Classic formula · Tonify yang
Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
金匮肾气丸 Kidney Qi Pill from the Golden Cabinet
The warming cousin of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan and the base formula for Kidney yang deficiency. For the person who runs cold: a cold aching low back, cold knees and feet, frequent clear urine and trips to the bathroom at night, low drive, and an exhaustion that is worse in winter.
Six herbs fill the tank, and a small pinch of cinnamon and aconite relights the pilot light under it. The warming herbs are a small part of the formula on purpose: you light a fire with a match, not a bonfire.
Also sold as: Ba Wei Di Huang Wan · Eight-Ingredient Pill with Rehmannia · Golden Book Teapills · Shen Qi Wan
Who Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan is for
This formula is chosen for 2 patterns. Match your own picture before you match the name.
Signs it is classically given for
- Cold, aching low back and weak legs
- Cold lower body and feet
- Frequent clear urine, waking at night to urinate
- Difficult or dribbling urination in an older man
- Impotence or low drive with a cold picture
- Swelling of the ankles
- Chronic wheeze or breathlessness on effort from a weak Kidney
- Early-morning tiredness that improves as the day warms
- Tongue
- Pale, swollen, wet, with a thin white coat.
- Pulse
- Deep, weak, and slow, especially at the rear positions.
What is in Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
Amounts are the classic decoction range in grams. Patent pills use the same herbs in the same proportion, so read the box for these names.
| Herb | Amount | Role | Job in the formula |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shu Di Huang Prepared Rehmannia Root Use caution | 24 g | Chief | Prepared rehmannia fills the Kidney yin that yang is made from. |
| Shan Zhu Yu Asiatic Cornelian Cherry Fruit | 12 g | Deputy | Cornelian cherry holds the essence in. |
| Shan Yao Chinese Yam Rhizome | 12 g | Deputy | Chinese yam steadies the Spleen and Kidney. |
| Ze Xie Rhizome of Oriental Waterplantain | 9 g | Assistant | Water plantain drains damp so the tonic moves. |
| Mu Dan Pi Tree Peony Bark Use caution | 9 g | Assistant | Tree peony bark keeps the warming herbs from overheating the blood. |
| Fu Ling Poria | 9 g | Assistant | Poria drains damp and supports digestion. |
| Rou Gui Cassia Bark Use caution | 3 g | Chief | Cinnamon bark warms the Kidney and guides the fire back to its source. Cassia twig in the original. |
| Fu Zi Prepared Aconite Lateral Root High caution | 3 g | Chief | Processed aconite relights the Kidney's pilot light. Small dose, always processed. |
How Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan works
Zhang Zhong-jing built this formula on a quiet idea: to make yang you first need yin. So six herbs fill the Kidney and only two warm it, in tiny amounts. The result is a slow steady warmth from the inside rather than a hot flash, which is why it can be taken for months.
Actions in classic terms
- Warms and tonifies Kidney yang
- Fills the yin so the yang has something to burn
Common changes to Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
A practitioner rarely gives the bare formula. These are the classic additions for a specific picture.
- Swelling and watery urine add Niu Xi, Che Qian Zi This becomes Ji Sheng Shen Qi Wan, the version for edema.
- Low back pain as the main complaint add Du Zhong, Xu Duan Eucommia and teasel strengthen the back.
- Night urination that will not shift add Yi Zhi Ren, Sang Piao Xiao Herbs that hold the bladder.
Cautions with Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
- Warming. Not for a dry, hot picture: night sweats, hot palms, a dry mouth, a red peeled tongue. That person needs Liu Wei or Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan, and the warming version will make them worse.
- Contains processed aconite in a small dose. Buy only a tested brand, never raw aconite, and never increase the dose on your own.
- Pause during a cold, flu, or fever.
- Pregnancy: use only under a qualified practitioner.
- Some boxes label this Ba Wei Di Huang Wan. Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan is also sometimes called Eight Flavor. Read the ingredient list: cinnamon and aconite mean warming, anemarrhena and phellodendron mean cooling.
Forms and typical dose
Sold as teapills, concentrated tablets, granules, decoction.
- Teapills
- 8 pills, three times a day with warm water, the usual label dose
- Decoction
- One bag a day in two doses, with the amounts above
- Course
- Two to three months, often through the winter.
Follow the label of the brand you buy. Pill sizes differ between makers.
Buying Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
The box reads Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan or Ba Wei Di Huang Wan with the characters 金匮肾气丸. Eight herbs: the six of Liu Wei plus Cinnamon bark and processed Aconite. Buy a tested brand only; Plum Flower is the common one.
Brand comparisons for formulas live on Supplements Apothecary, the buying side of this library.
Contains processed aconite. Sold as a patent pill in the United States, but only a tested brand belongs in your cupboard.
Formulas often confused with Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan
- Liu Wei Di Huang Wan 六味地黄丸 The same six base herbs without the two warming ones. For the dry warm picture, not the cold one.
- You Gui Wan 右归丸 A richer, purely tonic yang formula with deer antler glue and eucommia and no draining herbs, for deeper deficiency.
- Zhen Wu Tang 真武汤 Warms Kidney yang to move water when swelling and watery stools are the main complaint. Less tonic, more drainage.
Conditions where Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan comes up
Sources
- Bensky, Scheid, Ellis and Barolet, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas and Strategies, 2nd edition Composition, actions, indications, cautions, and the Ji Sheng modification.
- Zhang Zhong-jing, Jin Gui Yao Lue, c. 220 Source text.
Important Note
Formula pages describe classic use so you can read a label, ask a better question, and find the right monographs. They are education, not a prescription. A formula that fits the wrong pattern can make things worse, so match the picture first.