Jin Ling Zi San金铃子散
Melia Toosendan Powder
Ingredients2 herbs
Indications
Liver constraint transforming into heatwith qi and blood stagnation. Pain comes and goes rather than staying constant, is aggravated by frustration, and carries heat signs — a bitter taste, a red tongue, a rapid wiry pulse — that separate it from the cold patterns treated elsewhere in this chapter.
Clinical Manifestations
- Pain in the epigastrium, abdomen or flanks that comes and goes
- Hypochondriac pain with a bitter taste in the mouth
- Period pain with heat signs
- Hernial pain of the heat type
- Long-standing pain that worsens with emotional strain
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Heat pronounced — add Zhi Zi 栀子 and Huang Qin 黄芩
- Blood stasis with fixed stabbing pain — add Dan Shen 丹参 and Wu Yao 乌药
- Used for period pain — combine with Dang Gui 当归 and Chi Shao 赤芍
- Used for hernial pain — add Xiao Hui Xiang 小茴香 and Ju He 橘核, adjusting for the temperature of the pattern
- Epigastric pain with acid reflux — add Huang Lian 黄连 and Hai Piao Xiao 海螵蛸
Contraindications
Not for pain from cold or deficiency, which is constant, dull and relieved by warmth and pressure — the formula is cold and would deepen it. Chuan Lian Zi is classified as slightly toxic and has been associated with liver injury when taken in excess or for long periods; it is not for prolonged self-directed use, and is used cautiously in anyone with liver disease. New, severe or persistent abdominal pain needs conventional assessment before it is managed as a pattern.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Contraindicated in pregnancy. Yan Hu Suo invigorates the blood and Chuan Lian Zi is slightly toxic; neither is appropriate during pregnancy, and abdominal pain in pregnancy calls for conventional assessment.
References
Source 《太平圣惠方》，录自《袖珍方》 · Jin
「治热厥心痛，或发或止，久不愈者。」
- Classical source (public domain), cited in the source-quote section.
2. Scheid, Bensky, Ellis & Barolet. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies, 2nd ed. — composition & dosage cross-checked.
3. 《方剂学》（全国中医药行业高等教育规划教材）— pattern analysis cross-checked.
Professional reference notice. Entries are scholarly references for licensed TCM practitioners and students — not medical advice, and not a recommendation to self-prescribe. Chinese herbal formulas should be used under the guidance of a qualified practitioner. Content is an original editorial compilation by Cura x Cura, cross-checked against the cited references.