Translating "足五里", acupuncture point LIV-10

The reasoning for translating "足五里" as "Leg's Five Quarter Miles" from Chinese into English. This is the original name of acupuncture point LIV-10 (Liver 10).

足五里
Leg's Five Quarter Miles  (LIV-10)
足: Leg / foot / walk
五: Five
里: Li (about 400 m or ¼ mile) / village

Explanation of the point name

The four points with 3 三 or 5 五 Li 里 in the name all have some kind of energizing effect. That suggests that these points each in some way give the energy to walk a certain distance. 里 must thus be translated as a measure of distance, rather than as 'village.' Li 里 is about 400 meter or ¼ mile, which is why I translate it as 'Quarter Miles' in these four point names.

Of the most well-known point of the four, ST-36 足三里, it is said that it allows to walk three more Li. One doesn't get tired as quickly as usual. The other points have different energizing effects.

The other 3 Li point, LI-10 手三里, has more of an activating effect. Also something that would allow a person to walk three more Li, I'd say.

The two other points have 5 Li in their names. Reasoning along the same line would suggest that these points could be even more energizing, allowing one to walk even 5 more Li, instead of just 3. However, they don't seem that powerful, so that reasoning is not correct.

For LI-13 手五里, A Manual of Acupuncture lists as indications (among others) 'desire to sleep, diminished qi, inability to move the four limbs.' In the same publication, LIV-10 足五里 (the one here) is listed in a combination of points for 'Somnolence with no desire to move the four limbs.' So, a similar indication as for LI-13.

Apparently, the 5 Li here refers to that a person isn't able to walk 5 Li, and these points would counteract that. So, the 3 Li in ST-36 足三里 and LI-10 手三里 is about the effect of these points, walking 3 more Li, while the 5 Li in LI-13 手五里 and LIV-10 足五里 is about an indication for these points, which is not being able to walk 5 Li.

Then, there's the issue of how to translate 手 and 足 (which also is an issue with translating the Chinese meridian names/locations).

None of the dictionaries that I consult has 'arm' for 手, they have 'hand.' Still, these pointnames with 手 have elsewhere been translated with 'arm.' That is understandable, since these points are on the arm, not on the hand. However 臂 for 'arm' isn't used, here. I stay with 'hand,' expecting there to be some reason for this, even as I'm not aware of it. I trust the dictionaries, here.

足 can mean both 'leg' and 'foot,' and to complicate things 'to walk.' To be consistent with the hand 手 points, I'd say that 'to walk' is not right here, and walking is, in fact, implied. With these points being on the leg, one would say that 'leg' is the right translation. But along the line that the arm points have 手 for 'hand,' the word 'foot' could be the correct one. I am, somewhat arbitrarily, going with 'leg,' since the points are on the leg.

1st character

Leg / foot / walk
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Point names with

For consistency in the translations, it is necessary to be aware of how the character is translated elsewhere. These are the point names it is in.

ST-36 足三里 Leg's Three Quarter Miles
BL-66 足通谷 Walking Through the Valley
GB-41 足臨泣 Near to Tears on the Foot
GB-44 足竅陰 Yin Openings Foot Point
LIV-10 足五里 Leg's Five Quarter Miles

Point names with (opposite of )

For consistency in the translations, it helps to be aware of how the opposite character is translated elsewhere. These are the point names it is in.

LI-10 手三里 Hand's Three Quarter Miles
LI-13 手五里 Hand's Five Quarter Miles


2nd character

Five
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Point names with

For consistency in the translations, it is necessary to be aware of how the character is translated elsewhere. These are the point names it is in.

LI-13 手五里 Hand's Five Quarter Miles
BL-5 五處 Fifth Position
GB-27 五樞 Five Pivots
GB-42 地五會 Five Meeting on the Ground
LIV-10 足五里 Leg's Five Quarter Miles


3rd character

Li (about 400 m or ¼ mile) / village
CJKV-English Dictionary (username: 'guest', no password)

Point names with

For consistency in the translations, it is necessary to be aware of how the character is translated elsewhere. These are the point names it is in.

LI-10 手三里 Hand's Three Quarter Miles
LI-13 手五里 Hand's Five Quarter Miles
ST-36 足三里 Leg's Three Quarter Miles
HT-5 通里 Passing Through the Village
LIV-10 足五里 Leg's Five Quarter Miles
REN-11 建里 Establishing a Village


Nearby points

Sometimes the names of consecutive points on a meridian are related. Being aware of nearby points can help to translate consistently in such a situation.

LIV-7 膝關 Knee Joint
LIV-8 曲泉 Spring at the Bend
LIV-9 陰包 Yin Wrapping
LIV-10 足五里 Leg's Five Quarter Miles
LIV-11 陰廉 Yin Corner
LIV-12 急脈 Hasty Pulse
LIV-13 章門 Chapter Gate