Empirical Formula ⁽¹⁶⁶⁾

Herpes zoster (shingles) is a viral infectious disease caused by reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (the same virus that caused chickenpox in our childhood), characterized by severe neuralgia and unilateral rash. It commonly affects middle-aged and elderly people over 50; by age 85, about half…

Some of the "malignant superficial sores" of ancient TCM texts correspond to superficial tumors in modern medicine, while others are related to infectious diseases. Ancient TCM treated such sores mostly by external methods. One of the Four Great Masters of the Jin-Yuan period, Li Dongyuan,…

Prof. Yin Huihe was a great contemporary TCM physician. On the basis of ancient formulas he added corresponding herbs to form a number of modified formulas that work better than the originals. The modified Qianjin Weijing Tang is one of them. Qianjin Weijing Tang comes…

Mah Xing Shi Gan Tang is a formula from the Shanghan Lun for treating Taiyang warm disease. It consists of Mahuang (ephedra), Xingren (apricot kernel), Shigao (gypsum), and Gancao (licorice), hence its name. Zhang Zhongjing described its indication as "sweating with panting." Later generations use…

The Ming physician Gong Tingxian included a formula called Qingre Daotan Tang (Heat-Clearing Phlegm-Driving Decoction) in his Shoushi Baoyuan. Gong Tingxian described the composition and indications of the formula as follows: Huanglian (Coptis) 8 fen; Huangqin (Scutellaria) 2 qian; Gualouren (Trichosanthes seed) 4 qian, shell…

Duoming Huanzhen Dan (Life-Snatching Truth-Retaining Elixir) comes from Wanbing Huichun (Restoring Health to Myriad Diseases) by the Ming-dynasty physician Gong Tingxian. It is a formula that primarily supports the righteous qi for treating stroke sequelae. In that book, Gong Tingxian says: “For stroke with paralysis…

Formula 1 (source: Jilin Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine): Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix), Xiangfu (Cyperi Rhizoma), Qingpi (Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride), Chishao (Paeoniae Rubra Radix), Baishao (Paeoniae Alba Radix), Paoshanjia (processed Manis Squama; see note below), Ruxiang (Olibanum), Moyao (Myrrha), Zaojiaoci (Gleditsiae Spina), Tianhuafen (Trichosanthis Radix),…

During the May Day holiday in Beijing this year, I met a cancer patient who had consulted me ten years earlier for radiation enteritis. This patient had developed some relatively uncommon symptoms: her brain’s motor control over the lower limbs was intact, but her lower…

Purpura is a common clinical sign, presenting as red or dark-red spots or ecchymoses under the skin. Purpura is a pathological phenomenon not caused by a single etiology. When the body is injured, purpura may easily appear on the skin; purpura caused by minor trauma…

Lu Fu Jin Fang (Imperial Prescriptions of the Lu Prince) is a work by the famous Ming-dynasty physician Gong Tingxian. Gong Tingxian was renowned in his day for his outstanding therapeutic results and was hailed as the “Zhuangyuan of the Medical World.” The proven formulas…