Dried Ginger

Traditional Use

Primary Actions

• Warms the middle and dispels interior cold - Gan Jiang is a major herb for abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and weak digestion when cold impairs Spleen-Stomach function.
• Rescues devastated Yang and restores the pulse - in severe deficiency-cold patterns it is combined with stronger agents such as Fu Zi to revive depleted Yang.
• Warms the Lung and transforms thin mucus - traditional use extends to cold-phlegm cough, clear copious sputum, and chronic Lung cold.

Secondary Actions

• Compared with fresh ginger, Gan Jiang is hotter, drier, and more focused on internal warming rather than on releasing the exterior.
• Its processing concentrates a deeper middle-jiao and Yang-restoring action, which is why it appears in both digestive and collapse-rescue formulas.

Classic Formulas

• Li Zhong Wan - classic formula for middle-jiao deficiency-cold with abdominal pain, diarrhea, and poor appetite in which Gan Jiang is the warming core.
• Si Ni Tang - Gan Jiang works with Fu Zi and Zhi Gan Cao to rescue devastated Yang in severe cold-collapse patterns.
• Xiao Qing Long Tang - includes Gan Jiang to warm the Lung and help transform cold fluids behind cough and wheezing.

Classical References

• Traditional materia medica describe Gan Jiang as acrid and hot, entering the Spleen, Stomach, Heart, and Lung to warm the interior and restore Yang.
• Its core identity is internal warming: middle-burner cold, devastated Yang, and cold-phlegm Lung patterns are the main classical uses.