{
    "slug": "ba-zhen-tang",
    "names": {
        "pinyin": "Ba Zhen Tang",
        "chinese": "八珍汤",
        "english": "Eight-Treasure Decoction",
        "alternate": [
            "Ba Zhen Wan",
            "Eight Treasures Teapills",
            "Women's Precious Pills"
        ]
    },
    "category": "tonify-qi-and-blood",
    "source": {
        "text": "Zheng Ti Lei Yao (Catalogued Essentials for Correcting the Body)",
        "author": "Xue Ji",
        "dynasty": "Ming",
        "year": "1529"
    },
    "summary": "The four qi herbs and the four blood herbs in one formula. For the person who is both weak and pale: tired, short of breath, dizzy, a sallow face, palpitations, poor appetite, and in women a light or late cycle. The standard rebuilding formula after illness, blood loss, surgery, or childbirth.",
    "picture": "Si Jun Zi Tang is the four gentlemen who make energy. Si Wu Tang is the four substances that make blood. Put them at one table and you have the eight treasures: a complete meal for a body that has run out of both.",
    "patterns": [
        {
            "slug": "qi-and-blood-deficiency",
            "role": "primary",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/qi-and-blood-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/qi-and-blood-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "heart-and-spleen-deficiency",
            "role": "alternative",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/heart-and-spleen-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "blood-deficiency",
            "role": "with tiredness",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/blood-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/blood-deficiency"
            }
        }
    ],
    "indications": [
        "Tiredness with pallor, a sallow or pale face",
        "Dizziness and blurry vision",
        "Palpitations and shortness of breath on effort",
        "Weak voice, no wish to talk",
        "Poor appetite",
        "Light, late, or absent periods",
        "Slow recovery after illness, surgery, childbirth, or blood loss",
        "Wounds or ulcers that heal slowly"
    ],
    "signs": {
        "tongue": "Pale with a thin white coat.",
        "pulse": "Thin and weak."
    },
    "ingredients": [
        {
            "pinyin": "Dang Shen",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "chief",
            "job": "Codonopsis, or ginseng in the classic, restores the qi.",
            "herb_slug": "root-pilose-asiabell",
            "english": "Dang Shen Root",
            "chinese": "党参",
            "latin": "Radix Codonopsis Pilosulae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-pilose-asiabell",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-pilose-asiabell"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Bai Zhu",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Atractylodes strengthens the Spleen.",
            "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes",
            "english": "Rhizome of Largehead Atractylodes",
            "chinese": "",
            "latin": "Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-largehead-atractylodes"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Fu Ling",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Poria drains damp and calms.",
            "herb_slug": "indian-bread",
            "english": "Poria",
            "chinese": "茯苓",
            "latin": "Poria",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/indian-bread",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/indian-bread"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Zhi Gan Cao",
            "grams": "5",
            "role": "envoy",
            "job": "Honey-fried licorice harmonizes and supports the middle.",
            "herb_slug": "prepared-liauorice-root",
            "english": "Honey-Fried Licorice Root",
            "chinese": "炙甘草",
            "latin": "Radix Glycyrrhizae Praeparata",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/prepared-liauorice-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/prepared-liauorice-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Shu Di Huang",
            "grams": "15",
            "role": "chief",
            "job": "Prepared rehmannia, the heaviest blood tonic.",
            "herb_slug": "prepared-rehmannia-root",
            "english": "Prepared Rehmannia Root",
            "chinese": "熟地黄",
            "latin": "Radix Rehmanniae Praeparata",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/prepared-rehmannia-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Dang Gui",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Angelica builds and moves blood.",
            "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-angelica",
            "english": "Root of Chinese Angelica",
            "chinese": "当归",
            "latin": "Radix Angelicae Sinensis",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-angelica"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Bai Shao",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "White peony nourishes blood and yin.",
            "herb_slug": "white-peony-root",
            "english": "White Peony Root",
            "chinese": "白芍",
            "latin": "Radix Paeoniae Alba",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/white-peony-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/white-peony-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Chuan Xiong",
            "grams": "6",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Ligusticum moves the blood so the tonics do not stagnate.",
            "herb_slug": "chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root",
            "english": "Chuanxiong Rhizome, Szechuan Lovage Root",
            "chinese": "川芎",
            "latin": "Rhizoma Chuanxiong",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/chuanxiong-rhizome-szechuan-lovage-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Sheng Jiang",
            "grams": "3",
            "role": "envoy",
            "job": "Fresh ginger warms the Stomach.",
            "herb_slug": "fresh-ginger",
            "english": "Fresh Ginger",
            "chinese": "生姜",
            "latin": "Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fresh-ginger",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fresh-ginger"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Da Zao",
            "grams": "5",
            "role": "envoy",
            "job": "Jujube dates nourish the Spleen and blood.",
            "herb_slug": "jujube-chinese-date",
            "english": "Chinese Date",
            "chinese": "大枣",
            "latin": "Fructus Jujubae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/jujube-chinese-date",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/jujube-chinese-date"
            }
        }
    ],
    "actions": [
        "Tonifies qi and blood together"
    ],
    "how_it_works": "Qi makes blood and blood carries qi, so when both are low, building one without the other stalls. The four gentlemen rebuild the Spleen's power to make blood; the four substances give it the raw material. Ginger and dates keep the whole rich mix digestible.",
    "modifications": [
        {
            "for": "Heavier tiredness and cold",
            "add": [
                "Huang Qi",
                "Rou Gui"
            ],
            "note": "This becomes Shi Quan Da Bu Tang, the ten-herb version."
        },
        {
            "for": "Poor sleep and worry",
            "add": [
                "Suan Zao Ren",
                "Long Yan Rou"
            ],
            "note": "Or switch to Gui Pi Tang."
        },
        {
            "for": "Scanty periods with cramps",
            "add": [
                "Xiang Fu",
                "Yi Mu Cao"
            ],
            "note": "Cyperus and motherwort regulate the cycle."
        }
    ],
    "cautions": [
        "Rich. Not for a damp or hot picture: a thick greasy coat, bloating, a bitter taste, or a fever.",
        "If it bloats you, the Spleen is too weak for the blood herbs yet. Start with Si Jun Zi Tang alone.",
        "Pause during a cold or flu.",
        "Pregnancy: a practitioner's call. It is used in pregnancy, but only when prescribed."
    ],
    "forms": [
        "teapills",
        "concentrated tablets",
        "granules",
        "decoction"
    ],
    "typical_dose": {
        "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day with warm water, the usual label dose",
        "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above",
        "course": "One to three months."
    },
    "cousins": [
        {
            "slug": "si-jun-zi-tang",
            "difference": "The qi half alone, for tiredness and weak digestion without pallor."
        },
        {
            "slug": "si-wu-tang",
            "difference": "The blood half alone, for pallor and a light cycle in someone whose energy is fine."
        },
        {
            "slug": "gui-pi-tang",
            "difference": "Qi and blood with Heart-calming herbs, for the tired worrier who sleeps badly."
        },
        {
            "slug": "shi-quan-da-bu-tang",
            "difference": "Ba Zhen Tang plus astragalus and cinnamon, for deeper weakness with cold."
        }
    ],
    "commerce": {
        "store": "supplementsapothecary.com",
        "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary",
        "store_slug": "ba-zhen-tang",
        "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/ba-zhen-tang",
        "status": "planned",
        "label_check": "The box reads Ba Zhen Wan or Ba Zhen Tang with the characters 八珍. Eight herbs plus ginger and dates. Codonopsis often replaces ginseng."
    },
    "conditions": [
        "fatigue",
        "anemia",
        "blood-deficiency",
        "dizziness",
        "palpitations",
        "amenorrhea",
        "menstrual-irregularities",
        "immune-deficiency"
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition",
            "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and modifications."
        }
    ],
    "meta": {
        "status": "published",
        "last_updated": "2026-10-12",
        "reviewed_by": null
    },
    "_links": {
        "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/ba-zhen-tang",
        "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/ba-zhen-tang",
        "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas"
    }
}