Bai Tou Weng Tang
Star白头翁汤 (Pulsatilla Decoction)
Source: Shang Han Lun (c. 220)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
Bai Tou Weng Tang (Pulsatilla Decoction), from the Shang Han Lun, is used to clear heat and heat-toxin; cool the blood and stop diarrhea.
Presentation: heat-toxin and dampness in the intestines with heat predominating; abdominal pain; tenesmus; burning anus; diarrhea with more blood than pus; thirst; tongue: red with a yellow coating; pulse: wiry and rapid.
Syndrome: Syndrome of damp-heat in the Spleen and Large Intestine.
Composition strategy:
- Presented to demonstrate treatment of typical intestinal damp-heat; should be modified in practice
- In acute excess conditions omit Qin Pi; add Di Yu and Huai Hua to enhance blood cooling, Zhi Ke and Fang Feng to moderate Liver-Qi and reduce urgency and tenesmus, Jing Jie and Lian Qiao to open Qi and blood obstruction
Cautions:
- Qin Pi (astringent) should not be used in acute and excess conditions
- Qin Pi is essential in chronic diarrhea with injured Spleen-Qi but should not be used when intestinal heat is strong (excess)
Source: Yang Y. Chinese Herbal Formulas: Treatment Principles and Composition Strategies. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2010, p. 107, 220.
Composition
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bai Tou Weng
as printed: Bai Tou Weng (Pulsatilla radix)
|
15g | 38.46% | Jun (Chief) | reduce heat, cool blood, clear heat-toxin in the Large Intestine |
|
Huang Bai
as printed: Huang Bai (Phellodendri cortex)
|
12g | 30.77% | Chen (Deputy) | clear heat, dry dampness (Lower-Jiao) |
|
Huang Lian
dose printed as 4–6 g; as printed: Huang Lian (Coptidis rhizoma)
|
g | — | Chen (Deputy) | clear heat, dry dampness (Middle-Jiao) |
|
Qin Pi
as printed: Qin Pi (Fraxini cortex)
|
12g | 30.77% | Zuo (Assistant) | clear heat, eliminate dampness, astringe intestines to stop diarrhea |
Dui Yao — Core Herb Pairs
The classical two-herb combinations at the heart of this formula, as recorded on the herbs' own pages — each pair has an action neither herb has alone.
Together they clear heat, dry damp, cool the blood and stop dysentery, targeting heat-toxin dysentery with blood and pus.
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 cold (-2.00)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cold 100%.
Taste
- bitter 100%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Large intestine 100%
- Stomach 39%
- Bladder 31%
- Kidney 31%
- Gallbladder 31%
- Liver 31%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
1 herb without a dose in grams, so left out of every figure above: Huang Lian.
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
Decoction; parenthesized doses are those most used today.
Source: Scheid V, Bensky D, Ellis A, Barolet R. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. Eastland Press, 2009, p. 210.
Relationships
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Formula family
Each entry reads as the larger formula written out: “+” adds its other catalogue cores, then the herbs none of them hold. A catalogue formula counts as a core only when at least 80% of its herbs are present, no more than 1 is absent, and the absent herb is not its chief.
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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