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Cura x Cura

Bie Jia鳖甲

Trionycis Carapax · Soft-shelled Turtle Carapace · Turtle Shell

Herbs that Tonify the Yin 补阴药《神农本草经》

Overview

A salty, slightly cold shell that does two jobs at once: it enriches yin and anchors yang rising from an empty root — the steaming-bone fever, night sweats and tremor of late-stage or post-febrile depletion — and it softens what has hardened, which is why it is built into formulas for abdominal masses and long-standing stasis. Vinegar-processing strengthens both the softening action and its entry into the Liver.

Nature & Flavor

Sweet, salty · Cold

Channels

Liver · Kidney

Typical Dosage

9–24 g in decoction
鳖甲Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

3 core actions

  • Enriches yin, anchors rising yangYin depletion with yang floating upward: dizziness, tremor and internal wind stirring late in a warm-febrile illness.
  • Clears deficiency heat, relieves steaming boneAfternoon fever, night sweats, and the bone-deep heat of long depletion.
  • Softens hardness, dissipates massesPalpable abdominal masses, an enlarged spleen after chronic malarial illness, and amenorrhea from long-standing stasis.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Bie Jia

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Yin-deficiency fever, steaming bone, night sweats
    - Tremor and internal wind from yin depletion
    - Abdominal masses, hardened accumulations
    - Amenorrhea of blood stasis

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Low-grade feverNight sweatsHepatosplenomegalyAmenorrhea

Contraindications

Cautions

Cloying and mass-softening: unsuitable in Spleen deficiency with poor appetite and loose stools, and in cold patterns without heat. Because it moves stasis, use it carefully where there is a bleeding tendency. It is an animal product — the carapace of the Chinese soft-shelled turtle — which matters both for patients who avoid animal-derived medicines and for sourcing, which should be farmed and traceable.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: Avoid in pregnancy — its mass-softening, stasis-moving action makes it unsuitable

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing《神农本草经》(classical source, public domain).
    2. Bensky, Clavey & Stöger. Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd ed.
    3. 《中华人民共和国药典》.

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.