Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan天王补心丹
Emperor of Heaven's Special Pill to Tonify the Heart
Ingredients13 herbs
Indications
Yin and blood depletion with the spirit unsettled: emptiness of yin lets deficiency heat rise and disturb the Heart. Sleep is broken here not by an excess to be cleared but by a shortage to be filled — which is why cooling alone does not settle it.
Clinical Manifestations
- Insomnia with a restless, overheated feeling at night
- Palpitations and low-grade anxiety
- Forgetfulness and mental fatigue after prolonged overwork
- Night sweats with warm palms and soles
- Recurrent mouth ulcers with dry stool
- Nocturnal emission
Health Categories
Modern Applications
Common adjustments
- Palpitations with a startled, jumpy quality — add Long Gu 龙骨 and Mu Li 牡蛎
- Marked deficiency heat with night sweats — add Zhi Mu 知母 and Huang Bai 黄柏
- Pronounced dryness of the mouth and throat — add Shi Hu 石斛
- Loose stools or poor appetite from the rich tonics — reduce the yin tonics and add Sha Ren 砂仁 or Chen Pi 陈皮
Contraindications
The rich, cloying yin tonics sit badly on a weak digestion — avoid or modify where appetite is poor, stools are loose, or the tongue coating is thick and greasy. Not for insomnia driven by phlegm-fire or food stagnation, which need clearing first. Any traditional pill still coated with cinnabar should be avoided outright.
For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.
Pregnancy
Mainly nourishing and generally used in pregnancy only under practitioner supervision — Dan Shen and Dang Gui move blood, and any cinnabar-coated traditional pill is contraindicated outright.
Related Formulas
References
Source 《校注妇人良方》 · Ming
「宁心保神，益血固精，壮力强志，令人不忘。」
- 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.
4. Manufacturer ingredient label for the granule and capsule sold under this name — retail composition 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.