Gui Zhi Qu Shao Yao Jia Shu Qi Long Gu Mu Li Jiu Ni Tang
Star桂枝去芍药加蜀漆牡蛎龙骨救逆汤 (Cinnamon Twig Minus Peony Plus Dichroa Leaf, Dragon Bone, and Oyster Shell Counterflow-Stemming Decoction)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Gui Zhi Qu Shao Yao Jia Shu Qi Long Gu Mu Li Jiu Ni Tang (Cinnamon Twig Minus Peony Plus Dichroa Leaf, Dragon Bone, and Oyster Shell Counterflow-Stemming Decoction) is the formula given in Line 112 of the Shang Han Lun for fright mania and fidgetiness from collapse of heart yáng after fire treatment was used to force sweating in cold damage with a floating pulse.
Also contains (not linked): dichroa leaf (蜀漆 shǔ qī), printed 蜀漆三两（洗去腥）: 3 liang, washed to remove fishy smell, 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g.
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 165–166.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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 | 17.65% | — | |
|
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 | 11.76% | — | |
|
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 | 17.65% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 100% | — | |
|
Mu Li
as printed: 牡蛎五两（熬） (5 liang, dry-fried); 78.125 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
78.13g | 29.41% | — | |
|
Long Gu
as printed: 龙骨四两 (4 liang); 62.5 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
62.5g | 23.53% | — |
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 (+0.06)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 29%, neutral 35%, warm 35%.
Pairs warm and cool. 35% of the weighed grams are warm or hot and 29% cool or cold — the net is their average, not the whole story.
Taste
- pungent 27%
- sweet 44%
- salty 29%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Heart 82%
- Kidney 53%
- Liver 53%
- Lung 47%
- Stomach 29%
- Spleen 29%
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: 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 seven ingredients use one dǒu and two shēng of water. First boil dichroa leaf (shǔ qī) and reduce by two shēng. Add all [the other] ingredients and boil to get three shēng. Remove the dregs and take one shēng warm. (2) This is Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng) without peony (sháo yào), and with dichroa leaf (shǔ qī), oyster shell (mǔ lì), and dragon bone (lóng gǔ). (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, pp. 165–166, Line 112)
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Formula family
Full equations
- This formula = Gui Zhi Gan Cao Long Gu Mu Li Tang + Gui Zhi Qu Shao Yao Tang. Gan Cao at about 0.41× the dose relative to the other herbs, against the catalogue's Gui Zhi Gan Cao Long Gu Mu Li 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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