Pinyin: Da Ji  Chinese: 大薊
Pharmaceutical: Herba seu Radix Cirsii Japonici
English: Japanese Thistle

Tastes: Sweet, bitter, cool
Meridians Entered: Heart and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Blood Heat with epistaxis, hematemesis, hematuria, hemafecia or uterine bleeding
2. Disperses Blood Stasis, reduces swelling and generates flesh
   Topically for carbuncles, sores, and swellings (Chuang Yung) (use fresh)
3. Benefits the Gallbladder and reduces jaundice
   Jaundice, especially due to Damp-Heat
4. Lowers Blood pressure
   Hypertension, especially due to Liver Heat

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Xiao Ji  Chinese: 小蓟
Pharmaceutical: Herba Cirsii seu Cephalanoplos
English: Field Thistle

Tastes: Sweet, bitter, cool
Meridians Entered: Heart and Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Any kind of bleeding due to Blood Heat
2. Disperses Blood Stasis, resolves toxicity, reduces swelling and reduces abscesses
   Sores and abscesses due to Heat toxin (internal and topical)
3. Clears Damp-Heat and promotes urination
   Damp-Heat jaundice, hepatitis
4. Promotes the function of the Gall Bladder and reduces hypertension
   High blood pressure

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: He Ye  Chinese: 荷叶
Pharmaceutical: Nelumbinis Foliae
English: Lotus Leaf

Tastes: Bitter, astringent, neutral
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Spleen, Gallbladder and Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Relieves Summerheat
   Summerheat and Dampness with fever, irritability, excessive sweating, scanty urine and especially diarrhoea
2. Raises and clears Spleen Yang
   Spleen Yang Deficiency diarrhoea especially in the aftermath of Summerheat
3. Removes Stagnation and stops bleeding
   Bleeding in the Lower Jiao due to Heat or Stagnation Hematemesis (adjunctive)

Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.

Pinyin: Ce Bai Ye  Chinese: 侧柏叶
Pharmaceutical: Cacumen Platycladi
English: Oriental Arborvitae Tip / Biota Leaves

Tastes: Bitter, astringent cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, Liver and Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Blood Heat bleeding with hematemesis, bleeding gums, hemafecia, hematuria, bloody dysenteric disorders and uterine bleeding
   This herb may be combined with appropriate herbs to treat bleeding associated with Cold patterns
2. Stops cough and asthma and expels Phlegm
   Lung Heat with cough
   Phlegm Heat, especially important for viscous, difficult-to-expectorate, blood-streaked sputum
3. Promotes the healing of burns and generates flesh (topical)
   Burns (topically in powdered form in the early stages over a moderate area)
4. Promotes hair growth
   Hair loss
5. Clears Damp-Heat
   Vaginal discharge due to Damp-Heat
6. Dispels Wind-Dampness
   Wind-Damp Bi

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction.

Pinyin: Bai Mao Gen  Chinese: 白茅根
Pharmaceutical: Rhizoma Imperatae
Taxonomy: Imperata cylindrica
English: Wooly Grass Rhizome / Lanlang Grass Rhizome / Cogongrass Rhizome / Imperata Rhizome

Tastes: Sweet, cold
Meridians Entered: Lung, Stomach and Bladder

Actions & Indications:

1. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Bleeding due to Blood Heat with epistaxis, hematemesis, hemoptysis and hematuria
2. Clears Heat and promotes urination
   Lin Syndrome Heat patterns with oedema and urinary difficulty
3. Clears Heat from the Stomach and Lungs
   Stomach Heat with nausea and thirst Lung Heat with wheezing
4. Wards off Ghosts (鬼 Gui)
   Baopuzi says that if you see a ghost in the mountains, throw some Bai Mao at it and it will die (Wen, 2024).

Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.

Pinyin: Qian Cao Gen  Chinese: 茜草根
Pharmaceutical: Radix Rubiae cordifoliae
Taxonomy: Rubia cordifolia
English: Indian Madder Root / Manjistha

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Liver

Actions & Indications:

1. Cools the Blood and stops bleeding
   Bleeding due to Blood Heat with epistaxis, hematemesis, hemoptysis, hemafecia, hematuria and uterine bleeding
2. Invigorates the Blood and dispels Blood Stasis
   Pain due to Blood Stasis, especially chest and flank pain
   Retained lochia Pain from traumatic injury and joint pain
   Early-stage carbuncles
3. Disperses Wind-Dampness
   Bi pain
4. Unblocks the channels and vessels
   Wind pain in the bones and joints
5. Cools the Liver and transforms Phlegm
   Chronic, stubborn cough with pain in the chest due to Liver Fire Attacking the Lungs

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction, but can be up to 30g.

Pinyin: Zhi Zi  Chinese: 栀子
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Gardeniae
Taxonomy: Gardenia jasminoides
English: Gardenia Fruit

Tastes: Bitter and cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver, Stomach and Lung

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat, reduces Fire and eliminates irritability in the San Jiao
   Excess Heat in the Heart, Stomach and Liver with high fever, irritability, restlessness, a stifling sensation in the chest, insomnia or delirious speech, eye problems, anger, jaundice
2. Clears Heat and resolves Dampness (Drains Damp-Heat)
   Damp-Heat in the Lower Jiao with painful urinary dysfunction (Lin Syndrome)
   Damp-Heat in the Liver/Gallbladder with jaundice
   Damp-Heat in the San Jiao
   Damp-Heat in the Gallbladder and San Jiao channels of the face affecting the nose and eyes or causing sores in the mouth or facial region
3. Cools the Blood and relieves toxicity (stops bleeding by astringing)
   Heat in the Blood with epistaxis, hematemesis, hemafecia or hematuria (partially charred)
4. Reduces swelling and invigorates the Blood
   Blood Stagnation due to trauma (topical)

Standard Dosage: 5-15g in decoction.
Cautions: Being strongly bitter in flavor and cold in nature, it is not good for deficiency-cold syndrome because it can easily impair spleen and stomach. It is contraindicated in case of loose stool due to spleen deficiency.

Pinyin: Da Huang  Chinese: 大黄
Pharmaceutical: Radix et Rhizoma Rhei
Taxonomy: Rheum palmatum
English: Chinese Rhubarb Root

Tastes: Bitter, cold
Meridians Entered: Large Intestine, Spleen, Stomach, Liver and Heart

Actions & Indications:

1. Drains Heat and purges accumulations
   Intestinal Heat Excess, with high fever, profuse sweating, thirst, constipation, abdominal distention and pain, delirium, a yellow tongue coat and a full pulse
   Yang-Ming Fu Stage
   Qi Level Heat in the Intestines
2. Drains Fire
   Fire from Excess with intense fever, sore throat, and painful eyes and constipation
   Fire toxin sores due to Xue Level Heat, especially with constipation
3. Clears Heat, transforms Dampness and promotes urination
   Damp-Heat with oedema, jaundice, painful urinary dysfunction and acute, hot dysenteric disorders
4. Drains Heat from the Blood
   Bloody stool either from hemorrhoids or Heat in the Intestines
   Chaotic movement of hot Blood with hemoptysis or epistaxis with constipation
   It can be powdered and administered orally for bleeding in the upper digestive tract
5. Invigorates the Blood and dispels Blood Stasis
   Blood Stasis with amenorrhea, fixed abdominal masses or fixed pain
   Blood Stasis due to traumatic injury
   Intestinal abscess
6. Clears Heat and reduces Fire toxicity
   Topically or internally for burns or skin lesions (Chuang Yung) due to Heat
7. Clears Heat and eliminates Phlegm
   Chronic Accumulation of Phlegm-Heat with cough, dyspnea, mania, disorientation and other symptoms of Phlegm Misting the Heart

Standard Dosage: 10-15g in decoction. Excessive decoction will reduce the purgative action. Therefore it should be added at end to achieve this purpose and over-decocted to eliminate this action.
Cautions: It should be used with caution in case of spleen and stomach deficiency for its bitter and cold property which is easily to damage stomach qi. It is contraindicated to women during pregnancy, menstruation or lactation for it has actions of activating blood and resolving stasis, and can make the purged substances follow lactating out.

Pinyin: Mu Dan Pi  Chinese: 牡丹皮
Pharmaceutical: Cortex radicis Moutan
Taxonomy: Paeonia suffruticosa
English: Tree Peony Root Bark / Moutan Peony Root Bark

Tastes: Bitter, pungent, light cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver and Kidney

Actions & Indications:

1. Clears Heat and cools (and harmonizes) the Blood
   Xue Stage Heat with epistaxis, hemoptysis, hematemesis or subcutaneous bleeding
   Menorrhagia due to Blood Heat
2. Clears Deficiency Fire
   Yin Deficiency Heat signs especially in the aftermath of Warm Febrile Disease with fever at night and coolness in the morning (most appropriate when the is no sweating)
3. Invigorates the Blood and dispels Blood Stasis
   Blood Stasis with amenorrhea, abdominal masses, lumps or bruises due to trauma
   Liver Blood Stagnation
4. Clears Liver Fire
   Liver Fire with headache, eye pain, flank pain, flushing and dysmenorrhea
5. Drains pus and reduces swelling
   Non-draining sores (topical)
   Intestinal abscesses (internal)

Standard Dosage: 6-12g in decoction.
Cautions: It is contraindicated in cases of profuse menstruation and pregnant women.

Pinyin: Zong Lu Pi  Chinese: 棕櫚皮
Pharmaceutical: Petiolus Trachycarpi
English: Chinese Palm

Tastes: Neutral, Bitter, Sour
Meridians Entered: Liver, Large Intestine, Lung, Spleen

Actions & Indications:

1. Astringes leakage of Blood and stops bleeding
   Hemoptysis, hematemesis, epistaxis, hemafecia and excessive uterine bleeding

Standard Dosage: 3-15g in decoction