Jiu Wei Qiang Huo Tang九味羌活汤
Nine-Herb Decoction with Notopterygium
Ingredients9 herbs
Indications
Wind-cold-damp assailing the exterior with heat already smouldering inside. The combination of no sweat, whole-body ache, and thirst with a bitter mouth is what separates it from Ma Huang Tang.
Clinical Manifestations
- Wind-cold-damp cold with aching all over
- Fever and chills with no sweating and a dry mouth
- Stiff, sore neck and shoulders during a cold
- Seasonal cold in a damp climate
- Aching joints at the onset of an infection
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- No interior heat, no thirst — remove Sheng Di Huang 生地黄 and Huang Qin 黄芩
- Damp light, ache mild — reduce Cang Zhu 苍术
- Interior heat pronounced with real thirst — add Shi Gao 石膏 and Zhi Mu 知母
- Pain concentrated in the upper back and nape — increase Qiang Huo 羌活; for the forehead increase Bai Zhi 白芷
Contraindications
Too acrid and drying for a yin-deficient or fluid-depleted patient, and not for wind-heat with a sore red throat. The classical caution is against using it unmodified as a fixed recipe — the composition is meant to be re-weighted to the pattern in front of you.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy and only under supervision. It contains no Ma Huang, but Xi Xin and Cang Zhu are strongly acrid and drying and Chuan Xiong moves blood, so a practitioner would normally lighten or replace those before using it in pregnancy.
Related Formulas
References
Source 张元素方，录自《此事难知》 · Jin
「此方冬可以治寒，夏可以治热，春可以治温，秋可以治湿，是诸路之应兵也。」
- 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.