Wēn Jīng Tāng

Channel Warming Decoction

治婦人年五十所, 病下利數十日不止, 暮即發熱, 少腹裡急, 腹滿, 手掌煩熱, 唇口乾燥, 此屬帶下。  何以故? 曾經半產, 瘀血在少腹不去。  何以知之? 其証唇口乾燥, 故知之, 當以此湯主之。

A treatment for women in their fifties who suffer from incessant diarrhea more than ten times per day, with heat effusion in the evening, lesser abdominal urgency, abdominal fullness, vexing heat in the palms, and dry lips and mouth. This belongs to women’s diseases. What is the reason?  There was a history of late miscarriage and static blood now remains in the lesser abdomen.  How can one know this?  The pattern manifests with dry lips and mouth, and this is how one knows this, and this formula rules it.

吳茱萸（三兩）當歸   芎藭   芍藥   人參   桂枝   阿膠    丹皮    甘草（各二兩）生薑（三兩。  一本二兩）半夏（半升。  一本二升）麥冬（一升）

十二味, 以水一斗, 煮取三升, 分溫三服。  亦主婦人少腹寒, 久不受胎; 兼治崩中去血, 或月水來多, 及至期不來。

Simmer the eleven ingredients above in 2,000ml of water until reduced to 600ml. Divide and take heated in three doses. It also rules (the treatment) of lesser abdominal cold in women, infertility, and simultaneously treats flooding, copious menstruation, as well as delayed menstruation.

Song 歌曰:

溫經芎芍草歸人, 膠桂丹皮二兩均, 八物各二兩。  半夏半升麥冬倍用, 生薑吳茱萸三兩對君陳。

For wēn jīng tāng (use) chūan xiōng, sháo yào, gān cǎo, dāng guī, rén shēn, ē jiāo, guì zhī, and dān pí each at six grams,  (6 grams for each of the eight medicinals). Use 100ml of bán xiá and double of mài dōng, plus nine grams each of shēng jiāng and wú zhū yú.

Commentary by (Chén) Yuánxī男元犀按:

方中當歸、芎藭、 芍藥、 阿膠, 肝藥也; 丹皮、 桂枝, 心藥也; 吳茱萸, 肝藥亦胃藥也; 半夏, 胃藥亦衝藥也; 麥門冬、 甘草, 胃藥也; 人參補五臟, 生薑利諸氣也。  病在經血, 以血生於心, 藏於肝也, 衝為血海也。  胃屬陽明, 厥陰衝脈麗之也。  然細繹方意: 以陽明為主, 用吳茱萸驅陽明中土之寒, 即以麥門冬滋陽明中土之燥, 一寒一熱, 不使偶偏, 所以謂之溫也; 用半夏、 生薑者, 以薑能去穢而胃氣安, 夏能降逆而胃氣順也; 其余皆相輔而成溫之之用, 絕無逐瘀之品。  故過期不來者能通之, 月來過多者能止之, 少腹寒而不受胎者並能治之, 統治帶下三十六病, 其神妙不可言矣。

Within the formula, dāng guī, chūan xiōng, sháo yào and ē jiāo are all liver medicinals; dān pí and guì zhī are heart medicinals; wú zhū yú is both a liver and stomach medicinal; bán xiá is both a stomach and thoroughfare (vessel) medicinal; mài dōng and gān cǎo are stomach medicinals; rén shēn supplements the five viscera, and shēng jiāng disinhibits all qì. Disease is in the menstrual blood. Blood is engendered in the heart, stored in the liver, and the thoroughfare vessel is the sea of blood. The stomach belongs to yáng míng, and is linked[3]to both the jué yīn and the thoroughfare vessel. Now (we must) carefully examine the meaning of the formula. As (the condition) is ruled by yáng míng, wú zhū yú is used to expel cold from yáng míng center earth, while mài dōngenriches dryness within yáng míng center earth – one cold and one hot medicinal. (While being) neither too cold nor too warm, (the formula) is (still) referred to as warm. As for the usage of bán xiá and shēng jiāng, shēng jiāng eliminates foulness and calms stomach qì, while bán xiá is able to downbear counterflow and smooth stomach qì. The remaining (medicinals) are used to assist in warming, and are by no means ingredients for expelling stasis. Therefore, with delayed menstruation, (this formula) is able to free it and with excessive menstruation, it is able to stop it.  It is (also) able to treat lower abdominal cold and infertility, and for the thirty-six women’s diseases, its marvel is too wonderful for words!