{
    "slug": "yi-guan-jian",
    "names": {
        "pinyin": "Yi Guan Jian",
        "chinese": "一贯煎",
        "english": "Linking Decoction",
        "alternate": [
            "One Thread Decoction",
            "Linking Formula"
        ]
    },
    "category": "tonify-yin",
    "source": {
        "text": "Xu Ming Yi Lei An (Continuation of Famous Physicians' Cases Organized by Categories)",
        "author": "Wei Zhi-xiu",
        "dynasty": "Qing",
        "year": "1770"
    },
    "summary": "The formula for a dry, stuck Liver. A dull ache or tightness under the ribs, acid or a sour taste, a dry mouth and throat, and a red tongue with little coat, in a person who is both yin-deficient and tense. It nourishes the Liver and Kidney and gently moves the Liver qi at the same time.",
    "picture": "Most Liver-moving formulas are drying, and a dry Liver cannot take them. Yi Guan Jian is five moist tonics and one small moving herb: it oils the hinge before it swings the door.",
    "patterns": [
        {
            "slug": "liver-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "primary",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-yin-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "with rib pain",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/liver-and-kidney-yin-deficiency"
            }
        },
        {
            "slug": "stomach-yin-deficiency",
            "role": "with Liver tension",
            "_links": {
                "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency"
            }
        }
    ],
    "indications": [
        "Dull pain or tightness under the ribs or in the upper abdomen",
        "Acid reflux, a sour or bitter taste",
        "Dry mouth and throat",
        "Chronic hepatitis or a tight tender liver area in a dry person",
        "Hernia pain in a thin, dry person",
        "Irritability with dryness rather than heat"
    ],
    "signs": {
        "tongue": "Red and dry with little coat.",
        "pulse": "Thin, weak, and wiry."
    },
    "ingredients": [
        {
            "pinyin": "Sheng Di Huang",
            "grams": "18",
            "role": "chief",
            "job": "Raw rehmannia nourishes yin and cools the blood.",
            "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": "Gou Qi Zi",
            "grams": "12",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Goji nourishes Liver and Kidney.",
            "herb_slug": "fruit-of-chinese-wolfberry",
            "english": "Chinese Wolfberry Fruit",
            "chinese": "枸杞子",
            "latin": "Fructus Lycii",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/fruit-of-chinese-wolfberry",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/fruit-of-chinese-wolfberry"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Bei Sha Shen",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Glehnia moistens the Lung and Stomach.",
            "herb_slug": "glehnia-root",
            "english": "Glehnia Root",
            "chinese": "北沙参",
            "latin": "Radix Glehniae",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/glehnia-root",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/glehnia-root"
            }
        },
        {
            "pinyin": "Mai Dong",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "deputy",
            "job": "Ophiopogon moistens.",
            "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": "Dang Gui",
            "grams": "9",
            "role": "assistant",
            "job": "Angelica nourishes blood and keeps it moving.",
            "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": "Chuan Lian Zi",
            "grams": "5",
            "role": "envoy",
            "job": "Melia fruit moves the stuck Liver qi and eases the rib pain, in a small dose.",
            "herb_slug": "szechwan-chinaberry-fruit",
            "english": "Szechwan Chinaberry Fruit",
            "chinese": "川楂子",
            "latin": "Fructus Meliae Toosendan",
            "_links": {
                "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/szechwan-chinaberry-fruit",
                "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/szechwan-chinaberry-fruit"
            }
        }
    ],
    "actions": [
        "Enriches Liver and Kidney yin",
        "Spreads Liver qi gently"
    ],
    "how_it_works": "Five moistening tonics feed the Liver, Kidney, Lung, and Stomach, so the Liver has the fluid it needs to move freely. One small dose of melia fruit then unties the knot under the ribs without drying anything. That balance is why it works where Xiao Yao San would be too drying.",
    "modifications": [
        {
            "for": "Constipation",
            "add": [
                "Gua Lou"
            ],
            "note": "Trichosanthes moistens the gut."
        },
        {
            "for": "Strong acid and heat",
            "add": [
                "Huang Lian"
            ],
            "note": "A pinch of coptis for the burning."
        },
        {
            "for": "Insomnia",
            "add": [
                "Suan Zao Ren"
            ],
            "note": "Jujube seed for sleep."
        }
    ],
    "cautions": [
        "Moist and rich. Not for a damp or phlegmy picture or a thick tongue coat.",
        "Melia fruit is mildly toxic in large doses; the formula keeps it small. Do not increase it.",
        "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner."
    ],
    "forms": [
        "granules",
        "decoction",
        "teapills"
    ],
    "typical_dose": {
        "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above",
        "granules": "As the label directs, usually twice a day",
        "course": "One to two months, then reassess."
    },
    "cousins": [
        {
            "slug": "xiao-yao-san",
            "difference": "The usual formula for a stuck Liver, but drying. Choose Yi Guan Jian when the tongue is red and bare and the mouth is dry."
        },
        {
            "slug": "qi-ju-di-huang-wan",
            "difference": "Liver and Kidney yin for the eyes, with no qi-moving herb. Choose it when the ribs are not the complaint."
        }
    ],
    "commerce": {
        "store": "supplementsapothecary.com",
        "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary",
        "store_slug": "yi-guan-jian",
        "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/yi-guan-jian",
        "status": "planned",
        "label_check": "The box reads Yi Guan Jian with the characters 一贯煎. Six ingredients: raw Rehmannia, Lycium, Glehnia, Ophiopogon, Angelica, and Melia fruit."
    },
    "conditions": [
        "hypochondriac-pain",
        "acid-reflux",
        "hepatitis",
        "gastric-ulcer",
        "yin-deficiency"
    ],
    "sources": [
        {
            "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition",
            "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and cautions."
        }
    ],
    "meta": {
        "status": "published",
        "last_updated": "2026-10-12",
        "reviewed_by": null
    },
    "_links": {
        "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/yi-guan-jian",
        "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/yi-guan-jian",
        "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas"
    }
}