Author: Zhang Zhong-Jing, 張仲景
Year: c. 220
Source: Essentials from the Golden Cabinet (Jin Gui Yao Lue, 金匱要略)
Category: Formulas that Clear Heat
Pattern: Lung abscess with Phlegm in the chest
Key Symptoms: Coughing, wheezing, a sense of fullness and distention in the chest
Secondary Symptoms: Superficial oedema of the entire body (including the face and ears), nasal congestion with a clear discharge and a loss of taste and smell.
Ingredients
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Ting Li Zi
| 9-12g | |
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Pinyin: Ting Li Zi
Chinese: 葶苈子
Pharmaceutical: Semen Lepidii
English: Pepperweed Seed |
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Tastes: Bitter, pungent, extremely cold
Meridians Entered: Lung and Bladder |
Actions & Indications:
- Drains the Lungs, reduces Phlegm and calms wheezing
Phlegm accumulation or Lung Heat with wheezing or cough with copious sputum and a gurgling sound in the throat
- Circulates water and reduces oedema
Lung and Bladder Qi Obstruction with facial oedema, or fluid accumulation in the chest or abdomen with urinary difficulty
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Standard Dosage: 3-10g in decoction.
Cautions: With strong action it can damage healthy qi, so it is fit for excess syndromes. It should be used with cautions for lung qi deficiency cough and spleen deficiency edema. |
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Da Zao
| 12pcs | | |
Pinyin: Da Zao
Chinese: 大枣
Pharmaceutical: Fructus Jujubae
English: Jujube Berry / Black Date / Chinese Date |
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Tastes: Sweet, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen, Stomach and Heart |
Actions & Indications:
- Tonifies the Spleen and Stomach and augments Qi
Spleen and Stomach Deficiency with weakness, shortness of breath, lassitude, anorexia and loose stools
- Nourishes the Blood and calms the Spirit
Blood Deficiency
Restless Organ Syndrome with wan complexion, irritability and severe emotional debility
- Moderates and harmonizes the harsh properties of other herbs
Added to formulas with to counter harsh, drying and draining herbs by fortifying the Spleen, nourishing Blood and settling the Spirit.
- Aids fasting
Mentioned in the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing as part of the superior class of herbs which can, with protracted taking, make the body light and prolong life. This may suggest it was part of supplementing the diet when engaging in an "avoiding grain" (Bigu 辟穀) fasting regime to cultivate life (Yangsheng 養生).
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Standard Dosage: 10-30g in decoction.
Cautions: It is used with cautions in cases of damp-phlegm or food stagnation because it can help dampness produce heat, and induce distention in middle energizer. |
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Preparation: Cook Da Zao in 3 cups of water until 2 cups remain. Discard the herbs and then add stewed and pounded Ting Li Zi formed into a pill the size of a bullet. Cook until only 1 cup of liquid remains.
At present it is usually prepared as a decoction with only 4 pieces of Da Zao.
Actions: Drains the Lungs, moves the fluids, drives out Phlegm in the chest.
Notes:
One liang is taken as 3g in modern sources but in Eastern Han times it was equivalent to 13.875g. This means that the dosages in classical formulae could have been more than 4x what is given today making them far higher than recommended safe dosages today but prompts consideration of what an effective dose may be (He, 2013).
Research Links:
Reference Notes: (click to display)
Most formulas are found in Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet (2009): Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies and Chen & Chen (2015) Chinese Herbal Formulas and Applications. Others are from translations of primary sources. It is recommended that the original material is cross-referenced for mistakes and additional information.
Substitutions have been taken from Ken Lloyd & Prof. Leung (2004): Mayway UK Substitution List or the above publications and are intended as suggestions to help navigate the tight restrictions in the UK quickly. More applicable substitutions may be appropriate in specific situations.
Individual herb information has initially been sourced from TCM Wiki and American Dragon for basic data and then updated manually with my own notes.
These pages are intended to assist clinicians and are not intended for self-diagnosis or treatment for which a qualified professional should be consulted.
