Chinese: 旋覆花汤
Pinyin: Xuán Fù Huā Tāng
Other names: Inula Decoction
Number of ingredients: 3 herbs
Formula category: Formulas that invigorate Blood and dispel Blood Stagnation
Conditions for which it may be prescribed: CirrhosisCor pulmonareChronic hepatitis and three other conditions
- Unblocks the Yang
- Expands the chest
- Removes and transforms Stagnation
Source date: 220 AD
Source book: Essentials from the Golden Cabinet
The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.
Xuan Fu Hua Tang is a 3-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula with Inula Flowers (Xuan Fu Hua) as a principal ingredient.
Invented in 220 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that invigorate Blood and dispel Blood Stagnation. Its main actions are: 1) unblocks the Yang and 2) expands the chest.
In Chinese Medicine health conditions are thought to arise due to "disharmonies" in the body as a system. These disharmonies are called "patterns" and the very purpose of herbal formulas is to fight them in order to restore the body's harmony.
In this case Xuan Fu Hua Tang is used by TCM practitioners to fight patterns like Qi Stagnation in Chest. From a Western Medicine standpoint, such patterns can give rise to a range of conditions such as chronic hepatitis, persistent hepatitis or cirrhosis for instance.
On this page, after a detailed description of each of the three ingredients in Xuan Fu Hua Tang, we review the patterns and conditions that Xuan Fu Hua Tang helps treat.
The three ingredients in Xuan Fu Hua Tang
Xuan Fu Hua is a king ingredient in Xuan Fu Hua Tang. Like the name indicates, it means it has more power than other ingredients in the formula.
1. Inula Flowers (Xuan Fu Hua)
Xuan Fu Hua is warming and slightly salty. Although it is a flower
and therefore light in nature, it is able to direct the Qi downward. Here it is used to unblock the Stagnation, facilitating the downward flow of Qi and Blood that have accumulated in the chest.
Cong Bai is a deputy ingredient in Xuan Fu Hua Tang. This means it helps the king ingredient(s) treat the main pattern or it serves to treat a coexisting pattern.
2. Scallions (Cong Bai)
Cong Bai is acrid and warming. Its fragrance transforms turbidity
and opens painful obstruction, and it is a specific herb for
unblocking the Yang Qi and dispersing Stagnation.
Qian Cao is an assistant ingredient in Xuan Fu Hua Tang. This means that it either serves to reinforces the effect of other ingredients or it moderates their toxicity.
3. Indian Madder Roots (Qian Cao)
Part used: Dried roots and rhizomes
Nature: Cold
Taste(s): Bitter
Meridian affinity: Liver
Category: Herbs that cool the Blood
Qian Cao enters the Liver Channel to invigorate the Blood and transform Stagnation. It focuses the action of the Qi-moving herbs on the Blood Level, thereby enabling the formula to achieve its objectives of unblocking the Stagnation and opening the Qi dynamic.
Xuan Fu Hua Tang is used to treat Qi Stagnation in Chest
It's important to remember that herbal formulas are meant to treat patterns, not "diseases" as understood in Western Medicine. According to Chinese Medicine patterns, which are disruptions to the body as a system, are the underlying root cause for diseases and conditions.
As such Xuan Fu Hua Tang is mostly used to treat the pattern "Qi Stagnation in Chest" which we describe below.
But before we delve into Qi Stagnation in Chest here is an overview of the Western conditions it is commonly associated with:
Chronic hepatitis Persistent hepatitis Cirrhosis Coronary artery disease Cor pulmonare Threatened abortion
Again it wouldn't be correct to say "Xuan Fu Hua Tang treats chronic hepatitis" for instance. Rather, Xuan Fu Hua Tang is used to treat Qi Stagnation in Chest, which is sometimes the root cause behind chronic hepatitis.
Now let's look at Qi Stagnation in Chest, a pattern that TCM practitioners commonly treat with Xuan Fu Hua Tang.
Qi is one of Chinese Medicine's vital subtances. Learn more about Qi in Chinese Medicine
Qi Stagnation in Chest
Pulse type(s): Wiry (Xian)
Symptoms: Chest pain Chest fullness Chest distention Chest pain improve with massage Preference for warm drinks and foods Uterine bleeding during second half of pregnancy
Xuan Fu Hua Tang is sometimes prescribed by TCM practitioners to treat Qi Stagnation in Chest. This pattern leads to symptoms such as chest distention, chest fullness, chest pain and chest pain improve with massage. Patients with Qi Stagnation in Chest typically exhibit wiry (Xian) pulses.
The pattern of "Qi Stagnation in the Chest," as detailed in the context of Liver fixation from "Essentials from the Golden Cabinet," involves a significant obstruction of Qi dynamics within the chest area.
This blockage impedes the movement of Qi into the Blood, causing it to become constrained... read more about Qi Stagnation in Chest
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