Shanghan Lun ⁽²⁵⁾

Mahuang Lianqiao Chixiaodao Tang (Ephedra, Forsythia, and Rice Bean Decoction) is a classical formula from Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Cold Damage (Shanghan Lun). Its composition is: 6g of Ephedrae Herba (Mahuang, nodes removed), 6g of Forsythiae Fructus (Lianqiao), 40 pieces of Armeniacae Semen (Xingren, peel…

In the general outline of Taiyang disease in the Shanghan Lun there is this passage: "In Taiyang disease, if there is fever and thirst, and no aversion to cold, it is a warm disease. If, after promotion of sweating, the body is burning hot, it…

Da Chaihu Tang is a classic renowned formula from Zhang Zhongjing's Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage). It is composed of "Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix) half a jin, Huangqin (Scutellariae Radix) three liang, Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) three liang, Banxia (Pinelliae Rhizoma) half a sheng (washed), Shengjiang…

What TCM calls “xiere li” (concurrent-heat diarrhea) refers to a condition in which an exterior pattern (fever and aversion to cold) coexists with diarrhea. The Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage) contains this passage: “In a taiyang disease of the guizhi presentation, if the doctor…

Xuanfu Daizhe Tang comes from the Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage), which states: 'After cold damage treated by sweating, or vomiting, or purging, if the chest epigastrium is hard and stuffed and belching does not cease, Xuanfu Daizhe Tang governs it.' Composition: Xuanfuhua (Inula)…

Banxia Xiexin Tang, Shengjiang Xiexin Tang, and Gancao Xiexin Tang in Zhang Zhongjing's Treatise on Cold Damage (Shanghan Lun) are three formulas for digestive tract diseases. Original text from the Shanghan Lun: "When cold damage has lasted five or six days and there is vomiting…

Professor Zhang Renji, a disciple of the late Shi Jinmo—one of Beijing's four great TCM doctors—in the preface of his book A New Path in TCM Cancer Treatment, recounts his journey from Western medicine to TCM. Professor Zhang graduated early from Peking University's medical department,…

The patient was a female eighth-grader. Because her maternal grandfather had osteosarcoma, her parents had been in frequent contact with me. One day the girl's father asked me to see the patient via video. The patient had suffered from intractable insomnia since fifth grade, and…

Guizhi Jia Fuzi Tang (Cinnamon Twig plus Aconite Decoction) comes from the Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Damage). The original formula is: Guizhi (Cinnamomi Ramus) 3 liang, Shaoyao (Paeoniae Radix) 3 liang, Zhi Gancao (honey-fried Glycyrrhizae Radix) 3 liang, Sheng Jiang (Zingiberis Rhizoma, sliced) 3…

I grew up in the countryside. During the busy farming season I had to work the fields with my parents; rural children have followed the same path for thousands of years. The hardest work we did as children was probably transplanting rice seedlings. It required…