{ "slug": "er-xian-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Er Xian Tang", "chinese": "二仙汤", "english": "Two-Immortal Decoction", "alternate": [ "Er Xian Wan", "Two Immortals Formula", "Curculigo and Epimedium Combination" ] }, "category": "tonify-yang", "source": { "text": "Zhong Yi Fang Ji Lin Chuang Shou Ce (Clinical Handbook of Chinese Medical Formulas)", "author": "Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine", "dynasty": "Modern", "year": "1950s" }, "summary": "The modern menopause formula for the mixed picture: hot flashes and night sweats on top, cold feet and a cold aching back underneath, with tiredness, irritability, and sometimes high blood pressure. Kidney yin and yang are both low and the fire is flaring. It warms, cools, and nourishes at the same time.", "picture": "A furnace that is both running out of fuel and sputtering flames. Two warming herbs rebuild the fuel, two cooling herbs calm the sputter, and two more feed the blood and the back.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "kidney-yang-deficiency", "role": "menopause", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yang-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yang-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "role": "with cold feet", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat" } } ], "indications": [ "Hot flashes and night sweats with cold feet and a cold low back", "Menopausal tiredness, irritability, and low mood", "High blood pressure around menopause", "Palpitations and poor sleep in the same picture", "Low drive with a mixed hot and cold pattern", "Irregular periods in the years before menopause" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale or pale red, possibly with a thin coat.", "pulse": "Thin, deep, or thin and rapid." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Xian Mao", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Curculigo warms Kidney yang.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-curculigo", "english": "Rhizome of Common Curculigo", "chinese": "仙茅", "latin": "Rhizoma Curculiginis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-curculigo", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-curculigo" } }, { "pinyin": "Yin Yang Huo", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Epimedium warms Kidney yang and the drive.", "herb_slug": "all-grass-of-longspur-epimedium", "english": "Epimedium Herb", "chinese": "淫羊藿", "latin": "Herba Epimedii", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/all-grass-of-longspur-epimedium", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/all-grass-of-longspur-epimedium" } }, { "pinyin": "Ba Ji Tian", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Morinda warms the Kidney and the low back.", "herb_slug": "root-of-morinda-officinalis", "english": "Root of Morinda Officinalis", "chinese": "巴戟天", "latin": "Radix Morindae Officinalis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-morinda-officinalis", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-morinda-officinalis" } }, { "pinyin": "Dang Gui", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Angelica nourishes blood and regulates the cycle.", "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": "Huang Bai", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Phellodendron drains the empty fire.", "herb_slug": "phellodendron-bark", "english": "Phellodendron Bark", "chinese": "黄柏", "latin": "Cortex Phellodendri", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/phellodendron-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/phellodendron-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Zhi Mu", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Anemarrhena clears heat and moistens.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "english": "Rhizome of Common Anamarrhena", "chinese": "知母", "latin": "Rhizoma Anemarrhenae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena" } } ], "actions": [ "Warms Kidney yang and nourishes Kidney yin", "Drains empty fire and regulates the cycle" ], "how_it_works": "Three warming herbs rebuild the yang that the cold feet and back are missing. Two cooling herbs, the same pair as in Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan, settle the flashes. Angelica feeds the blood between them. It treats the contradiction instead of picking a side, which is why it suits menopause so well.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heavy night sweats", "add": [ "Fu Xiao Mai", "Mu Li" ], "note": "Light wheat and oyster shell." }, { "for": "More heat than cold", "add": [ "Sheng Di Huang", "Gui Ban" ], "note": "Or combine with Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan and reduce the warming herbs." }, { "for": "Poor sleep", "add": [ "Suan Zao Ren", "Ye Jiao Teng" ], "note": "Calming herbs." } ], "cautions": [ "Not for a purely hot, dry picture with no cold signs; that is Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan.", "Not for a purely cold picture with no flashes; that is Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan.", "Epimedium can be stimulating. Reduce the dose if sleep worsens.", "Not for use in pregnancy." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose", "course": "One to three months." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "zhi-bai-di-huang-wan", "difference": "For flashes from empty Kidney yin alone, with no cold signs." }, { "slug": "jia-wei-xiao-yao-san", "difference": "For flashes with stress, anger, and a stuck Liver. Often combined." }, { "slug": "you-gui-wan", "difference": "A deep yang tonic with no cooling at all." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "er-xian-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/er-xian-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Er Xian Tang or Wan with the characters 二仙. Six ingredients: Curculigo, Epimedium, Morinda, Angelica, Phellodendron, and Anemarrhena." }, "conditions": [ "menopausal-syndrome", "menopausal-symptoms", "night-sweats", "hypertension", "kidney-yang-deficiency", "insomnia" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, and indications." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/er-xian-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/er-xian-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }