"Qipao Wanbing Wan" in the Beiji Qianjin Yaofang

Sun Simiao's Beiji Qianjin Yaofang (Essential Prescriptions for Emergencies Worth a Thousand Gold) records a formula called "Qipao Wanbing Wan" (Qipao's Myriad-Disease Pill). It is composed of: Niuhuang (Bovis Calculus) 1 fen, Shexiang (Moschus) 1 fen, Xijiao (Rhinocoris Cornu; one source says 1 zhu) 1 fen, Zhusha (Cinnabaris), Xionghuang (Realgar), Huanglian (Coptidis Rhizoma), Yuyuliang (Limonitum), Daji (Euphorbiae Pekinensis Radix), Yuanhua (Genkwa Flos), Yuanqing (Lytta) 6 pieces, Renshen (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma), Shilixi (stone skink) 1 cun, Fuling (Poria) 1 fen, Ganjiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma) 1 fen, Guixin (Cinnamomi Cortex) 1 fen, Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix) 1 fen, Xiongqiong (Chuanxiong, Ligustici Rhizoma) 1 fen, Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) 1 fen, Gansui (Kansui Radix) 1 fen, Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) 1 fen, Sangbaipi (Mori Cortex) 1 fen, Shujiao (Zanthoxyli Pericarpium) 1 fen, Xixin (Asari Radix et Rhizoma) 1 fen, Jiegeng (Platycodi Radix) 1 fen, Baidoukou (Crotonis Fructus) 1 fen, Qianhu (Peucedani Radix) 1 fen, Ziwan (Asteris Radix et Rhizoma) 1 fen, Puhuang (Typhae Pollen) 1 fen, Tinglizi (Descurainiae Lepidii Semen) 1 fen, Fangfeng (Saposhnikoviae Radix) 1 fen, Wugong (Scolopendra) 3 segments.

According to Sun's record, this formula can treat "seven kinds of pi masses, five kinds of epileptic disorders, ten kinds of zhu-wu attacks, seven kinds of flying corpse, twelve kinds of gu toxins, five kinds of jaundice, twelve malarial seasons, ten kinds of water diseases, eight kinds of great wind..." and various strange diseases. The symptoms it can treat include: "wind entering the head, dim misty vision; and upward-flowing qi with cough, a sound like a water-hen in the throat, inability to sleep or lie down; food and drink not transforming into flesh and skin, pent-up qi in the five zang, accumulation and gathering that do not dissolve, blockage and obstruction, cardiac and abdominal fullness extending to the chest and back, drum-like firm masses flowing into the limbs, or cardiac and diaphragmatic fullness that comes and goes, lasting ten or twenty years without healing; five kinds of lower diarrhea, gan worms and tapeworms and various worms; cold and heat above and below, long-accumulated phlegm-rheum causing much sleepiness, emaciation and weakness, entering the bone marrow, forming chronic stagnation, puffy body qi, vomiting of food, aching pain in the lower back and legs, heavy limbs, inability to walk or stand for long; women, after childbirth, cold entering the uterus, uncleanness in the womb, or obstruction and blockage, cold static blood in the uterus not fully discharged, causing periodic pain, or consequent infertility; and children's red and white dysentery; also body odor, deafness, and blocked nose."

This is a very peculiar formula. From the symptoms Sun Simiao describes, it can treat intractable neurological diseases, asthma, cancer, ascites, women's amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, body odor, deafness, and nasal obstruction.

This formula is now very hard to compound. Rhinoceros horn in it is already strictly prohibited; nowadays buffalo horn is used instead, at about ten times the dosage. The formula uses many highly toxic Chinese herbs, and some indeed have antitumor effects. Yun Tieqiao once used this formula on himself and cured his own long-standing, stubborn illness. Yue Meizhong also once used it to cure a female patient who had had amenorrhea for years with unexplained distension of the lower abdomen.

Because the herbs are so hard to compound and the cost so high, few people now use this formula. But judging from the actions of the various herbs, this is an anticancer and water-expelling formula, and should have some therapeutic effect on ascites and abdominal distension caused by cancer. Because it contains the ingredients of Shizao Tang (Ten-Jujube Decoction), it has a strong purging and water-expelling action. It also contains the main ingredients of Xihuang Wan, the famous TCM anticancer formula, and uses Yuanqing and Xionghuang and other herbs with antitumor action. So I personally believe this is an ancient formula for treating tumors in practice; the Beiji Qianjin Yaofang indeed records that it can treat welling-abscesses.

The usage is: "Take three pills each time, broken, on po-days and chu-days, taken on an empty stomach at dawn with wine; it is best to induce a slight purgation of three sheng of evil water." The timing and method of administration are also quite deliberate: taken on an empty stomach with wine in the morning on po-days and chu-days. There are 21 po-days a year (the 13th of the first lunar month, the 11th of the second, the 9th of the third, and so on), and chu-day is New Year's Eve. That amounts to taking the medicine on about 22 days a year, roughly once every half month. So this is actually an intermittent dosing method, much like modern chemotherapy, where after each chemotherapy session the patient rests 21 days to let the body recover. In fact, Qipao Wanbing Wan is very toxic and can only, like chemotherapy, be taken once and then stopped for a period. So the ancients were already aware of medication safety when using this formula.

After taking it, the patient "slightly purges three sheng of evil water," which in TCM belongs to the downward-purging method. This formula not only uses the drastic water-promoting Shizao Tang but also uses Baidoukou, a powerful laxative, so after taking it the patient will have diarrhea and increased urination. For ascites patients this is necessary.

The ancients also used this formula to emergency-treat stroke patients and mental illness patients: "For sudden illness near death, take three pills the size of a small bean; inducing vomiting and diarrhea cures it. For sudden attack of evil with locked jaws, take two pills the size of a small bean; pour one ge of warm water into the mouth; inducing a slight purgation cures it. For the five kinds of zhu and ghost attacks, take two pills the size of a small bean; if not cured, take three more pills the next day. For male and female evil disorders, singing and weeping at irregular times, abdomen large as if pregnant, take two pills the size of a small bean, twice by day and once by night, taken between meals. For cat-ghost disorder, take three pills the size of a small bean; if not cured, take more." Here, "sudden illness near death" and "sudden evil attack with locked jaws" may correspond to modern stroke; "male and female evil disorders" and "cat-ghost disorder" resemble mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Unfortunately this formula is not only expensive but also not very safe, so modern TCM has gradually stopped using it. We can no longer find many records of modern TCM using it to treat cancer-type diseases. It is only my understanding of cancer that leads me to say that, from a pharmacological point of view, this formula has anticancer and water-promoting actions.