Xiao chai hu tang
chai hu 24 huang qin 9 ban xia 12 sheng jiang 9 ren shen 9 da zao 9 zhi gan cao 9
In cold damage of five or six days, there is wind strike, coming and going of hot and cold, uncomfortable fullness of chest and ribs, muted lack of desire of food and drink, mental vexation and desire to vomit, possibly thirst, possibly pain in the abdomen, possibly hard glomus under the ribs, possibly pulsations under the heart, or lack of thirst, mild fever all over the body, or with coughing, xiao chai hu tang governs.
For all yellowing, with abdominal pain and vomiting, chai hu tang in indicated. For vomiting with fever, xiao chai hu tang governs.
This is the representative formula for a shao yang pattern. It relieves shao yang, harmonizes the surface and interior, clears liver and gall bladder congestion and strengthens the center.
Chai hu, Bupleuri radix is bitter draining of damp and heat in the liver, gall bladder and san jiao. It is pungent and aromatic dispersing of heat in liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao.
It clears the shao yang exterior and disperses heat. It is the core shao yang herb. On the exterior chai hu relieves the surface from wind heat evils, while on the interior it frees the body from evils that have entered the shao yang realm and have transformed into heat. It clears the muscles of damp and it disperses heat.
Clears wind heat from the upper and outer and disperses congested fire by raising and dispersing clear yang.
Huang qin, Scutellaria radix is bitter draining and cooling of heat in the san jiao, stomach domain, lungs, liver, gall bladder, and bladder.
Cold and bitter it is the great cleaner. It clears heat and dampness, in all three burners, and in yang ming, tai yin, shao yang, and jue yin.
Huang qin works together with chai hu. Huang qin is a qi layer heat clearing herb, it also clears internal heat in the shao yang and yang ming channels. It clears internal gall bladder heat that flares up to the upper burner. It also clears san jiao damp heat through its bitter drying taste and cold cooling nature.
Ban xia, Pinelliae rhizoma is pungent dispersing of the liver blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. It is pungent dispersing of the cold and dampness in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. It transforms tai yin damp phlegm generated from excessive and stagnant cold dampness and counteracts nausea and adverse flow.
Ban xia dries Earth dampness, it transforms damp phlegm and disperses qi stagnation. It moves qi in yang ming and transforms phlegm and dampness in tai yin spleen and lung.
Sheng jiang, Zingiberis rhizoma recens is pungent dispersing of the liver and pericardium blood and the ministerial fire in the san jiao. Sheng jiang is pungent dispersing of dampness and cold in the stomach domain, spleen and lung. Sheng jiang is pungent connecting of the tai yin with the tai yang. It supports raising of the clear qi to the chest and the 100 vessels.
Ren shen, Ginseng radix is sweet tonifying and nourishing of the spleen, lungs, heart, and kidney. It nourishes yin fluids and therefore is the foremost qi and yin tonic.
Strengthens righteous qi to push to the accumulation evils outwards. Righteous qi is also called true qi and it is a combination of original qi and gathering qi. All are dependent on the qi of shao yin and tai yin. Which in turn are dependent on the jue yin and shao yang for the ministerial fire in all three burners.
Da zao, Jujubae fructus is sweet tonifying and moderating. It tonifies and nourishes the stomach domain, spleen, lungs, and heart. It directly nourishes the shao yin heart.
The combination of ban xia, da zao and sheng jiang tonifies the spleen and harmonizes the stomach.
Zhi gan cao, Glycyrrhizae radix prep is sweet tonifying and nourishing of all organs but especially the heart.
Zhi gan cao is sweet and mildly warm tonifying and nourishing of yin fluids. It nourishes yin fluids in the tai yin and shao yin. It calms wind in the jue yin.
Chai hu, huang qin are shao yang herbs. Ban xia, ren shen, sheng jiang, da zao and zhi gan cao are yang ming and tai yin herbs. Ren shen and zhi gan cao are shao yin herbs.
Shao yang patterns are the most common because all weakness of the emperor weakens the minister which causes unrest in the kingdom which gives rise to accumulation such as dampness and phlegm and a flaring of the ministerial fire due to stagnation. Look for cold hands and feet, hot flashes, a stool that is alternating hard and soft, a sore throat, dizziness, and mental vexation.
This formula works harmonizing because it clears the accumulation of excess as in damp and phlegm but also the heat that arises due to stagnation. But this formula also supports the weakness that gives rise to the accumulation in the first place. Shao yang patterns are the most chronic and common of all the patterns that can arise.