expels wind, clears the head and alleviates pain, and benefits the eyes and nose — and it is the point at which the channel turns outward onto the line it follows for the rest of the head.

• Expels wind, clears the head and alleviates pain
• Benefits the eyes and nose

The turn is what the name records. “Qu Cha” means Deviating Turn. The Bladder channel rises from the inner eye through BL-02 and BL-03 close to the midline, and at BL-04 it moves out to 1.5 cun lateral, the line it then holds through BL-05, BL-06, BL-07 and BL-08. The point is named for a change of direction in the channel’s course — a functional-of-a-kind name that describes pathway rather than action.

The scalp run, stated once and referred to on each of its records. BL-03 through BL-09 are seven points in a line, and their recorded actions and indications overlap heavily — headache, blurred vision and nasal obstruction recur across nearly all of them, and every one carries the same subcutaneous 0.3–0.5 inch insertion. That is a real feature of the source material. What distinguishes these points is position along the line, and this library discloses the overlap rather than manufacturing differences between the pages.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action, location and translation records; the full BL-03 to BL-09 run queried and compared against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is BL-04 Qu Cha used for?

BL-04 is used for headache, nasal obstruction, nosebleed, and for blurred or failing vision. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Headache
• Nasal obstruction
• Epistaxis (nosebleed)
• Blurring and failing of vision

Two entries distinguish it within the scalp run. Nosebleed appears here and at BL-07 Tong Tian but not elsewhere in the run — BL-04 has the fullest nasal group of the seven, carrying both obstruction and bleeding. And “failing” vision, as distinct from blurring, is recorded only here.

An honest note, and it matters most on the vision entry. Failing or deteriorating vision requires prompt medical assessment — sudden visual loss is an emergency, and progressive loss has causes that are treatable when caught early and not when they are not. This record documents a classical indication; it makes no claim that acupuncture restores sight, and nothing here should delay an eye examination. A nosebleed that will not stop, or one that is heavy or recurrent, needs medical care.

How it is combined. With BL-03 Mei Chong medially at the same level and BL-05 Wu Chu immediately behind. With DU-24 Shen Ting and DU-23 Shang Xing on the midline — DU-23 is the classical nosebleed point of that vessel. With LI-20 Ying Xiang beside the nostril and Yin Tang between the brows. With BL-01 and BL-02 for the eyes. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication record; the BL-01, BL-02, BL-03, BL-05, BL-07, DU-23, DU-24, LI-20 and Yin Tang records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is BL-04 Qu Cha located, and how is the 1.5 cun measured?

BL-04 is just inside the hairline, 1.5 cun out from DU-24 Shen Ting — and our own record defines that 1.5 cun as ONE THIRD of the distance from DU-24 to ST-08 Tou Wei. That proportional definition is the most practically useful line on this page.

• 0.5 cun inside the anterior hairline, level with DU-24
• 1.5 cun lateral to DU-24, given as one third of the DU-24 to ST-08 distance
• BL-03 Mei Chong lies medially at the same level; BL-05 Wu Chu lies 0.5 cun behind

Why the proportional definition matters. A cun is not a fixed length — it is a proportion of the individual body — and on the head that is easy to forget. Our record fixes the lateral line between two landmarks a reader can actually find: the midline at DU-24, and the corner of the forehead at ST-08. Divide that span in three, take the first division, and the 1.5-cun line is located on this head rather than on an average one. Every subsequent point in the run — BL-05 through BL-08 — sits on the line established here.

The hairline problem, which affects the whole run. These points are measured from the anterior hairline, and a receded, high or asymmetrical hairline removes the reference. The classical solution is again proportional: anterior to posterior hairline is taken as 12 cun and the points are fractions of it. Our BL-03 record sets that out in full.

On the name. “Qu Cha” — Deviating Turn, also rendered Crooked Curve. Qu is bent or crooked, the same character as in LI-11 Qu Chi and P-03 Qu Ze, where it describes the crease of a bent elbow. Here it describes the channel bending outward, and the name records that.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged including the proportional one-third definition; the BL-03, BL-05, DU-24 and ST-08 positions queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 258): 0.5 cun within the anterior hairline, 1.5 cun lateral to Shenting DU-24 and one third of the distance between Shenting DU-24 and Touwei ST-8.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 175): 0.5 cun directly above the midpoint of the anterior hairline and 1.5 cun lateral to the midline, at the junction of the medial third and lateral two-thirds of the distance from Shenting (DU-24) to Touwei (ST-8).

How is BL-04 Qu Cha needled?

The standard texts record SUBCUTANEOUS insertion — the needle laid along under the skin — to roughly 0.3–0.5 inch, with moxibustion applicable. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents, not instruction for a reader.

• Angle and depth as recorded: subcutaneous (transverse), 0.3–0.5 inch — the same insertion recorded at every point in the BL-03 to BL-09 run.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable here. Our records state it at BL-04, BL-05, BL-07 and BL-09 but not at BL-03, BL-06 or BL-08; whether that is a genuine distinction or an omission cannot be determined from our data, and nothing is asserted either way.
• Regional anatomy: the frontalis muscle and the epicranial aponeurosis lie beneath thin skin; branches of the supraorbital and supratrochlear nerves and vessels run in the region; the frontal bone lies directly beneath.

Why subcutaneous, and why that is the whole safety story. There is bone immediately under the scalp, so the transverse angle is not a refinement but the only insertion the anatomy permits. This is a low-hazard point in that specific sense: no cavity, no organ, no major vessel. The scalp is richly vascular and bleeds readily, which is a nuisance rather than a danger.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at BL-04 could be located, and none is borrowed. The paediatric chest-CT study this library uses covers 23 points on the trunk and shoulder and does not include the scalp. No case report naming BL-04 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged, and the recorded insertions and moxibustion statements across BL-03 to BL-09 compared), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on BL-04, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates BL-04. Where the point appears it is one component of a headache or rhinitis protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

A caution specific to the scalp. “Scalp acupuncture” is a distinct modern system with its own named zones and its own trial literature, and it is not the same thing as the classical Bladder-channel scalp points. A reader searching for evidence about points on the head will meet those trials, and they are not evidence about BL-04.

What this page can state with confidence. BL-04 is where the Bladder channel turns out to the 1.5-cun lateral line, and our own record defines that line proportionally as one third of the DU-24 to ST-08 span — a measurement a reader can actually make. It carries the fullest nasal group in the run, obstruction and bleeding both. And “failing” vision, as distinct from blurring, is recorded only here among the seven.

A note on searching for it. “BL 4”, “UB 4” and “Qucha” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material matched on transliteration. Our library codes this channel BL- while some sources use UB-. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location, action and indication records; the BL-03 to BL-09 run compared against our own data).