Skip to content
Cura x Cura

Fang Feng防风

Saposhnikoviae Radix · Siler Root · Saposhnikovia Root

Herbs that Release the Exterior 解表药《神农本草经》

Overview

Its name says what it does — it guards against wind. Acrid, sweet and only slightly warm, Fang Feng disperses wind without the heat or harshness of the stronger exterior-releasing herbs, which is why it appears in wind-cold and wind-heat formulas alike and can be given where the exterior is already weak, as in Yu Ping Feng San 玉屏风散. Beyond the surface it also treats wind that moves inside the body: wandering joint pain, spasm, and rashes that come and go.

Nature & Flavor

Acrid, sweet · Slightly warm

Channels

Bladder · Liver · Spleen

Typical Dosage

4.5–9 g in decoction
防风Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

4 core actions

  • Releases the exterior, dispels windHeadache, body ache, aversion to draughts and stiff neck in early exterior patterns — usable in both cold and heat presentations because it is so mild.
  • Overcomes damp, relieves bi painWandering joint pain and stiffness of wind-damp bi, where pain shifts location rather than staying fixed.
  • Settles wind, stops spasm and itchTetany and muscle spasm from wind; urticaria and itchy skin eruptions that migrate and change.
  • Dry-fried Siler Fang FengFrying tempers the outward-dispersing edge and turns the herb inward. The fried form is the one used to check diarrhoea — notably in Tong Xie Yao Fang 痛泻要方, where the raw herb would open the surface instead of settling the bowel.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Fang Feng

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Early exterior patterns with headache, body ache and chills
    - Wandering joint pain of wind-damp bi
    - Migrating itchy rashes and urticaria
    - Muscle spasm and tetany from wind
    - Painful diarrhoea with Liver–Spleen disharmony (fried form)

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

Common coldUrticariaRheumatic painMuscle spasmIBS

Contraindications

Cautions

Acrid and dispersing — the wrong herb where convulsion, headache or itch comes from blood deficiency or yin-deficient fire rather than from wind, and it should not be pushed at high dose in a depleted patient.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: No specific restriction on record — practitioner judgment applies

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.