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Zeng Ye Cheng Qi Tang增液承气汤

Increase the Fluids and Order the Qi Decoction

Purging Downward 泻下剂滋阴润燥

Ingredients5 herbs

玄Xuan Shen玄参30gEnriches yin, drains fire and generates the fluid the bowel needs
麦Mai Men Dong麦冬连心24gMoistens the Stomach and intestines and generates fluids
细Xi Sheng Di细生地24gCools the blood and restores the depleted yin
大Da Huang大黄9gDrains the bound heat and moves the stool — a small share by design芒Mang Xiao芒硝4.5gSoftens the dry stool so the restored fluid can carry it

Indications

Enriches yin and increases fluidsDrains heat and unblocks the bowelMoves the stool by restoring fluid, not by force

Heat bound in the bowel with yin depleted. The obstruction is real but modest; what is missing is fluid, so most of the formula is fluid-restoring and only a small share purges.

Clinical Manifestations

  • Constipation in a warm disease where fluids have been burned away
  • Dry hard stool that a plain purge has failed to move
  • Constipation with a dry mouth, red tongue and thin rapid pulse
  • Habitual constipation in a yin-deficient patient during a febrile illness
TongueRed and dry with a yellow coating
PulseThin and rapid

Health Categories

Digestive HealthCold & Flu Relief

Modern Applications

ConstipationDehydrationFebrile illnessFecal impactionDry mouth

Common adjustments

  • Qi also depleted, patient exhausted — the pattern needs Xin Jia Huang Long Tang 新加黄龙汤, which adds Ren Shen 人参
  • No accumulation at all, only dryness — Zeng Ye Tang alone — the purgatives are unnecessary
  • Accumulation heavy with strength intact — a plain Cheng Qi formula acts faster

Contraindications

Not for a robust bowel excess with marked distension and hardness — the purging share here is too small to shift it. The rich fluid-restoring herbs are cloying and unsuitable where dampness, phlegm or a weak digestion predominate; loose stools are a signal to stop.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only — not a self-treatment guide.

Pregnancy

Contraindicated in pregnancy. The purgative share is small but Da Huang and Mang Xiao are still present, and purging is avoided in pregnancy. Where constipation in pregnancy is driven by dryness, a practitioner can use fluid-restoring herbs without the purgatives.

Related Formulas

References

Source Wen Bing Tiao Bian 《温病条辨》 · Qing

「阳明温病，下之不通……津液不足，无水舟停者，间服增液，再不下者，增液承气汤主之。」
— 《温病条辨》(classical source, public domain)
  1. 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）— chapter placement, 功用 and 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.