{ "slug": "si-jun-zi-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Si Jun Zi Tang", "chinese": "四君子汤", "english": "Four-Gentlemen Decoction", "alternate": [ "Si Jun Zi Wan", "Four Gentlemen Teapills", "Major Four Herb Combination" ] }, "category": "tonify-qi", "source": { "text": "Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Imperial Grace Formulary of the Tai Ping Era)", "author": "Imperial Medical Bureau", "dynasty": "Song", "year": "1078" }, "summary": "The base qi formula and the gentlest Spleen tonic. Four mild herbs for the person who is tired, pale, soft-voiced, eats little, and has loose stools. Nearly every digestion formula in Chinese medicine starts here.", "picture": "Four gentlemen: mild, balanced, and never loud. That is the point. A weak Spleen cannot handle a strong tonic, so the first step is four herbs it can actually digest.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "spleen-qi-deficiency", "role": "base", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "lung-qi-deficiency", "role": "base", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/lung-qi-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/lung-qi-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Tiredness, worse after meals", "Pale face, weak voice, no wish to talk", "Poor appetite", "Loose or soft stools", "Heavy limbs", "Easy bruising", "A child who is pale, thin, and eats poorly" ], "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 of the Spleen and Lung.", "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 and dries damp.", "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": "assistant", "job": "Poria drains damp and calms the mind.", "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": "6", "role": "envoy", "job": "Honey-fried licorice warms the middle and harmonizes.", "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" } } ], "actions": [ "Tonifies the qi and strengthens the Spleen" ], "how_it_works": "Codonopsis gives the Spleen qi. Atractylodes and poria clear the damp that a weak Spleen always leaves behind, one by drying and one by draining. Licorice ties it together. Nothing lifts, nothing moves blood, nothing cools or heats. It is the plain foundation that the whole family is built on.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Nausea, phlegm, a greasy coat", "add": [ "Chen Pi", "Ban Xia" ], "note": "This becomes Liu Jun Zi Tang." }, { "for": "Bloating, belching, stomach pain", "add": [ "Mu Xiang", "Sha Ren" ], "note": "With the two above, this becomes Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang." }, { "for": "Chronic loose stools", "add": [ "Shan Yao", "Bai Bian Dou", "Yi Yi Ren" ], "note": "Toward Shen Ling Bai Zhu San." }, { "for": "Pallor and blood deficiency", "add": [ "Shu Di Huang", "Dang Gui", "Bai Shao", "Chuan Xiong" ], "note": "This becomes Ba Zhen Tang." } ], "cautions": [ "Mild, but still a tonic. Pause during a cold, flu, or fever.", "Not for a hot picture with a yellow coat, or a full, bloated, constipated one.", "If even this bloats you, the digestion needs moving herbs first, such as Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang." ], "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": "liu-jun-zi-tang", "difference": "Adds tangerine peel and pinellia for nausea and phlegm." }, { "slug": "xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang", "difference": "Adds costus and amomum on top of that for bloating and pain." }, { "slug": "shen-ling-bai-zhu-san", "difference": "A larger formula aimed at chronic loose stools and dampness." }, { "slug": "bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang", "difference": "Adds astragalus and two lifting herbs for exhaustion with sagging and prolapse." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "si-jun-zi-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/si-jun-zi-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Si Jun Zi Tang or Wan with the characters 四君子. Four ingredients: Codonopsis or Ginseng, Atractylodes, Poria, and honey-fried Licorice." }, "conditions": [ "fatigue", "digestive-weakness", "poor-appetite", "diarrhea", "indigestion" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and the family of modifications." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/si-jun-zi-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/si-jun-zi-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }