{ "slug": "zhen-wu-tang", "names": { "pinyin": "Zhen Wu Tang", "chinese": "真武汤", "english": "True Warrior Decoction", "alternate": [ "Zhen Wu Wan", "Vitality Combination", "Black Warrior Decoction" ] }, "category": "warm-interior", "source": { "text": "Shang Han Lun (Discussion of Cold Damage)", "author": "Zhang Zhong-jing", "dynasty": "Han", "year": "c. 220" }, "summary": "Warms the Kidney and Spleen yang to move water that has pooled. For swelling in the legs and face, heavy limbs, scanty urine, watery stools, a cold belly that aches, dizziness, and palpitations, in a cold, pale, puffy person. Named for the warrior of the north, the water direction.", "picture": "Water needs heat to move: a frozen pond does not drain. Aconite is the sun on the ice, and the other four herbs dig the channels for the meltwater to leave by.", "patterns": [ { "slug": "kidney-yang-deficiency", "role": "with water", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/kidney-yang-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/kidney-yang-deficiency" } }, { "slug": "spleen-and-kidney-yang-deficiency", "role": "primary", "_links": { "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/pattern/spleen-and-kidney-yang-deficiency", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/pattern/spleen-and-kidney-yang-deficiency" } } ], "indications": [ "Swelling of the legs, ankles, or face in a cold person", "Heavy limbs, scanty urine", "Watery stools, a cold aching belly", "Dizziness, a heavy head, unsteady on the feet", "Palpitations with fluid retention", "Cold hands and feet, a dread of cold", "A cough with thin watery phlegm in a cold person" ], "signs": { "tongue": "Pale, swollen, wet, with a white slippery coat.", "pulse": "Deep, thin, and weak." }, "ingredients": [ { "pinyin": "Fu Zi", "grams": "9", "role": "chief", "job": "Processed aconite warms the Kidney yang so water can move.", "herb_slug": "common-monkshood-daughter-root-2", "english": "Prepared Aconite Lateral Root", "chinese": "附子", "latin": "Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata", "_links": { "herb": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/herb/common-monkshood-daughter-root-2", "html": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/herb/common-monkshood-daughter-root-2" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Zhu", "grams": "6", "role": "deputy", "job": "Atractylodes strengthens the Spleen and dries damp.", "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": "deputy", "job": "Poria drains water through the urine.", "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": "Sheng Jiang", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "Fresh ginger warms and disperses water.", "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" } }, { "pinyin": "Bai Shao", "grams": "9", "role": "assistant", "job": "White peony eases the belly pain and keeps aconite from drying the 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" } } ], "actions": [ "Warms the yang and promotes urination", "Strengthens the Spleen and drains water" ], "how_it_works": "Aconite relights the Kidney fire. Atractylodes and poria turn the Spleen back on and open the drain. Ginger warms the middle. Peony is the clever one: it softens the aconite's harshness and settles the cramping, which is why the formula can be used for weeks where plain aconite could not.", "modifications": [ { "for": "Heavy swelling", "add": [ "Ze Xie", "Che Qian Zi" ], "note": "More drainers." }, { "for": "Cough with watery phlegm", "add": [ "Gan Jiang", "Wu Wei Zi", "Xi Xin" ], "note": "The classic warming cough trio." } ], "cautions": [ "Contains processed aconite. Tested brands only, never raw aconite, and never raise the dose on your own.", "Hot and drying. Not for a hot picture, a red tongue, or swelling with heat and thirst.", "Swelling that is sudden, one-sided, or comes with breathlessness needs its cause found before any formula.", "Not for use in pregnancy." ], "forms": [ "teapills", "granules", "decoction" ], "typical_dose": { "teapills": "8 pills, three times a day, the usual label dose", "decoction": "One bag a day in two doses. Aconite is cooked first for a long time.", "course": "Two to six weeks, then reassess." }, "cousins": [ { "slug": "jin-gui-shen-qi-wan", "difference": "A long-course tonic for Kidney yang deficiency with mild water signs. Zhen Wu Tang is the sharper tool for real swelling." }, { "slug": "wu-ling-san", "difference": "Drains water without aconite, for swelling and scanty urine when there is no deep cold." }, { "slug": "li-zhong-wan", "difference": "Warms the Spleen alone for a cold belly and watery stools without swelling." } ], "commerce": { "store": "supplementsapothecary.com", "store_name": "Supplements Apothecary", "store_slug": "zhen-wu-tang", "store_url": "https://www.supplementsapothecary.com/supplement/zhen-wu-tang", "status": "planned", "label_check": "The box reads Zhen Wu Tang or Wan with the characters 真武. Five ingredients: processed Aconite, Atractylodes, Poria, Ginger, and White peony.", "note": "Contains processed aconite. Tested brands only." }, "conditions": [ "edema", "kidney-yang-deficiency", "diarrhea", "dizziness", "palpitations", "chronic-kidney-disease" ], "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/zhen-wu-tang", "self": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formula/zhen-wu-tang", "index": "https://www.naturalherblibrary.com/api/v1/formulas" } }