How Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture Organises the Scalp Into Zones
Thinking in Zones
Most Acupuncturists learn the body as a set of points. Each point has a location, a channel, a list of indications and a needling depth, and a treatment is built by choosing among them.
Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture organises the scalp differently. Professor Ming Qing Zhu divided it into 19 treatment zones. A zone is a treatment area with length and width, related to a region of the body, a group of functions, or both.
In our May 2026 webinar our teachers explained that a ZSA zone is an area, wider than a point and wider than a line. Asked in an earlier webinar which points to use, the answer was the same. ZSA has no points as such. Needles go into the zone, and where they sit within it and which way they point are taught hands-on.
Professor Zhu grounded the system in classical Chinese medicine and informed it with modern neuroanatomy, so each zone can be read through both lenses. That is why searches for "Zhu scalp acupuncture points" often come up short.
How the Map Is Laid Out
The map is built around the midline. The Du channel, which gathers the yang channels and carries qi and blood up to the brain, runs down the centre of the scalp, and treatment starts there. Du 20 sits at the centre of the map like a Taiji. The area in front of it is the yin side, and the area behind it is the yang side. The other zones lie on either side of the midline, and they are mapped across the scalp in a fixed order, which the course teaches.
ZSA zones are also mapped onto the cranial bones and the cortical representation beneath them. Where a zone sits relates to what lies under it, and our teachers analyse each case by the brain region involved as well as by TCM pattern.
Some of our pages call the map holographic, meaning the body is represented across the scalp. Dr Scott Ling sees that as a useful guide but not the whole system. In our July 2026 webinar he made the point that ZSA also works through the Shen, qi and blood, the channels and the San Jiao, and that a map used only as a projection misses most of that.
The Main Zones
These are the 19 zones of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture.
- Head & Face
- Upper Jiao
- Middle Jiao
- Lower Jiao
- Cervical
- Thoracic
- Lumbar
- Sacral
- Upper Abdomen
- Lower Abdomen
- Upper Limbs
- Lower Limbs
- Occipital
- Frontal Temporal
- Auricle Temporal
- Occipital Temporal
- Vertex, Perineum & Foot (VPF)
- Hip
- Shoulder
Some of the names are TCM names. In our teachers' webinars, the Head & Face zone is closely tied in TCM terms to the Heart and Shen. The Upper Jiao zone relates to the chest, the Heart and the Lung. The Middle Jiao zone relates to the Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Gallbladder, and so to digestion. The Lower Jiao zone relates to the Kidney and Liver in the TCM sense, the lower abdomen and the reproductive system. Our teachers have also used the Occipital and Occipital Temporal zones when balance is involved.
These are names only. Where each zone sits on the scalp, what it is used for, and in what combination, is taught in the courses.
How Zone Thinking Changes Selection
With body points, it is common to choose by indication. The patient has a symptom, and you look for the points that address it.
ZSA starts a step earlier. You make a correct diagnosis first, in TCM terms, including Zang Fu differentiation, and in Western medical terms. That diagnosis leads you to a zone or a small combination of zones. Dr Scott Ling put it plainly in our July 2026 webinar. Treat where the pain comes from, and you won't need many needles. Our teachers describe the aim as minimal intervention, with few needles placed precisely.
Technique comes next. ZSA has its own manipulation methods, Jin Qi and Chou Qi, and pairs the needling with Dao Yin, in which the Acupuncturist guides qi to the affected area while the patient takes part. Our teachers also stress the Shen. The intention of both patient and Acupuncturist is part of the treatment. Because the needles sit in the scalp, the patient is free to move, and the rest of the body stays available for any other Acupuncture style you use.
The last step is reassessment within the session. You watch how the patient's movement or function responds, and you adjust. That loop is what turns a zone choice into reasoning you can repeat with the next patient.
Why a Printed Map Isn't Enough
A ZSA chart is a useful thing to own. Used on its own, it leaves three gaps.
Location. A zone drawn on a standard head has to be found on a real one. Heads differ in size, so zones are located from Du 20 and anatomical landmarks, using proportional measurement of each patient, the same principle as body cun. Asked in our March 2026 webinar how far a limb zone sits from the midline, our teachers started from the size of the patient's head. Basics spends much of its first day on zone division and hands-on location practice, with a head model and the teachers checking your placement.
Depth, angle and manipulation. Where the needle sits within a zone, its angle, and the force and frequency of manipulation all affect whether the zone is engaged as intended. These are hard to learn from a page. Our teachers don't teach ZSA online for that reason. They need to correct your manipulation on the spot, as they do while participants practise at Basics.
Selection. A map shows where the Middle Jiao zone is. It can't tell you whether this patient's bloating belongs to that zone today, or whether the pattern behind it calls for a different combination. That judgement comes from diagnosis and from checking the response in the session.
Without reassessment, a map becomes a list of guesses. With it, you learn what each zone does in your own hands.
About "Scalp Acupuncture Points For…"
Many searches ask for scalp Acupuncture points for a named condition. We don't publish zone-by-condition prescriptions on this page, for a practical reason. In ZSA, selection follows the diagnosis, and two patients with the same condition can have different diagnoses.
Our teachers answer webinar questions about "which zone for this condition" the same way. An acute, inflamed presentation calls for one choice. Once it settles, the zone follows whichever organ the weakness comes from in TCM terms.
Zone indications are taught in the courses, together with the reasoning that decides when each one applies. Our live webinars have worked through that reasoning in real case discussion, including stroke, Parkinson's and tremor.
The Colour Atlas
The standard reference for the map is the Colour Atlas of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture by Professor Ming Qing Zhu and Moyee Siu, published by Zhu's Neuro-Acupuncture Center. It comes in English and Chinese editions, and our teachers point students to it for the zone images.
Its semi-transparent layered plates show each zone over the anatomy beneath it, so you can locate a treatment area without cross-referencing separate diagrams. It is built as a bench reference for use beside the treatment table.
You can order the Colour Atlas of Zhu's Scalp Acupuncture (English edition) or the Chinese edition from our shop.
Learning the Map Properly
If you want to use the map in clinic, start with the Basics course. Over three days, Dr Ru Shan Shy and Dr Sheng Chun Chang, both direct disciples of Professor Ming Qing Zhu, teach zone location, needling technique, Jin Qi and Chou Qi, and Dao Yin. About 40% of each day is hands-on, with 16 live patient demonstrations and the reasoning explained for each. Basics carries 19.5 CPD points or the local equivalent, and no prior scalp Acupuncture experience is needed.