{ "slug": "yu-nu-jian", "names": { "pinyin": "Yu Nu Jian", "chinese": "玉女煎", "english": "Jade Woman Decoction", "alternate": [ "Yu Nü Jian", "Jade Lady Decoction", "Gypsum and Rehmannia Combination" ] }, "category": "clear-heat", "source": { "text": "Jing Yue Quan Shu (Complete Works of Jing Yue)", "author": "Zhang Jie-bin", "dynasty": "Ming", "year": "1624" }, "summary": "For toothache, loose teeth, and bleeding gums when Stomach heat sits on top of a dry, yin-deficient body. The person is thirsty and hot in the mouth but also tired and dry, with a red tongue that has lost its coat. It cools the Stomach and refills the yin in one formula.", "picture": "Qing Wei San is a bucket of water on a fire. Yu Nu Jian is a bucket of water on a fire in a house that is already parched: it puts out the flame and soaks the floor so it does not catch again.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "stomach-fire", "role": "with yin deficiency", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/stomach-fire", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/stomach-fire" } }, { "slug": "kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "role": "when the heat sits in the Stomach and gums", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yin-deficiency-with-empty-heat" } }, { "slug": "stomach-yin-deficiency", "role": "with heat", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/stomach-yin-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Toothache with loose teeth", "Bleeding gums with a dry mouth", "Thirst and irritability", "Headache from heat rising", "Wasting thirst: hungry, thirsty, and still losing weight", "A hot mouth in a tired, dry person" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Red with a yellow coat that is dry, or a red tongue with little coat.", "pulse": "Floating, slippery, and large, but weak when pressed." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Shi Gao", "grams": "15", "role": "chief", "job": "Gypsum clears strong Stomach heat and the thirst that comes with it.", "herb_slug": "gypsum", "english": "Gypsum", "chinese": "石膏", "latin": "Gypsum Fibrosum", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/gypsum", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/gypsum" } }, { "pinyin": "Shu Di Huang", "grams": "15", "role": "chief", "job": "Prepared rehmannia refills the Kidney yin the heat has burned.", "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": "Zhi Mu", "grams": "5", "role": "deputy", "job": "Anemarrhena clears heat while moistening.", "herb_slug": "rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "english": "Rhizome of Common Anamarrhena", "chinese": "知母", "latin": "Rhizoma Anemarrhenae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/rhizome-of-common-anamarrhena" } }, { "pinyin": "Mai Dong", "grams": "6", "role": "deputy", "job": "Ophiopogon moistens the Stomach and the mouth.", "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": "Niu Xi", "grams": "5", "role": "envoy", "job": "Achyranthes pulls the heat down and away from the teeth and carries the formula to the Kidney.", "herb_slug": "root-of-twotooth-achyranthes-2", "english": "Niu Xi Root", "chinese": "牛膝", "latin": "Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-twotooth-achyranthes-2", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-twotooth-achyranthes-2" } } ], "actions": [ "Clears Stomach heat", "Enriches Kidney yin", "Guides rising heat downward" ], "how_it_works": "Gypsum and anemarrhena cool the Stomach. Rehmannia and ophiopogon refill the fluids so the heat has somewhere to go. Achyranthes, the one envoy, sends the whole thing downward, which is why the teeth and gums at the top settle. The balance of cooling and filling is what makes it right for a hot mouth in a dry person.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heavy gum bleeding", "add": [ "Sheng Di Huang", "Mu Dan Pi" ], "note": "Raw rehmannia and peony bark cool the blood." }, { "for": "Loose teeth that are the main complaint", "add": [ "Gu Sui Bu" ], "note": "The bone mender firms the socket." }, { "for": "Constipation", "add": [ "Huo Ma Ren" ], "note": "Hemp seed moistens the gut." } ], "cautions": [ "Gypsum is very cold. Not for loose stools, a cold constitution, or a pale wet tongue.", "Use for a short course while the heat clears, then move to a yin tonic such as Liu Wei or Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan for the long run.", "Not for toothache from wind-cold or from an abscess.", "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. Gypsum is decocted first.", "granules": "As the label directs, usually twice a day", "course": "Two to four weeks, then reassess the tongue." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "qing-wei-san", "difference": "Pure fire-clearing for full Stomach fire with swollen bleeding gums, bad breath, and a thick yellow coat. No yin tonic inside." }, { "slug": "zhi-bai-di-huang-wan", "difference": "A Kidney formula with a touch of cooling. Yu Nu Jian is a Stomach formula with a touch of filling. Choose by where the heat sits: mouth and thirst point to Yu Nu Jian, night sweats and low back point to Zhi Bai." }, { "slug": "liu-wei-di-huang-wan", "difference": "The gentle long-term yin tonic to continue after Yu Nu Jian has cleared the heat." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "yu-nu-jian", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/yu-nu-jian", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Yu Nu Jian with the characters 玉女煎. Five herbs: Gypsum, prepared Rehmannia, Anemarrhena, Ophiopogon, and Achyranthes. More often sold as granules than teapills." }, "conditions": [ "receding-gums", "toothache", "mouth-sores", "headache" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition", "note": "Composition, actions, indications, and cautions." }, { "title": "Zhang Jie-bin, Jing Yue Quan Shu, 1624", "note": "Source text." } ], "meta": { "status": "published", "last_updated": "2026-10-12", "reviewed_by": null }, "_links": { "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/formula/yu-nu-jian", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/yu-nu-jian", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }