Huang Qin Jia Ban Xia Sheng Jiang Tang
Star黄芩加半夏生姜汤 (Scutellaria Decoction Plus Pinellia and Fresh Ginger)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Huang Qin Jia Ban Xia Sheng Jiang Tang (Scutellaria Decoction Plus Pinellia and Fresh Ginger) is the formula given in Line 172 of the Shang Han Lun for greater yáng and lesser yáng combination disease with spontaneous diarrhea and retching.
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 159–160.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Huang Qin
as printed: 黄芩三两 (3 liang); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 35.29% | — | |
|
Bai Shao
as printed: 芍药二两 (2 liang); 31.25 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
|
31.25g | 23.53% | — | |
|
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 | 23.53% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 100% | — | |
|
Ban Xia
as printed: 半夏半升（洗） (half sheng, washed; a volume, no gram weight given)
|
g | — | — | |
|
Sheng Jiang
as printed: 生姜一两半（一方三两，切） (1.5 liang, one version 3 liang, cut); 23.438 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64); the book's English ingredient list prints 1 liang
|
23.44g | 17.65% | — |
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 cool (-0.76)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cold 35%, cool 24%, neutral 24%, warm 18%.
Taste
- pungent 18%
- sweet 24%
- sour 12%
- bitter 47%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Spleen 100%
- Lung 77%
- Stomach 77%
- Heart 59%
- Large intestine 35%
- Small intestine 35%
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, 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 six ingredients use one dǒu of water. Boil to get three shēng and remove the dregs. Take one shēng warm, [then] once [during] the day and again at night. (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, p. 160, Line 172)
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Formula family
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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