ABOUT THE HERBS Blood’s Palace (Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang) invigorates Blood in the chest and addresses Liver Qi stagnation and Liver Blood deficiency. It contains two famous classical formulas; Four Cold Extremities Formula (Si Ni San) to release constraint and regulate the Spleen, Si Wu Tang to tonify Blood. Bupleurum root, Chinese red peony root, dry fried Bitter orange mature fruit and Chinese licorice root and rhizome constitute the subformula Four Cold Extremities Formula, first elaborated by Zhang Zhong-Jing in his The Discussion of Cold Febrile Disease, ca. 500 A.D. Chinese red peony root supports Liver Blood, indirectly allowing the Liver to move Qi. It also has a Blood- moving effect while Bupleurum root has a Qi-moving effect. Dry fried Bitter orange mature fruit likewise moves Qi internally while Chinese licorice root and rhizome both harmonizes the formula and works with Chinese red peony root to relax the sinews and eliminate stagnation. Si Wu Tang was first described by Wu Qian in The Golden Mirror of the Medical Tradition in 1742. The design of Si Wu Tang acknowledges the need to move Blood in order to tonify it. Chinese red peony root and Sichuan lovage rhizome contribute a Blood-moving effect while raw Rehmannia root tonifies Blood, and Dong quai root does both. Carthamus flower and dry fried peeled Peach seed invigorate Blood. Chinese red peony root is used instead of Chinese white peony root to help cool the Blood of any stasis Heat. To further cool Blood, raw Rehmannia root has been substituted for the prepared Rehmannia root normally used. Platycodon root guides the formula to the Upper Burner, and Cyathula root further eliminates stasis and descends Blood out of the Upper Burner. Bupleurum root also helps guide the formula peripherally and contributes a cooling influence.
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