{
    "slug": "xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang",
    "names": {
        "pinyin": "Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Tang",
        "chinese": "香砂六君子汤",
        "english": "Six-Gentlemen Decoction with Aucklandia and Amomum",
        "alternate": [
            "Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Wan",
            "Xiang Sha Liu Jun Wan",
            "Six Gentlemen Plus"
        ]
    },
    "category": "tonify-qi",
    "source": {
        "text": "Gu Jin Ming Yi Fang Lun (Discussion of Famous Physicians' Formulas Past and Present)",
        "author": "Luo Mei",
        "dynasty": "Qing",
        "year": "1675"
    },
    "summary": "Liu Jun Zi Tang plus two aromatic herbs that move the stomach. For the tired, weak-digestion person who also bloats, belches, has a dull stomach ache, feels full after a few bites, and brings food back up. The formula for a Spleen that is both weak and stuck.",
    "picture": "A weak stove with a jammed flue. The six gentlemen rebuild the stove and dry the damp; costus and amomum clear the flue so the smoke, and the gas, can get out.",
    "patterns": [
        {
            "slug": "spleen-qi-deficiency",
            "role": "with bloating and pain",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "spleen-dampness",
            "role": "with qi stagnation",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-dampness",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-dampness"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "liver-overacting-on-spleen",
            "role": "when the Spleen is weak",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-overacting-on-spleen",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-overacting-on-spleen"
            }
        }
    ],
    "indications": [
        "Bloating and distension after meals",
        "Belching, a dull stomach ache",
        "Feeling full after a few bites",
        "Nausea or bringing food back up",
        "Poor appetite with tiredness",
        "Loose stools",
        "Chronic gastritis or a sluggish stomach in a weak person"
    ],
    "signs": {
        "tongue": "Pale with a white greasy coat.",
        "pulse": "Weak, slippery, or a little wiry."
    },
    "ingredients": [
        {
            "pinyin": "Dang Shen",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "chief",
            "job": "Codonopsis 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 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": "deputy",
            "job": "Poria drains damp.",
            "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 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"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Chen Pi",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Tangerine peel moves qi and dries damp.",
            "herb_slug": "dried-tangerine-peel",
            "english": "Dried Tangerine Peel",
            "chinese": "陈皮",
            "latin": "Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/dried-tangerine-peel",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/dried-tangerine-peel"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Ban Xia",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Processed pinellia transforms phlegm and stops nausea.",
            "herb_slug": "tuber-of-pinellia",
            "english": "Raw Pinellia Tuber",
            "chinese": "半夏",
            "latin": "Rhizoma Pinelliae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/tuber-of-pinellia",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/tuber-of-pinellia"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Mu Xiang",
            "grams": "6",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Costus moves stuck qi in the stomach and relieves pain.",
            "herb_slug": "common-aucklandia-root",
            "english": "Costus Root",
            "chinese": "木香",
            "latin": "Radix Aucklandiae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/common-aucklandia-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/common-aucklandia-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Sha Ren",
            "grams": "3",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Amomum, added at the end of cooking, wakes the Spleen and stops bloating.",
            "herb_slug": "villous-amomum-fruit",
            "english": "Villous Amomum Fruit",
            "chinese": "砂仁",
            "latin": "Fructus Amomi",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/villous-amomum-fruit",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/villous-amomum-fruit"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Sheng Jiang",
            "grams": "3",
            "role": "envoy",
            "job": "Fresh ginger warms the stomach and settles nausea.",
            "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"
            }
        }
    ],
    "actions": [
        "Tonifies the qi and strengthens the Spleen",
        "Moves qi, transforms phlegm, and relieves bloating"
    ],
    "how_it_works": "Four tonics, two damp-clearers, and two aromatic movers. The costus and amomum are what make this the right choice when a plain tonic bloats you: they open the stomach so the tonic can get in and the gas can get out. It is the most forgiving Spleen tonic in the family.",
    "modifications": [
        {
            "for": "Stomach pain that likes warmth",
            "add": [
                "Gan Jiang",
                "Rou Gui"
            ],
            "note": "Warming herbs for a cold middle."
        },
        {
            "for": "Food sitting undigested",
            "add": [
                "Shan Zha",
                "Shen Qu"
            ],
            "note": "Hawthorn and medicated leaven digest the backlog."
        },
        {
            "for": "Stress that triggers the bloating",
            "add": [
                "Xiang Fu",
                "Bai Shao"
            ],
            "note": "Or alternate with Xiao Yao San."
        }
    ],
    "cautions": [
        "Drying and warming. Not for a dry picture with a red peeled tongue, or a hot one with a yellow coat.",
        "Pause during a cold, flu, or fever.",
        "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner."
    ],
    "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. Amomum goes in for the last five minutes.",
        "course": "One to two months."
    },
    "cousins": [
        {
            "slug": "liu-jun-zi-tang",
            "difference": "The same without costus and amomum, for nausea and phlegm without bloating and pain."
        },
        {
            "slug": "si-jun-zi-tang",
            "difference": "The plain four-herb base."
        },
        {
            "slug": "xiao-yao-san",
            "difference": "For bloating that follows stress in a tense person; moves the Liver rather than tonifying the Spleen."
        }
    ],
    "commerce": {
        "store": "supplementsapothecary.com",
        "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary",
        "store_slug": "xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang",
        "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang",
        "status": "planned",
        "label_check": "The box reads Xiang Sha Liu Jun Zi Wan or Xiang Sha Liu Jun Wan with the characters 香砂六君子. Eight herbs: the six gentlemen plus Aucklandia (costus) and Amomum."
    },
    "conditions": [
        "abdominal-distension",
        "indigestion",
        "dyspepsia",
        "nausea",
        "poor-appetite",
        "gastric-ulcer",
        "diarrhea"
    ],
    "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/xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang",
        "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/xiang-sha-liu-jun-zi-tang",
        "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas"
    }
}