Ping Wei San平胃散
Calm the Stomach Powder
Ingredients4 herbs
Indications
Damp obstructing the Spleen and Stomach: turbid dampness stagnates in the middle burner so transportation stops and qi cannot descend. The strategy is to dry and to move at the same time — dampness alone will not shift, and moving qi alone will not clear it.
Clinical Manifestations
- Epigastric and abdominal distension and fullness
- Poor appetite with a bland or sticky taste in the mouth
- Nausea, belching, acid regurgitation
- Heavy limbs and a fogged, sluggish feeling
- Loose stools or diarrhoea with a greasy tongue coat
- Discomfort after rich, greasy or cold-raw food
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Food stagnation with sour belching — add Shan Zha 山楂, Shen Qu 神曲 and Mai Ya 麦芽
- Damp turning to damp-heat (yellow greasy coat, bitter mouth) — add Huang Lian 黄连 and Huang Qin 黄芩
- Cold predominant, with cramping abdominal pain — add Gan Jiang 干姜 and Cao Dou Kou 草豆蔻
- Alternating chills and fever alongside the damp — combine with Xiao Chai Hu Tang 小柴胡汤 — Chai Ping Tang 柴平汤
- Puffiness, scanty urine, watery diarrhoea — combine with Wu Ling San 五苓散 — Wei Ling Tang 胃苓汤
Contraindications
Bitter, warm and drying throughout, so it is wrong for Spleen and Stomach yin deficiency or any dryness pattern — a red peeled tongue, dry mouth at night, hunger without appetite. Not intended for long uninterrupted courses: once the greasy coating clears, the formula has done its work and should be stopped or changed.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy — the formula is markedly drying and qi-moving. Short, supervised courses only, and only when damp stagnation is clearly the pattern.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《简要济众方》 · Song
「治脾胃不和，不思饮食，心腹胁肋胀满刺痛，口苦无味，呕哕恶心，噫气吞酸。」
- 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.