Liver MeridianLR8

Ququan 曲泉

For reference only · not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment

Short answer

On the inner side of the knee, at the inner end of the crease behind the knee.

He-sea point (Water)

See it in 3DRotate the body and peel back the skin to see the bones and muscles beneath.
Open the 3D Acupoint Map →

🖼See it in pictures

Ququan — ① Where on the body? — **① Where on the body?**

Ququan — Textbook view — skin on the left, muscle and bone underneath on the right — **Textbook view — skin on the left, muscle and bone underneath on the right**
Location and structures come from our 3D model; only the drawing style was refined with AI. Labels are added by us.

Ququan — ③ Under the skin — **③ Under the skin**
Great saphenous vein · Semimembranosus muscle · Femur

Rendered straight from the 3D model at the computed location. The glowing ring marks Ququan.

On this page

Where is Ququan?
How do I find it on my body?
The classical posture
Before you press
How has it been used traditionally?
Classical text
FAQ

1Where is Ququan?

On the inner side of the knee, at the inner end of the crease behind the knee.

It is in the hollow just inside the semitendinosus and semimembranosus tendons.

Beneath the point

Great saphenous vein · Semimembranosus muscle · Femur

Our 3D measurement · In our 3D model: skin at the knee joint line (our default knee-crease height, same as KI10 and BL40), 3 mm inside the inner edge of the semitendinosus and semimembranosus tendons.

2How do I find it on my body?

Bend the knee.
Find the inner end of the crease at the back of the knee.
Feel for the most prominent tendon there.
Press the hollow just on its inner side.

📖 Words explained

great saphenous vein: A vein under the skin that starts on the inner top of the foot, passes in front of the inner ankle and climbs the inner leg to the groin. It is the longest vein in the body.
semitendinosus: A muscle on the inner back of the thigh. Its lower half is a long tendon, hence its name; bend the knee and the thin tendon stands out like a cord on the inner side of the back of the knee.
Yixue Rumen: An introductory medical book published by Li Chan in Ming China in 1575, widely read in Joseon Korea as well.
semimembranosus: A muscle on the inner back of the thigh, under semitendinosus, that bends the knee. Its upper part is a wide sheet, hence its name.

3The classical posture

Sit and bend the knee (the classical "take it with the knee bent"). The notes in WHO 2008 and China GB/T 12346-2021 also describe the knee as bent.
Follow the crease behind the knee to its inner end.
Find the most prominent tendon there and press the hollow just inside it.

Check · the Yixue Rumen calls it the hollow at the pointed end of the crease.

4Before you press

⚠ Do not press when

Do not dig deep toward the middle of the back of the knee.
Avoid broken or swollen skin and press only to a comfortable level.
Acupressure is not a substitute for medical care.

5How has it been used traditionally?

Classified as the He-sea (Water) point of the Liver meridian — a historical classification, not a claim of effect.
The name joins qu (bend) and quan (spring): a spring at the bending knee.
The Lingshu (ch. 2), the Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing and the Yixue Rumen all say to take it with the knee bent.

From traditional texts — not a claim of effect.

6Classical text

Donguibogam (Heo Jun, 1613), Acupuncture and Moxibustion, "Ququan"

在膝內輔骨下大筋上小筋下陷中屈膝取之《銅人》
在輔骨下橫文尖陷中《入門》
正膝屈內外兩筋間宛宛中又云在膝曲橫文頭《資生》
足厥陰脈之所入爲合 …《銅人》

①On the inner knee below the "assisting bone", above the large sinew and below the small one, in a hollow; take it with the knee bent. Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing
②Below the assisting bone, in the hollow at the pointed end of the crease. Yixue Rumen
③With the knee set straight and then bent, in the soft dip between the inner and outer sinews; also said to be at the end of the knee-bend crease. Zhenjiu Zisheng Jing
④Where the Foot Jueyin channel enters, which makes it the He-sea point. Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing

Source tags as given in the Donguibogam: Tongren = Tongren Shuxue Zhenjiu Tujing (1026), Rumen = Yixue Rumen (1575), Zisheng = Zhenjiu Zisheng Jing (Song dynasty); Lingshu ch.
2 reads 'below the assisting bone, above the large sinew, found with the knee bent … the He-sea point'.
"Assisting bone" (fugu) is an old name for the bone beside a joint.
No glyphs needed correcting in this entry.
"…" marks the needling depth and moxa count, left out because they are for licensed practitioners.

Original text as written · translation is ours.

?FAQ

Where exactly is Ququan?

On the inner side of the knee, at the inner end of the crease behind the knee. It is in the hollow just inside the semitendinosus and semimembranosus tendons.

How do I find Ququan?

Bend the knee. Find the inner end of the crease at the back of the knee. Feel for the most prominent tendon there. Press the hollow just on its inner side.

What should I watch out for?

Do not dig deep toward the middle of the back of the knee. Avoid broken or swollen skin and press only to a comfortable level. Acupressure is not a substitute for medical care.

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Sources

Location: WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region (2008), p. 199
Standard comparison: Chinese national standard GB/T 12346-2021 (Nomenclature and location of meridian points)
Posture and traditional use: Hyeoljari Seodang (Bookdramang, 2015; Korean), ch. 12 "Ququan" and appendix (Yixue Rumen indications)
Classical text: Donguibogam, Acupuncture and Moxibustion, "Ququan" — Wikisource public edition
Indications: Yixue Rumen vol. 1 (Wikisource)
Classification source: Lingshu ch. 2 (Ben Shu); Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing vol. 3; Nanjing ch. 64

Positions computed from the WHO standard locations (2008) on Z-Anatomy (CC BY-SA 4.0) · BodyParts3D © DBCLS. For reference only — not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment. See a clinician if you are unwell.