Ten Pain-Relieving Formulas Centered on Baishao (White Peony Root)

Formula 1: Shaoyao Wan (from Waitai Miyao, Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library)

Composition: Baishao (Paeoniae Radix Alba, white peony), Danggui (Angelicae Sinensis Radix, dong quai), Baizhu (Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, atractylodes), and Zhibiejia (Trionydis Carapax Praeparatum, soft-shelled turtle shell, prepared) 60 g each; Hezi (Chebulae Fructus, myrobalan) 10 pieces (pit removed); Ganjiang (dried ginger) and Renshen (ginseng) 45 g each; Baidoukou (round cardamom) and Xiongqueshi (male sparrow droppings) 30 g each; Yuliren (Pruni Semen, bush cherry seed) 75 g (peeled). Grind the herbs into powder, form pills with refined honey, the size of a Wutongzi. Take 20 pills each time, gradually increasing to 30, on an empty stomach with wine, twice daily.

Effect: warms the middle and strengthens the spleen, softens hardness and dissipates nodules. Indicated for spleen-stomach deficiency-cold, blood stasis with qi stagnation, epigastric and abdominal distending pain, and a hard, stone-like mass below the umbilicus with unremitting pain.

Formula 2: Shaoyao Tang (from Qianjin Yaofang, Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold)

Composition: Baishao, Shengdihuang (raw rehmannia), and Muli (Ostreae Concha, oyster shell) 15 g each; Guixin (Cinnamomi Cortex, cinnamon bark) 3 g. Decoct in water, strain, and take warm, three times daily.

Effect: nourishes yin and anchors yang, activates blood and stops pain. Indicated for postpartum yin deficiency with deficiency-heat rising upward causing headache, and also for cramping abdominal pain.

Formula 3: Shaoyao Tang (from Qianjin Yifang, Supplement to the Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold)

Composition: Baishao and Guixin 9 g each; Danggui, Banxia (pinellia, washed to remove slime), and Fuling (poria) 6 g each; Shujiao (Zanthoxyli Fructus, Sichuan pepper) 6 g. Decoct the above in water and strain; then add 30 ml Shengjiangzhi (fresh ginger juice) and 10 ml honey and decoct again. Take about 100 ml each time, once every shichen (2 hours).

Effect: warms the middle and disperses cold, relieves urgency and stops pain. Indicated for postpartum cardiac pain caused by cold. Avoid all raw and cold food.

Formula 4: Shaoyao Tang (from Qianjin Yifang)

Composition: Baishao 12 g, Fuling 9 g, Renshen, Shengdihuang, and Gancao (licorice) 6 g each. Decoct the above in about 500 ml of clear wine mixed with water down to 250 ml, and divide into three doses.

Effect: supplements qi and nourishes blood, relieves urgency and stops pain. Indicated for postpartum dual deficiency of qi and blood with abdominal pain.

Formula 5: Shaoyao Tang (from Suwen Bingji Qiyi Baoming Ji)

Composition: Baishao 30 g, Danggui and Huanglian (coptis) 15 g each, Binglang (areca nut) 6 g, Muxiang (saussurea) 6 g, Zhigancao (honey-fried licorice) 6 g, Dahuang (Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, rhubarb) 9 g, Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix, scutellaria) 15 g, and Guizhi (Cinnamomi Ramulus, cassia twig) 7.5 g. Coarsely grind the herbs; take 15 g each time, decoct in 300 ml water down to 150 ml, strain. Take warm after meals, twice daily.

Effect: clears heat and dries dampness, regulates qi and harmonizes blood. Indicated for damp-heat dysentery with abdominal pain, bloody and purulent stools (both red and white), tenesmus, burning anus, and scanty dark urine. Now commonly used for irritable bowel syndrome, radiation proctitis, and chronic nonspecific ulcerative colitis.

Formula 6: Shaoyao San (from Leibian Zhushi Jiyan Yifang)

Composition: Xiangfuzi (Cyperi Rhizoma, nutgrass galingale) 120 g, Rougui (Cinnamomi Cortex, cinnamon) 30 g, Chaoyanhusuo (stir-fried Corydalis Rhizoma, corydalis) 30 g, Baishao 30 g. Grind into a fine powder; take 6 g each time, mixed with boiling water, twice daily, at any time.

Effect: moves qi and resolves stasis, warms the channels and stops pain. Indicated for women's blood stasis with qi stagnation causing lumbar and hypochondriac pain.

Formula 7: Shaoyao Gancao Tang (from Shanghan Lun, Treatise on Cold Damage)

Baishao and Zhigancao 12 g each. Decoct the herbs in 400 ml water down to 200 ml, and divide into two warm doses daily.

Effect: relieves urgency and stops pain. Indicated for limb spasms/cramps or abdominal pain.

Formula 8: Shaoyao Huangqi Tang (from Qianjin Yaofang)

Composition: Baishao 12 g; Huangqi (astragalus), Baizhi (Angelicae Dahuricae Radix, angelica dahurica), Guixin, Shengjiang, Renshen, Chuanxiong (Ligustici Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Szechuan lovage), Danggui, Shengdihuang, and Zhigancao 6 g each; Fuling 9 g; Dazao (jujube) 10 pieces (broken). Boil with 350 ml each of wine and water down to 300 ml, strain, and take warm, 100 ml each time, three times daily.

Effect: supplements qi and nourishes blood, warms the middle and stops pain. Indicated for postpartum dual deficiency of qi and blood with external contraction of cold evils causing cardiac and abdominal pain.

Formula 9: Shaoyao Huanglian Tang (from Suwen Bingji Qiyi Baoming Ji)

Composition: Baishao, Danggui, and Huanglian 15 g each; Dahuang 3 g; Guizhi 1.5 g; Zhigancao 3 g. Coarsely grind the herbs; take 15 g each time, decoct in 150 ml water down to 100 ml, strain, and take warm after meals, twice daily.

Effect: clears heat and detoxifies, harmonizes blood and stops pain. Indicated for internal accumulation of heat-toxin with blood in the stool after defecation and abdominal pain.

Formula 10: Shaoyao Gancao Fuzi Tang (from Shanghan Lun)

Composition: Baishao and Zhigancao 9 g each, Paofuzi (Aconiti Radix Praeparata, blast-fried aconite) 6 g. Boil all together in 1 L water down to 300 ml, strain, and take warm, three times daily.

Effect: supports yang and nourishes yin. Indicated for dual deficiency of yin and yang after sweating in cold damage, with aversion to cold instead of fever; and for patients with chronic sores who develop convulsions after sweating. This formula is now often used to treat acute sciatica and migraine.

From these ten formulas we can see that Baishao has a specific pain-relieving effect; combined with the appropriate herbs, it can relieve pain caused by a variety of conditions.