{ "slug": "tao-hong-si-wu-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Tao Hong Si Wu Tang", "chinese": "桃红四物汤", "english": "Four-Substance Decoction with Safflower and Peach Pit", "alternate": [ "Tao Hong Si Wu Wan", "Persica and Carthamus Four Combination" ] }, "category": "invigorate-blood", "source": { "text": "Yi Zong Jin Jian (Golden Mirror of the Medical Tradition)", "author": "Wu Qian and the Imperial Academy", "dynasty": "Qing", "year": "1742" }, "summary": "Si Wu Tang plus two blood movers. For blood deficiency with stasis: periods that are painful and dark with clots, that come late or irregularly, a dull or purple complexion, fixed stabbing pain, and a dusky tongue. It builds the blood and gets it moving in the same dose.", "picture": "A river that is both low and silted. Si Wu Tang raises the water. Peach kernel and safflower dredge the silt. One without the other either floods the mud or dries the bed.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "blood-stasis", "role": "with blood deficiency", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/blood-stasis", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/blood-stasis" } }, { "slug": "blood-deficiency", "role": "with stasis", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/blood-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/blood-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Painful periods with dark clotted blood", "Late, scanty, or irregular periods", "A dull, dark, or purplish complexion", "Fixed stabbing pain that is worse at night", "Pain and bruising after an injury in a pale person", "Lumps or masses in the abdomen, when prescribed", "Headache that is fixed and stabbing" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale or dusky with purple spots.", "pulse": "Thin and choppy." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Shu Di Huang", "grams": "12", "role": "chief", "job": "Prepared rehmannia builds blood.", "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; red peony is used when stasis is strong.", "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 blood and qi.", "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": "Tao Ren", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Peach kernel breaks up stasis.", "herb_slug": "peach-seed", "english": "Peach Kernel", "chinese": "桃仁", "latin": "Semen Persicae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/peach-seed", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/peach-seed" } }, { "pinyin": "Hong Hua", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Safflower moves blood and opens the channels.", "herb_slug": "safflower", "english": "Safflower", "chinese": "红花", "latin": "Flos Carthami", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/safflower", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/safflower" } } ], "actions": [ "Nourishes and invigorates the blood", "Dispels stasis and regulates the cycle" ], "how_it_works": "The four substances supply and circulate blood. Peach kernel and safflower are the dredgers: they break up the old, stuck blood that causes clots and fixed pain. Together they treat the two halves of the picture that a stasis formula alone would miss.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Severe cramps", "add": [ "Yan Hu Suo", "Xiang Fu" ], "note": "Corydalis and cyperus for pain." }, { "for": "Cold cramps that like heat", "add": [ "Rou Gui", "Ai Ye" ], "note": "Warming herbs for the womb." } ], "cautions": [ "Not for use in pregnancy. Peach kernel and safflower move blood strongly.", "Not during heavy bleeding.", "Not for a pale, weak person with no stasis signs; use plain Si Wu Tang.", "Stop if bleeding becomes heavy." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose", "course": "The second half of each cycle for two to three cycles, or two to four weeks for pain." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "si-wu-tang", "difference": "The blood tonic without the movers, for pallor without clots or pain." }, { "slug": "xue-fu-zhu-yu-tang", "difference": "A stronger stasis formula for the chest: fixed chest pain, insomnia, a purple tongue, with less blood building." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "tao-hong-si-wu-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/tao-hong-si-wu-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Tao Hong Si Wu Tang or Wan with the characters 桃红四物. Six ingredients: Si Wu Tang plus Peach kernel and Safflower." }, "conditions": [ "dysmenorrhea", "menstrual-irregularities", "amenorrhea", "blood-stasis", "traumatic-injury", "headache" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Listed as a modification of Si Wu Tang with composition and indications." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/tao-hong-si-wu-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/tao-hong-si-wu-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }