Gui Zhi Qu Shao Yao Tang
Star桂枝去芍药汤 (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Minus Peony)
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 Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Minus Peony) is the formula given in Line 21 of the Shang Han Lun for a greater yáng disease in which, after precipitation, the pulse is skipping and there is fullness in the chest.
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 85–86.
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 | 37.5% | — | |
|
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 | 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 | 37.5% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 100% | — |
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 (+0.75)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: neutral 25%, warm 75%.
Taste
- pungent 56%
- sweet 44%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Lung 100%
- Stomach 63%
- Spleen 63%
- Heart 63%
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 four 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) [after] removing peony (sháo yào). (3) One should rest [as described] in the previous method [for Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng)]. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, pp. 85–86, Line 21)
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Formula family
Full equations
- You Bi Tang = this formula + Ge Gen Tang + Da Huang Gan Cao Tang + Jie Geng Tang + Bai Zhi, Chuan Xiong, Huang Qin, Shi Gao and Xin Yi (Hua). Proportions not compared: no dose entered for Da Zao, Gan Cao, Gui Zhi 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
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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