Author: Sun Si Miao, 孫思邈
Year: 650
Source: Important Formulas Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces (Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, 備急千金要方)
Category: Formulas that Calm the Spirit
Pattern: Ascendant Heart Yang with lack of communication between Heart and Kidneys
Key Symptoms: Palpitations, insomnia, tinntius, diminished visual and auditory acuity.
Secondary Symptoms: Seizures
Ingredients
Ci Shi
| 60g | |
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Pinyin: Ci Shi
Chinese: 磁石
Pharmaceutical: Magnetitum
Taxonomy: Fe2+Fe3+2O4
English: Magnetite
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Tastes: Salty, cold
Meridians Entered: Heart, Liver and Kidney
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Actions & Indications:
- Anchors Liver Yang and calms the Spirit
Agitated Heart and Spirit with restlessness, palpitations, insomnia, tremors, dizziness and vertigo in patients with Yin Deficiency with Yang Rising, especially when Kidney Rising, especially when Kidney Yin Deficiency leads to Liver Fire that deranges and disturbs the Spirit Convulsions in children caused by shock or fear
- Benefits Yin, nourishes the Kidneys, augments the Liver and improves hearing and vision
Kidney and Liver Yin Deficiencies with impaired hearing or deafness, tinnitus, or visual disturbances
- Aids the Kidneys in grasping Qi
Chronic asthma due to Kidneys Unable to Grasp Qi
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Standard Dosage: 15-30g in decoction.
Cautions: Mineral products are prohibited from use in the UK under the Medicines Act 1968 ch. 67 which restricts herbalists to the use of plant products only. It is generally substituted with Gong Lao Ye and Hu Po. |
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Zhu Sha
| 30g | |
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Pinyin: Zhu Sha
Chinese: 朱砂
Pharmaceutical: Cinnabaris
Taxonomy: HgS
English: Cinnabar / Vermilion / Mercury (II) Sulfide / 丹 Dan / 朱雀 Zhu Que (Red Raven)
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Tastes: Sweet, cold, toxic
Meridians Entered: Heart
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Actions & Indications:
- Sedates the Heart and calms the Spirit
Restlessness, palpitations, anxiety, insomnia and convulsions associated with a disturbed Spirit
Heart Fire (with appropriate herbs)
Phlegm Fire Disturbs the Heart (with appropriate herbs)
Heart Blood Deficiency (with appropriate herbs)
- Expels Phlegm and sedates jitteriness and convulsions while stopping tremors
Seizures, childhood convulsions and other problems due to Phlegm-Heat Blocking the Pericardium and Heart
Wind-Phlegm dizziness
Lung Heat
- Clears Heat, relieves toxicity and prevents putrefaction
Topically for carbuncles, mouth sores, sore throat and snakebite
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Standard Dosage: No dosage is permissible due to mercury toxicity. 0.1-0.5g in powder or pills is traditional.
Cautions: Prohibited from use today due to its mercury content, it is generally omitted or substituted with Hu Po. Historically it was sometimes confused with Xue Jie, so this could also make a potential substitute in the right circumstances.
Zhao, Li & Wang (2022) claim that grinding and washing was a traditional method of removing the toxicity but any amount of mercury toxicity is unacceptable today.
Traditional contraindications include overdose and taking for a long period of time, or calcinification. |
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Shen Qu
| 120g | | |
Pinyin: Shen Qu
Chinese: 神曲
Pharmaceutical: Massa Fermentata
English: Medicated Leaven
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Tastes: Sweet, pungent, warm
Meridians Entered: Spleen and Stomach
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Actions & Indications:
- Reduces Food Stagnation, promotes digestion and harmonizes the Stomach
Food Stagnation or accumulation due Stomach Cold with epigastric fullness or distention, lack of appetite, borborygmus and diarrhoea
- Moves Qi
Qi Stagnation
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Standard Dosage: 6-15g in decoction.
Cautions: Contains gluten so not advised in people with gluten sensitivity or coeliac disease. Also contraindicated in cases of acid reflux, deficient Spleen Yin and excessive Stomach Fire. Caution also advised in pregnancy. |
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Subsitutions:
Zhu Sha is no longer used and requires substitution and in the UK Ci Shi must also be substituted. Standard substitutions are:
Ci Shi == Gong Lao Ye + Hu Po
Zhu Sha == Hu Po
Preparation: Ground into powder and made into small pills with honey.
Actions: Heavily sedates and calms the Shen, weighs down the Yang, improves vision and hearing
Contraindications: Fire from Liver and Kidney, weak digestive system.
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.