Gui Zhi Fu Zi Qu Gui Jia Bai Zhu Tang
Star去桂加白术汤 (Minus Cinnamon Plus Ovate Atractylodes Decoction)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Gui Zhi Fu Zi Qu Gui Jia Bai Zhu Tang (Minus Cinnamon Plus Ovate Atractylodes Decoction) is the second formula of Line 174 of the Shang Han Lun: Cinnamon Twig and Aconite Decoction without cinnamon twig and with ovate atractylodes, for the same wind-damp pattern when the stool is hard and the urine is spontaneously uninhibited.
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 290–291.
Composition
Liquorice — estimated at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia's minimum content: about 313 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day (zhi Gan Cao 31.25 g × 1.0 %). The EU Scientific Committee on Food considers 100 mg/day an upper limit for regular intake that protects most people. The estimate assumes all of it passes into what is taken, uses the pharmacopoeia's dry-weight minimum, and takes the amounts as one day's dose.
Sources
Sources: Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, 甘草 and 炙甘草, assay (glycyrrhizic acid not less than 1.8 % in the dispensed slices and 1.0 % in honey-fried liquorice, by dry weight). EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final, 2003. The Committee notes this limit may not protect people with high blood pressure, electrolyte or fluid-balance disorders, slow gut transit, or reduced 11β-HSD2 activity.
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 甘草, 饮片 甘草片【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.8%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 炙甘草【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.0%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final (10 April 2003) (opens in a new tab)
- EMA/HMPC/108399/2024 — European Union herbal monograph on Glycyrrhiza glabra L.; Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat.; Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., radix, §4.9 Overdose (opens in a new tab)
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Zhi Fu Zi
as printed: 附子三枚（炮，去皮，破） (3 pieces, blast-fried, skin removed, broken); blast-fried (炮)
|
3pieces | 20% | — | |
|
Bai Zhu
as printed: 白术四两 (4 liang); 62.5 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
62.5g | 44.44% | — | |
|
Sheng Jiang
as printed: 生姜三两（切） (3 liang, cut); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 33.33% | — | |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: 甘草二两（炙） (2 liang, mix-fried); 31.25 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
31.25g | 22.22% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 80% | — |
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 warm (+0.78)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: neutral 22%, warm 78%.
Taste
- pungent 33%
- sweet 44%
- bitter 22%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Stomach 100%
- Spleen 100%
- Lung 56%
- Heart 22%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
2 herbs without a dose in grams, so left out of every figure above: Zhi Fu Zi, Da Zao.
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
(1) [For] the above five ingredients, use six shēng of water and boil to get two shēng. Remove the dregs, separate into three [doses] and take warm. (2) [If after] the first [dose], the person [has a condition] like generalized impediment, take again in about half a day. In three doses, [the formula] is finished and [if the person has a condition] like veiling, this is not strange, [but] is because the aconite (fù zǐ) and ovate atractylodes (bái zhú) have penetrated the interior of the skin to expel the water qì, [which] has not yet been eliminated, so [there is this pattern]. As a rule, one should add 4 liǎng of cinnamon [twig] (guì [zhī]). (3) This is one formula with two methods. When the stool is hard and the urine is spontaneously uninhibited, remove cinnamon [twig] (guì [zhī]). When the stool is not hard and the urine is inhibited, add cinnamon [twig] (guì [zhī]). (4) [In some cases] three pieces of aconite (fù zǐ) may be feared too much. (5) For weak patients and women who have just given birth, it is appropriate to take less. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, p. 291, Line 174)
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Formula family
Full equations
- Shi Pi Yin = this formula + Bai Zhu Fu Zi Tang + Gan Cao Gan Jiang Fu Ling Bai Zhu Tang + Cao Guo, Da Fu Pi, Hou Po, Mu Gua and Mu Xiang. Proportions not compared: no dose entered for Da Zao and Sheng Jiang.
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.
Formula Network
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Similar Formulas by composition
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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