Fushen Yin to Strengthen the Stomach and Aid Sleep

The Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library (Waitai Miyao) quotes a formula from Secret Records for Extending Life (Yannian Milu) called "Fushen Yin" (Poria Spirit Drink). Its composition is: fushen (Poriae Sclerotium Pararadicis) 4 qian (12 g), renshen (Ginseng) 3 qian (9 g), juhongpi (Citri Reticulatae Exocarpium) 2 qian (6 g), gancao (Licorice) 1.5 qian (4.5 g), shengjiang (Fresh Ginger) 2 qian (6 g), and suanzaoren (Ziziphi Spinosae Semen) 9 qian (27 g).

The above is one dose, decocted in water and strained; take warm in two divided doses daily. This formula nourishes the heart and settles the spirit; it is indicated for heart deficiency with inability to sleep and poor appetite.

The composition closely resembles Er Chen Tang, but it removes Er Chen Tang's warming, drying banxia, replaces fuling with fushen, and adds shengjiang and suanzaoren. Its effect is similar to Er Chen Tang; judging from its composition, this formula strengthens the stomach and downbears counterflow, and the insomnia it treats is mostly caused by digestive-tract disease.

TCM has a saying: "If the stomach is not at peace, sleep is restless." The rationale of this formula is to harmonize the stomach as the root and settle the spirit and aid sleep as the branch. In the formula, renshen, gancao, fushen, juhongpi and shengjiang are common spleen-fortifying, qi-moving, stomach-harmonizing herbs; suanzaoren is a common TCM herb for insomnia, and fushen also settles the spirit and aids sleep. Thus the formula achieves calming the spirit by harmonizing the stomach. Although the original text considers the formula's action to be nourishing the heart and settling the spirit, TCM "heart" often refers to the epigastric region; so we should, based on the formula's composition, identify its indications more accurately.

Later formulas such as Guipi Tang and Yangxin Anshen Tang were both derived by modification from this one.