Skip to content
Cura x Cura

Sheng Jiang生姜

Zingiberis Rhizoma recens · Fresh Ginger Rhizome

Herbs that Release the Exterior 解表药《名医别录》

Overview

The kitchen rhizome that earns its place in the pharmacy: acrid and slightly warm, it pushes a mild wind-cold out through the surface, warms a chilled Stomach and settles nausea so reliably that it is traditionally called the sage remedy for vomiting. It also softens the harshness of other ingredients, which is why it is used to process Ban Xia and Tian Nan Xing and appears as an envoy in countless decoctions. The dried rhizome Gan Jiang 干姜 is hotter and more inward-acting, and the peel alone, Sheng Jiang Pi 生姜皮, is cool and works on water rather than cold.

Nature & Flavor

Acrid · Warm

Channels

Lung · Spleen · Stomach

Typical Dosage

3–9 g in decoction
生姜Photography for this entry is on its way.

Actions

4 core actions

  • Releases the exterior, disperses coldEarly, mild wind-cold with chills, a stuffy nose and headache — usually as an assistant to stronger exterior-releasing herbs, or as a hot drink with brown sugar and scallion.
  • Warms the middle, stops vomitingNausea and vomiting from Stomach cold, travel sickness, retching with a clear watery taste; the reference herb for vomiting, adjusted with heat-clearing partners when the pattern is hot.
  • Warms the Lung, stops coughCough with thin, clear or white sputum from cold in the Lung.
  • Moderates the toxicity of other herbsUsed to process Ban Xia and Tian Nan Xing, and given for reactions to those herbs or to spoiled fish and crab.

In Formulas

Formulas containing Sheng Jiang

Indications & Clinical Uses

  • Mild wind-cold: chills, stuffy nose, headache
    - Nausea and vomiting from a cold Stomach; travel sickness
    - Cough with thin white sputum
    - As an envoy to temper harsh or acrid-drying herbs

Western Medical Keywords

Searchable condition terms

NauseaMotion sicknessCommon coldCoughIndigestion

Contraindications

Cautions

Acrid and warming: unsuitable on its own for yin deficiency with heat signs, for vomiting driven by Stomach heat, or where there is coughing of blood. Long or heavy use can accumulate internal heat. Anyone taking anticoagulants such as warfarin should keep medicinal doses under practitioner supervision, since ginger is well established as affecting platelet function.

Contraindicated in pregnancy: No specific pregnancy restriction — culinary amounts are widely used for morning nausea; keep medicinal doses modest and under practitioner guidance.

For licensed practitioners’ reference only

References

  1. Ming Yi Bie Lu《名医别录》(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.