From the time I was exploring my grandparent's tree farm fields, discovering Trilliums, Solomon's Seal, and Lily of the Valley, blowing dandelion seeds into the wind, I have felt the soothing presence of nature and experienced the stimulation of intellectual curiosity to learn about herbs.
What follows is an introduction to Chinese herbal formulas. The first recorded Chinese herbal formula is approximately 3,000 years old. The formula was composed of food-grade ingredients and was developed by Dr. Yi Yin. After another 1,000 years had passed, 13 herbal formulas had been developed, tested, and used extensively. During the Han Dynasty, Dr. Zhang Zhong Jing, a name you cannot study Chinese herbs without hearing many, many times, wrote the Shang Han Lun and Jing Gui Yao Lue; these works included 314 herbal formulas. By the time of the Ming Dynasty, there were 61,739 formulas recorded in the Pu Ji Fang, and by modern times there were 196,592 herbal formulas. I credit my professor, Dr. Sheng Fang, with this information. Although an intimidating number to memorize, this large number of formulas gives context to and appreciation of the history and advancement of this medicine.
Li Fa Fang Yao Chinese medicine practitioners use “li fa fang yao.” This stands for “theory, treatment methods, formulas/good way, and single herbs.” After an East Asian medicine practitioner has determined an individual’s pattern differentiation, they might choose acupuncture or herbs. There are eight possible treatment strategies used in Chinese herbology. The ancient Chinese Materia Medica organizes herbs into categories based on these eight strategies. They are as follows:
Treatment Strategies
1) Sweating (han fa): these herbs disperse the exterior (i.e. the Lungs and skin). They might disperse Wind-Heat or Wind-Cold, for example. Famous examples of formulas in this category are Gui Zhi Tang and Ma Huang Tang.
2) Vomiting (tu fa): this is an aggressive strategy used for poisons and stagnation in the “middle and upper jiao.” If overused, this strategy can directly damage qi and body fluids. Although it is rarely used in modern Chinese herbology, Gua Di San is a representative formula.
3) Drain Down (xia fa): this strategy increases bowel movements (for constipation), urination (in cases of edema), and in some cases bleeding (for painful periods due to stagnation, for example). It is also an aggressive strategy that is meant to be used short-term due to the possibility of extreme water loss. Da Cheng Qi Tang is the most famous formula in this category.
4) Harmonizing (he fa): this strategy is used to rebalance the body in complex situations when mixed, co-existing patterns (more than one Organ system involved or more than one external pathogen are attacking the body). A representative formula for the harmonizing category is Xiao Chai Hu Tang.
5) Warming (wen fa): is used to warm cold. Usually this is excess cold. Li Zhong Wan, “Regulate the Middle Pill,” is the representative warming formula.
6) Clearing (qing fa): this strategy primarily refers to clearing heat, fire, and fire toxins, interior heat that is usually excess in nature. The formulas in this category are meant for short-term use, such as the famous representative formula, Bai Hu Tang “White Tiger Decoction.”
7) Reducing (xiao fa): reducing is used in cases of stubborn interior excess stagnation (blood, blood heat, blood-phlegm such as nodules and cysts, and food). Bao He Wan is a famous reducing formula for food stagnation and Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan is a famous representative reducing formula often used to treat women’s issues such as uterine fibroids.
8) Tonifying (bu fa): these formulas nourish, support, and build qi, blood, yin, and yang to treat interior “deficiency.” According to my professor, almost all of these formulas taste good. It is contraindicated to use tonifying formulas in cases of blatant excess, as the excess pathogens can be consolidated into the body in these cases. It is therefore tricky in situations of mixed excess and deficiency. Tonifying methods are still used, but are combined with other strategies in these cases, such as harmonizing. It is important to start gently and proceed slowly in cases of extreme deficiency. Famous representative formulas for the tonifying category include Si Jun Zi Tang (focus on qi) and Si Wu Tang (focus on blood). Together, they create Ba Zhen Tang, a highly revered “Eight Treasure.”
The composition of Chinese herbal formulas includes one or more chief/lead herbs. This/these are the major ingredient(s) and cause the major treatment effect to treat the primary pattern. These herbs decide the direction of the formula. Often, the dosage or power of these herbs is greater than the others in the formula. Next, there are one or more Deputies. They assist the chief herb and treat side patterns. Formulas also contain Assistant herbs, usually several of them. These reinforce the deputy (“helpful”), moderate or eliminate toxins (“corrective”), and can have an opposite effect than the chief (“opposing”). Lastly, Envoy herbs guide and harmonize, ushering the other herbs to work on a particular area of the body (i.e., throat or limbs or crown of the head), and encourage all the herbs to play nicely together.
Herbs can be given as decoctions boiled from raw or processed dry bulk herbs, granules (dried processed powder form of herbs taken in warm water), as teapills or pressed/crushed raw tablets, and as tinctures. Generally, the closer an herb is to its organic life form, the more potent it will be. I recommend herbal decoctions for a stronger impact in treating prominent health conditions and tablets for long-term effectiveness and convenience.
The right herbal formula can be life-changing and impactful. It can balance the whole body, allowing it to flow more harmoniously in all its biological processes. However, the formula needs to be chosen carefully based on individual pattern differentiation. Practitioners arrive at pattern differentiation by doing tongue and pulse diagnosis, by gathering sensory information (color, shape, smell), and through verbal questioning. The wrong formula may be harmful and probably won’t have the intended action. Talk to your acupuncturist/herbalist for help choosing the best formula to meet your needs!
A note on western herbs: specific western herbs are often given directly for certain conditions. For example, borage is used for respiratory conditions, while Goldenseal is used to treat viral infections. Herbs with similar yet complimentary properties are gathered together in traditional (Western) herbal formulas to treat conditions similar to how pharmaceuticals are used - this to treat that. I honor my roots in Western and Asian herbalism and bow deeply to the ancestors who formed relationships with these herbs, testing and using them, and passing on the knowledge to us. There is no doubt a healthful emphasis on prevention, overall wellness, and renegade self-reliance and subsistence living within herbal communities! I rally for herbalists everywhere, but there is much we don't know about the temperature, flavor, direction, and Organ system affinities of Western herbs, although we can discern some of these properties from herbs' actions. The world of Chinese herbs can teach us a lot about the various perspectives from which we can observe and get to know the personalities of Western herbs better. Centuries of Western herbal use have given us great understanding and appreciation of how these herbs can be safely and effectively used; understanding Western herbs' profiles more fully would be beneficial, as knowledge is power.
written by Kelly A. Ilseman
June 2022
Thanks for inspiration from
my Grandfather Herrick
who prodded me to get writing again
as writing is pure gold
Comments