Chai Hu Qing Gu San

Chai Hu Qing Gu San

Chaihu 3 qian, Artemisia 3 qian, Gentiana 3 qian, White Peony 3 qian, Danpi 3 qian, Cortex Lycii 3 qian, Turtle Shell 3 qian, Anemarrhena 3 qian, Huangqin 2 qian, Licorice 1 qian, a small amount of children’s urine, and Huhuanglian 1 qian

The liver stores blood and also governs the fire of the triple burner. When blood is sufficient, the fire is warm but not intense, circulating throughout the triple burner and reaching the skin, providing warmth and nourishment. However, if blood is deficient and fire is excessive, internal symptoms include thirst, urinary retention, and external symptoms such as bone-steaming sweat (1). These are all manifestations of liver-fire imbalance. Using danpi, anemarrhena, dried huangqin, huhuanglian, and children’s urine effectively clears the liver-fire; however, there is concern that external blockages may prevent the fire from being fully cleared, so chaihu, artemisia, and gentiana are used to break through these blockages; similarly, there is concern that internal blockages may prevent the fire from being fully cleared, so white peony, danpi, and turtle shell are used to dissolve these blockages; finally, licorice is added to harmonize all the herbs. The goal is to resolve the liver-fire blockages and clear the fire, which is superior to Xiaoyao San.

[Note] (1) Bone-steaming: "Bone" refers to deep layers, while "steaming" means vaporization. Bone-steaming is a symptom of yin deficiency and damp-heat, where heat emanates from deep within the body.

[Note] This formula originates from "Zhengzhi Zhunsheng." It treats conditions such as bone-steaming sweat caused by liver-stagnation, blood-deficiency, and excessive fire.