Formulas that release the exterior
Gui zhi tang
Cinnamon Twig Decoction
- Chinese name
- 桂枝汤
- Group
- Formulas that release the exterior
- English name
- Cinnamon Combination
- Basic formula
- ✓
Warming and diaphoretic; balances the nourishing energy (ying) and the defensive energy (wei).
Indications
For a cold from wind and cold in someone with a weak constitution: colds and flu with fever, headache, aversion to wind and cold, spontaneous sweating and reduced resistance. Also for postpartum care, morning sickness and skin complaints such as eczema, chilblains and fungal infections. The spontaneous sweating points to inner weakness and does not drive out the illness; the sweating after this formula does.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cinnamon twig (gui zhi) | 6–9 g |
| White peony root (bai shao) | 6–9 g |
| Fresh ginger (sheng jiang) | 3–6 g |
| Honey-fried licorice (zhi gan cao) | 3–6 g |
| Jujube (da zao) | 3–6 stuks |
- Tongue
- thin white coating
- Pulse
- superficial and slow
Variations
- For arthritis from wind, cold and damp: add turmeric rhizome, xi xin and wei ling xian.
- For a stiff neck: add kudzu root (gui zhi jia ge gen tang).
- For seminal emission, many dreams, cold in the lower body, dizziness and hair loss: add dragon bone and oyster shell.
- For tightness in the chest, asthma and phlegm: add hou po and apricot kernel (gui zhi hou po xing ren tang).
Note
Half an hour after sweating, the patient eats a bowl of rice porridge to replenish lost qi. Compare ma huang tang (cold with excess) and ge gen tang (average constitution).