{ "slug": "yang-yin-qing-fei-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang", "chinese": "养阴清肺汤", "english": "Nourish the Yin and Clear the Lungs Decoction", "alternate": [ "Yang Yin Qing Fei Wan", "Yang Yin Qing Fei Gao (the syrup)" ] }, "category": "treat-dryness", "source": { "text": "Chong Lou Yu Yao (Jade Key to the Secluded Chamber)", "author": "Zheng Mei-jian", "dynasty": "Qing", "year": "1838" }, "summary": "For a dry, burning sore throat in a dry person: a throat that is red, raw, and swollen, with hoarseness, a dry cough, and a dry mouth, where the trouble is heat on a yin-deficient base rather than a fresh cold. Written for diphtheria; now the throat formula for heat and dryness.", "picture": "A throat that has been sanded. Cooling it alone leaves it dry; wetting it alone leaves it hot. This formula does both, which is why it works where lozenges do not.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "lung-yin-deficiency", "role": "with sore throat", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/lung-yin-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Dry, burning, swollen sore throat", "Hoarseness", "Dry cough with little phlegm", "Dry mouth, mild fever", "Chronic pharyngitis in a dry person", "Recurring sore throats that are not infections" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with little coat.", "pulse": "Thin and rapid." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Sheng Di Huang", "grams": "12", "role": "chief", "job": "Raw rehmannia cools and nourishes yin.", "herb_slug": "fresh-rehmannia-root", "english": "Fresh Rehmannia Root", "chinese": "生地黄", "latin": "Radix Rehmanniae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fresh-rehmannia-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Mai Dong", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Ophiopogon moistens the Lung and throat.", "herb_slug": "root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3", "english": "Mai Dong Ophiopogon Root Tuber", "chinese": "麦冬", "latin": "Radix Ophiopogonis", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-dwarf-lilyturf-3" } }, { "pinyin": "Xuan Shen", "grams": "9", "role": "deputy", "job": "Scrophularia cools the throat and clears toxic heat.", "herb_slug": "figwort-root", "english": "Figwort Root", "chinese": "玄参", "latin": "Radix Scrophulariae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/figwort-root", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/figwort-root" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Shao", "grams": "5", "role": "assistant", "job": "White peony nourishes yin.", "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": "Mu Dan Pi", "grams": "5", "role": "assistant", "job": "Tree peony bark cools the blood.", "herb_slug": "tree-peony-bark", "english": "Tree Peony Bark", "chinese": "牡丹皮", "latin": "Cortex Moutan", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/tree-peony-bark", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/tree-peony-bark" } }, { "pinyin": "Chuan Bei Mu", "grams": "5", "role": "assistant", "job": "Fritillary bulb moistens and clears the throat.", "herb_slug": "bulb-of-tendrilleaf-fritillary", "english": "Sichuan Fritillary Bulb", "chinese": "川贝母", "latin": "Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/bulb-of-tendrilleaf-fritillary", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/bulb-of-tendrilleaf-fritillary" } }, { "pinyin": "Bo He", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Mint vents the heat from the throat.", "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": "Gan Cao", "grams": "3", "role": "envoy", "job": "Licorice soothes the throat.", "herb_slug": "root-of-ural-licorice", "english": "Raw Licorice Root", "chinese": "甘草", "latin": "Radix Glycyrrhizae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-ural-licorice", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-ural-licorice" } } ], "actions": [ "Nourishes yin and clears the Lung", "Cools the throat and relieves toxic heat" ], "how_it_works": "Rehmannia, ophiopogon, and peony refill the fluids. Scrophularia and peony bark cool the heat and the blood. Fritillary and mint open the throat. Licorice soothes. It is the throat version of the dry-cough formulas.", "modifications": [ { "for": "A very swollen throat", "add": [ "Jin Yin Hua", "Lian Qiao" ], "note": "Honeysuckle and forsythia for toxic heat." }, { "for": "Hoarseness that lingers", "add": [ "Mu Hu Die", "Chan Tui" ], "note": "Herbs for the voice." } ], "cautions": [ "Cool and moist. Not for a sore throat with chills and a white coat, which is wind-cold.", "Not for a weak Spleen with loose stools.", "A sore throat with high fever, white patches, or trouble breathing needs urgent care, not a formula." ], "forms": [ "syrup", "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "syrup": "As the label directs, usually three times a day", "course": "One to two weeks." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "bai-he-gu-jin-tang", "difference": "For the dry cough with blood-streaked phlegm, where the chest matters more than the throat." }, { "slug": "sha-shen-mai-dong-tang", "difference": "Lighter, for dryness after a fever with a tickly cough and no real sore throat." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "yang-yin-qing-fei-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/yang-yin-qing-fei-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "Often sold as a syrup, Yang Yin Qing Fei Gao, with the characters 养阴清肺. Eight ingredients led by raw Rehmannia, Ophiopogon, and Scrophularia." }, "conditions": [ "sore-throat", "pharyngitis", "dry-cough", "tonsillitis" ], "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/yang-yin-qing-fei-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/yang-yin-qing-fei-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }