Qi tonics
Si jun zi tang
Four Gentlemen Decoction
- Chinese name
- 四君子汤
- Group
- Qi tonics
- English name
- Four Major Herbs Decoction
- Basic formula
- ✓
Strengthens the qi and the spleen and stomach.
Indications
For low energy and weak digestion: pallor, timidity, a soft voice, muscle weakness, poor appetite, a distended abdomen, nausea, rumbling bowels and loose stools, also as a chronic complaint.
Ingredients
| Ingredients | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ginseng (ren shen) | 6–9 g |
| Bai zhu (white atractylodes) | 6–9 g |
| Fu ling (poria) | 6–9 g |
| Honey-fried licorice (zhi gan cao) | 3–6 g |
- Tongue
- pale with a thin white coating
- Pulse
- thin and weak
Variations
- For qi stagnation: add tangerine peel.
- For phlegm: add tangerine peel and ban xia (liu jun zi tang).
- For deficiency of qi and blood: together with si wu tang (ba zhen tang).
Note
The father formula for all qi tonics. The book gives ginseng as emperor, bai zhu as minister, fu ling as assistant and licorice as servant.