Tong Guan Zi Shen Wan
Star通关散 (Gate-Freeing and Kidney-Nourishing Pill)
Source: Lan Shi Mi Cang (1336)
Last updated October 1, 2026
Description
Tong Guan Zi Shen Wan (Gate-Freeing and Kidney-Nourishing Pill), from Secrets from the Orchid Chamber (Lan Shi Mi Cang).
Actions: Clear heat and enrich yin, unblock the ischuria and promote urination
Indications: Indicated for the treatment of dribbling urinary block with a pattern of heat in the lower jiao , with urinary stoppage, distending pain in the lower abdomen, difficult and painful urination, no thirst, red tongue and rapid pulse
Category: Formulas that Supplement Yin.
Source: Xi S, Gong Y. Essentials of Chinese Materia Medica and Medical Formulas: New Century Traditional Chinese Medicine. Academic Press/Elsevier, 2017, pp. 591–598.
Composition
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 cold (-1.90)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cold 98%, hot 2%.
Small but decisive: Rou Gui 1.5g (hot, 2% of the grams). Dose weighting nearly cancels a herb this small, but it may be what the formula is for.
Taste
- pungent 1%
- sweet 26%
- bitter 73%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Kidney 100%
- Lung 49%
- Large intestine 49%
- Stomach 49%
- Bladder 49%
- Spleen 2%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
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
Grind the ingredients into fine powder, mix with boiled water and make into pills as size of phoenix tree seed. Take 9 g each time, 2 times a day
Relationships
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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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