Hou Po Sheng Jiang Ban Xia Gan Cao Ren Shen Tang
Star厚朴生姜半夏甘草人参汤 (Magnolia Bark, Fresh Ginger, Pinellia, Licorice, and Ginseng Decoction)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Hou Po Sheng Jiang Ban Xia Gan Cao Ren Shen Tang (Magnolia Bark, Fresh Ginger, Pinellia, Licorice, and Ginseng Decoction) is the formula given in Line 66 of the Shang Han Lun for abdominal distention and fullness after the promotion of sweating (spleen vacuity with qì stagnation).
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 176–177.
Composition
Liquorice — estimated at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia's minimum content: about 563 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day (Gan Cao 31.25 g × 1.8 %). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hou Po
as printed: 厚朴半斤（炙，去皮） (half jin, mix-fried, remove bark); 125 g at 1 jin = 250 g (p. 64)
|
125g | 72.73% | — | |
|
Sheng Jiang
as printed: 生姜十斤（切） (10 jin, cut; the English list also reads 10 jīn); 10 jin would be 2,500 g at 1 jin = 250 g (p. 64), out of line with the rest of the formula (other editions read 半斤, half jin), so no gram weight is stored pending review
|
g | — | — | |
|
Ban Xia
as printed: 半夏半升（洗） (half sheng, washed; a volume, no gram weight given)
|
g | — | — | |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: 甘草二两 (2 liang; not marked mix-fried); 31.25 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
31.25g | 18.18% | — | |
|
Ren Shen
as printed: 人参一两 (1 liang); 15.625 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
15.63g | 9.09% | — |
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 (+0.82)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: neutral 18%, warm 82%.
Taste
- pungent 36%
- sweet 23%
- bitter 41%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Lung 100%
- Spleen 100%
- Stomach 91%
- Large intestine 73%
- Heart 27%
- Kidney 9%
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: Sheng Jiang, Ban Xia.
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
[For] the above five ingredients use one dǒu of water. Boil to get three shēng and remove the dregs. Take one shēng warm, three times a day. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, p. 177, Line 66)
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Formula family
Full equations
- Zhong Man Fen Xiao Wan = this formula + Ju Ban Zhi Zhu Wan + Si Ling San + Huang Lian, Huang Qin, Jiang Huang, Sha Ren and Zhi Mu. Proportions not compared: the catalogue's Hou Po Sheng Jiang Ban Xia Gan Cao Ren Shen Tang has no gram dose for Ban Xia 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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