{ "slug": "yu-ping-feng-san", "names": { "pinyin": "Yu Ping Feng San", "chinese": "玉屏风散", "english": "Jade Windscreen Powder", "alternate": [ "Yu Ping Feng Wan", "Jade Screen Teapills", "Astragalus and Siler Formula" ] }, "category": "tonify-qi", "source": { "text": "Shi Yi De Xiao Fang (Effective Formulas from Generations of Physicians)", "author": "Wei Yi-lin", "dynasty": "Yuan", "year": "1345" }, "summary": "Three herbs that build the body's outer screen. For the person who catches every cold, sweats for no reason, dislikes wind and drafts, and has allergies that flare in spring. It is taken when you are well, to stop the next cold, not during one.", "picture": "The defensive qi is a screen around the body. When it thins, every wind gets through. Astragalus rebuilds the screen, atractylodes feeds it from inside, and a little siler patrols the edge.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "exterior-deficiency-spontaneous-sweating", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/exterior-deficiency-spontaneous-sweating", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/exterior-deficiency-spontaneous-sweating" } }, { "slug": "lung-qi-deficiency", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/lung-qi-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/lung-qi-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "spleen-qi-deficiency", "role": "with frequent colds", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-qi-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Frequent colds, one after another", "Sweating for no reason, worse with mild effort", "Dislike of wind and drafts", "Hay fever and allergic rhinitis in a tired person", "Pale face, tiredness", "Chronic hives that flare with wind, when prescribed" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale with a thin white coat.", "pulse": "Floating and weak." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Huang Qi", "grams": "12", "role": "chief", "job": "Astragalus tonifies the defensive qi and firms the surface.", "herb_slug": "root-of-membranous-milkvetch", "english": "Root of Membranous Milkvetch", "chinese": "黄芪", "latin": "Radix Astragali", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-membranous-milkvetch", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-membranous-milkvetch" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Zhu", "grams": "12", "role": "deputy", "job": "Atractylodes strengthens the Spleen that feeds the defensive qi.", "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": "Fang Feng", "grams": "6", "role": "assistant", "job": "Siler, a small dose, expels wind without opening the pores.", "herb_slug": "root-of-divaricate-saposhnikovia", "english": "Divaricate Saposhnikovia Root", "chinese": "防风", "latin": "Radix Saposhnikoviae", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/root-of-divaricate-saposhnikovia", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/root-of-divaricate-saposhnikovia" } } ], "actions": [ "Tonifies qi and stabilizes the exterior", "Stops sweating and expels wind" ], "how_it_works": "Astragalus is the screen. Atractylodes keeps it supplied. The small amount of siler is the clever part: it chases out wind that has crept in, while the astragalus keeps the gate closed so more cannot follow. Build the screen while you are well and the next cold bounces off it.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Hay fever with a runny nose", "add": [ "Xin Yi", "Cang Er Zi" ], "note": "Magnolia bud and xanthium open the nose." }, { "for": "Exhaustion with the colds", "add": [ "Dang Shen" ], "note": "Or combine with Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang." } ], "cautions": [ "Not during an active cold. Astragalus holds the surface closed and can trap the illness. Stop at the first sore throat and start again when the cold is gone.", "Not for sweating from heat, with thirst and a red tongue, or night sweats from yin deficiency.", "Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "concentrated tablets", "granules", "powder" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day with warm water, the usual label dose", "course": "Two to three months, often through the cold season or before allergy season." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "bu-zhong-yi-qi-tang", "difference": "A deeper Spleen and Lung tonic with lifting herbs, for exhaustion rather than just frequent colds." }, { "slug": "gui-zhi-tang", "difference": "For a cold that is already here with sweating and chills. Treats, where Yu Ping Feng San prevents." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "yu-ping-feng-san", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/yu-ping-feng-san", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Yu Ping Feng San or Wan with the characters 玉屏风. Three ingredients: Astragalus, Atractylodes, and Siler (Saposhnikovia)." }, "conditions": [ "spontaneous-sweating", "immune-deficiency", "common-cold", "sinusitis", "urticaria", "respiratory-infections" ], "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/yu-ping-feng-san", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/yu-ping-feng-san", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }