{ "slug": "xiao-yao-san", "names": { "pinyin": "Xiao Yao San", "chinese": "逍遥散", "english": "Rambling Powder", "alternate": [ "Xiao Yao Wan", "Free and Easy Wanderer", "Relaxed Wanderer Teapills", "Bupleurum and Dang Gui Formula" ] }, "category": "harmonize", "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 most used formula in the world for stress. For Liver qi stagnation sitting on a tired, blood-deficient body: tense and moody, tight under the ribs, sighing, bloated, tired, eating badly, with headaches, breast tenderness, and a cycle that is irregular or painful. It frees the Liver, feeds the Spleen, and builds blood in one.", "picture": "A river dammed by stress, with dry banks and a tired farmer downstream. Bupleurum opens the dam, peony and angelica wet the banks, and atractylodes and poria feed the farmer. The name means to wander free and easy, which is how a person feels when the dam opens.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "liver-qi-stagnation", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-qi-stagnation", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-qi-stagnation" } }, { "slug": "liver-overacting-on-spleen", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-overacting-on-spleen", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-overacting-on-spleen" } }, { "slug": "liver-blood-deficiency", "role": "with stagnation", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-blood-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-blood-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Tension, moodiness, irritability, or low mood from stress", "Tightness or pain under the ribs", "Frequent sighing", "Bloating and digestion that swings with mood", "Tiredness with poor appetite", "Headache at the temples, dizziness", "Dry mouth and throat, a bitter taste", "Breast tenderness before a period", "Irregular or painful periods, premenstrual moods" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale red, possibly with a thin white coat.", "pulse": "Wiry and weak." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Chai Hu", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Bupleurum opens the Liver and lifts the mood.", "herb_slug": "root-of-chinese-thorowax", "english": "Chinese Thorowax Root", "chinese": "柴胡", "latin": "Radix Bupleuri", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-chinese-thorowax", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-chinese-thorowax" } }, { "pinyin": "Dang Gui", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Angelica nourishes and moves the Liver's 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 softens the Liver, nourishes blood, and eases cramping.", "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": "Bai Zhu", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Atractylodes strengthens the Spleen the Liver has been bullying.", "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": "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": "Bo He", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Mint, a small dose added late, helps bupleurum spread the Liver qi.", "herb_slug": "mentha-peppermint", "english": "Peppermint", "chinese": "薄荷", "latin": "Herba Menthae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/mentha-peppermint", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/mentha-peppermint" } }, { "pinyin": "Sheng Jiang", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Ginger, roasted in the classic, 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" } } ], "actions": [ "Spreads Liver qi and relieves stagnation", "Strengthens the Spleen", "Nourishes blood" ], "how_it_works": "Stress jams the Liver, and a jammed Liver both starves itself of blood and bullies the digestion. So the formula does three jobs at once: bupleurum and mint open the jam, angelica and peony refill the Liver's blood so it stays open, and atractylodes, poria, and licorice rebuild the Spleen. Treating only the stress or only the tiredness fails; this treats the loop.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heat: irritability tipping into anger, a red face, hot flashes, early or heavy periods", "add": [ "Mu Dan Pi", "Zhi Zi" ], "note": "This becomes Jia Wei Xiao Yao San." }, { "for": "Breast lumps and tenderness", "add": [ "Xiang Fu", "Chuan Lian Zi" ], "note": "Stronger qi movers for the breast." }, { "for": "Painful periods with clots", "add": [ "Chuan Xiong", "Yi Mu Cao" ], "note": "Blood movers for the cycle." }, { "for": "Poor sleep from a racing mind", "add": [ "Suan Zao Ren", "He Huan Pi" ], "note": "Calming herbs." } ], "cautions": [ "Mildly drying. For rib pain in a dry person with a red peeled tongue and a dry mouth, Yi Guan Jian fits better.", "Not for stagnation that has turned to real fire with a thick yellow coat; step up to Jia Wei Xiao Yao San or Long Dan Xie Gan Tang.", "Pause during a cold or flu.", "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "concentrated tablets", "granules", "powder", "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. Mint goes in for the last few minutes.", "course": "Two weeks for stress; two to three cycles for menstrual use." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "jia-wei-xiao-yao-san", "difference": "The same plus peony bark and gardenia for heat. The more common choice when anger, flushing, or heavy periods are present." }, { "slug": "chai-hu-shu-gan-san", "difference": "Pure qi moving for rib and chest pain, with no Spleen or blood support." }, { "slug": "si-ni-san", "difference": "Four herbs for stagnation with cold fingers and toes on a warm body." }, { "slug": "yi-guan-jian", "difference": "For the stuck Liver in a dry, yin-deficient person." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "xiao-yao-san", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/xiao-yao-san", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Xiao Yao Wan or Xiao Yao San with the characters 逍遥. Eight ingredients led by Bupleurum, Angelica, and White peony. If Moutan and Gardenia are on the list it is Jia Wei Xiao Yao San, the heat version." }, "conditions": [ "liver-qi-stagnation", "stress", "depression", "anxiety", "hypochondriac-pain", "dysmenorrhea", "breast-pain", "menstrual-irregularities", "headache", "abdominal-distension" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, cautions, and modifications." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/xiao-yao-san", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/xiao-yao-san", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }