Gui Zhi Jia Fu Zi Tang
Star桂枝加附子汤 (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Plus Aconite)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Gui Zhi Jia Fu Zi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Plus Aconite) is the formula given in Line 20 of the Shang Han Lun for a greater yáng disease in which promoted sweating gives way to incessant leaking sweat, with aversion to wind, difficult urination, and slightly tensed limbs that bend and stretch with difficulty.
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 83–84.
Composition
Liquorice — estimated at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia's minimum content: about 469 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day (zhi Gan Cao 46.88 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gui Zhi
as printed: 桂枝三两（去皮） (3 liang, remove bark); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 25% | — | |
|
Bai Shao
as printed: 芍药三两 (3 liang); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64); printed as 芍药 shao yao (peony, white or red not specified), linked to Bai Shao as in the catalogue's other Shang Han Lun rows
|
46.88g | 25% | — | |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: 甘草三两（炙） (3 liang, mix-fried); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 25% | — | |
|
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 | 25% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 92.31% | — | |
|
Zhi Fu Zi
as printed: 附子一枚（炮，去皮，破八片） (1 piece, blast-fried, skin removed, broken into eight pieces); blast-fried (炮)
|
1pieces | 7.69% | — |
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 neutral (+0.25)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 25%, neutral 25%, warm 50%.
Pairs warm and cool. 50% of the weighed grams are warm or hot and 25% cool or cold — the net is their average, not the whole story.
Taste
- pungent 38%
- sweet 38%
- sour 13%
- bitter 13%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Lung 75%
- Spleen 75%
- Stomach 50%
- Heart 50%
- Liver 25%
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: Da Zao, Zhi Fu Zi.
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 six ingredients, use seven shēng of water. Boil to get three shēng, remove the dregs and take one shēng, warm. (2) [This is] Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng) with the addition of aconite (fù zǐ). (3) One should rest [as described] in the method [for Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng)]. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, p. 84, Line 20)
Conditions Addressed
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Formula family
Full equations
- This formula = Gui Zhi Gan Cao Tang + Gui Zhi Fu Zi Tang + Shao Yao Gan Cao Tang. Relative doses differ by up to about 2× from the catalogue's Gui Zhi Gan Cao Tang.
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
Formulas that share herbs with this one — the closer to the centre, the stronger the match. Click a node to explore.
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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