An Shen Wan
Star朱砂安神丸 (Pill to Calm the Shen)
Source: Yi Xue Fa Ming (1247)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
An Shen Wan (Pill to Calm the Shen), from the Yi Xue Fa Ming, is used to directly descend Heart-fire and sedate the Heart-shen; nourish Heart-Yin injured by excess fire.
Presentation: acute anxiety from sudden uprising of Heart-fire.
Syndrome: Syndrome of disturbance of Heart-shen.
Composition strategy:
- all ingredients enter the Heart meridian
- a strong mineral descends fire, removes fire-toxin and sedates the Shen
- herbs reducing excess and empty fire of the Heart calm the mind
- large dose of Zhi Gan Cao smooths Qi and moderates circulation to reduce tension
- Yin and blood status is also addressed
Cautions:
- short-term use only
- Zhu Sha must be water-ground and used only as a very thin pill coating; its use is now forbidden - substitute Long Chi, Zhen Zhu and Huang Lian (weaker, slower)
Source: Yang Y. Chinese Herbal Formulas: Treatment Principles and Composition Strategies. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2010, p. 307.
Composition
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Zhu Sha
toxic mark * in source; as printed: Zhu Sha (Cinnabaris)
|
15g | 23.81% | Jun (Chief) | powerfully counters excess Heart-fire and sedates the Heart-shen |
|
Huang Lian
as printed: Huang Lian (Coptidis rhizoma)
|
18g | 28.57% | Chen (Deputy) | descends Heart-fire, relieves irritability |
|
Gan Cao
also assistant protecting the Stomach from Zhu Sha and Huang Lian; as printed: Zhi Gan Cao (Glycyrrhizae radix preparata)
|
16g | 25.4% | Chen (Deputy) | moderates Heart-Qi to stabilize the Shen; also protects the Stomach |
|
Sheng Di Huang
as printed: Sheng Di Huang (Rehmanniae radix)
|
8g | 12.7% | Zuo (Assistant) | nourishes Heart and Kidney Yin injured by fire; reduces Heart-fire |
|
Dang Gui
also corrective assistant; as printed: Dang Gui (Angelicae sinensis radix)
|
6g | 9.52% | Zuo (Assistant) | tonifies blood; prevents blood stagnation from cold, descending herbs |
Energetics dose-weighted
The formula's overall nature, taste balance and channel reach, weighted by each herb's dose. Classical formulas often pair warm and cool herbs on purpose, so a net figure summarises the mix — it doesn't describe every herb in it.
Nature
Net cool (-0.97)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cold 41%, cool 24%, neutral 25%, warm 10%.
Taste
- pungent 5%
- sweet 60%
- bitter 35%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Heart 100%
- Spleen 64%
- Stomach 54%
- Liver 51%
- Large intestine 29%
- Gallbladder 29%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
Dose-weighted from each herb's recorded nature, taste and channels (missing values are left out, never counted as neutral). It describes the composition — it is not a recommendation.
Preparation
Pill; Zhu Sha finely levigated in water and used as thin coating on pills
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Match score combines dosage-weighted composition (cosine, 70%) with shared-herb overlap (Jaccard, 30%).
Traditional formula information is for educational purposes only. Herbal formulas should be prescribed by a qualified practitioner — dosages and combinations are individualized and can interact with medications.
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