REN-16 (Zhong Ting) Center Palace

What does REN-16 Zhong Ting do?

REN-16 unbinds the chest, and regulates the Stomach to descend rebellion — the lowest of the sternal Conception-vessel points, nearest the stomach.

• Unbinds the chest — opening a tight, oppressed chest, the shared action of the sternal Ren points
• Regulates the Stomach and descends rebellion — settling upward-rebelling Stomach qi, behind its use for hiccup, nausea and poor appetite

Position explains the Stomach action. REN-16 sits at the very bottom of the breastbone, at the xiphoid junction — the point of the sternal Ren points closest to the stomach below. That is why, alone among them, it carries a Stomach-and-rebellion action (hiccup, nausea) rather than only the chest-and-Lung action of the higher sternal points. It sits just below REN-17 Shan Zhong, the influential point of qi and the Pericardium’s Front-Mu.

On the name. “Zhong Ting” means Centre Palace or Central Courtyard — zhong central, ting a courtyard or hall before a palace. The reading usually offered casts the chest as a palace, with REN-17 (the “Chest Centre”) as its hall and REN-16 as the courtyard before it.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (channel, action, location and translation records; the REN-17 record queried against our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

What is REN-16 Zhong Ting used for?

REN-16 is used for distension and fullness of the chest and sides, hiccup, nausea, and poor appetite. Our own indication record is reproduced here in full.

• Distension and fullness of the chest and intercostal (side) region
• Hiccup
• Nausea
• Anorexia (poor appetite / not wanting to eat)

Chest above, stomach below. Chest-and-side fullness is the chest-unbinding action; hiccup, nausea and poor appetite are the Stomach-and-rebellion action, reflecting the point’s low position near the stomach. It is a coherent chest-and-upper-digestive list.

An honest note. Persistent nausea, poor appetite, or difficulty swallowing requires medical assessment — these can signal disease of the stomach or oesophagus. Intractable hiccups (more than 48 hours) warrant evaluation. Chest pain or fullness requires assessment to exclude cardiac causes. This record documents classical use only.

How it is combined. With REN-17 Shan Zhong above for the chest and qi, and REN-12 Zhong Wan (the Stomach’s Front-Mu) and P-06 Nei Guan for the nausea and hiccup. All held here.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (indication and action records; the P-06, REN-12 and REN-17 records queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources.

Where is REN-16 Zhong Ting located?

REN-16 is on the midline of the chest, at the very bottom of the breastbone, where the breastbone meets its little pointed tip.

• On the anterior midline
• At the xiphosternal junction — where the body of the sternum meets the xiphoid process (the small tip at its lower end)
• Level with the 5th intercostal space

The bottom of the breastbone is the landmark. Run a finger down the breastbone to where it ends in the small pointed xiphoid tip; REN-16 sits at that junction. It is the lowest of the sternal Ren points, one and a half cun below REN-17 Shan Zhong at nipple level.

On the name. “Zhong Ting” — Centre Palace, the courtyard of the chest, as noted above.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (location and translation records, retained unchanged; the REN-17 record queried from our own data).

• A Manual of Acupuncture (p. 517): On the midline of the sternum at the sternocostal angle.
• Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion (p. 239): On the anterior midline, at the level with the fifth intercostal space, on the xiphosternal synchondrosis.

How is REN-16 Zhong Ting needled?

Our own record states subcutaneous insertion of 0.3–0.5 inch, with moxibustion applicable — the flat technique the breastbone calls for. What follows is a neutral record of what the reference literature documents. It is not instruction, and this page does not teach technique.

• Angle and depth as recorded: subcutaneous, 0.3–0.5 inch — a flat insertion threaded under the skin along the breastbone, not driven down into it.
• Moxibustion: recorded as applicable.
• Why flat, not perpendicular: the sternum lies immediately beneath, so there is no depth to needle into; and some people have a sternal foramen (a small congenital hole in the breastbone), through which a deep perpendicular needle could pass toward the structures behind. The subcutaneous, flat technique avoids both concerns.
• Regional anatomy: the point lies over the lower sternum / xiphoid; the internal thoracic vessels run behind the sternum a little to each side; the heart and pericardium lie behind the breastbone.

Hazard, stated proportionately. With subcutaneous needling over bone this is a low-hazard point — the breastbone shields the organs behind it, so unlike the intercostal chest points there is no pneumothorax route here. The only real concern, the sternal foramen, is exactly why the needling is kept flat. Our record carries no arterial caution at REN-16, and it is not among the nine points that do.

What is not claimed. No study measuring a safe depth at REN-16 could be located, and none is needed at a subcutaneous depth over bone. No case report naming REN-16 was located.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (needling record, retained unchanged; the nine arterial cautions queried from our own data), cross-referenced against multiple online sources; regional anatomy, including the sternal foramen note, from standard anatomical description.

Is there research on REN-16, and what should a reader know?

No trial isolates REN-16. Where the point appears it is one component of a chest or digestive protocol, and a study that includes a point in a protocol is not evidence about that point.

What this page can state with confidence. REN-16 Zhong Ting (“Centre Palace”) is the lowest of the sternal Conception-vessel points, at the bottom of the breastbone. It unbinds the chest and regulates the Stomach to descend rebellion — the Stomach action reflecting its low position near the stomach, giving it hiccup and nausea indications the higher sternal points lack. It is needled subcutaneously over the breastbone, with no pneumothorax risk.

A note on searching for it. “REN 16”, “CV 16” and “Zhongting” searches return protocol trials and unrelated material — and “Zhongting” is a common Chinese given and place name. Any claim attached to this point should be checked against what a study actually used.

Source: Sacred Lotus sources & references (action, indication and location records; the REN-17 record queried, against our own data).