Since ancient times, Ren Shen (Ginseng) has been regarded as a top-tier tonic, a truly precious medicinal material, ranking among the nine great herbs. The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing describes Ren Shen as: “tonifying the five organs, calming the spirit, stopping palpitations, dispelling evil qi, brightening the eyes, and enhancing intelligence.”
The Ben Cao Gang Mu states: “It treats all forms of deficiency in men and women, fever, spontaneous sweating, dizziness… vomiting blood, coughing, bloody stools, hematuria, uterine bleeding, and various diseases before and after childbirth.”
Ren Shen is classified as a superior medicine, suitable for long-term use for health maintenance and longevity. It is well-known that the greatest effect of Ren Shen is to tonify qi.
With the development of medicine, practitioners’ understanding of Ren Shen has deepened, and its clinical applications have significantly expanded. Based on the experiences of ancient sages, its functions can be summarized into five major categories, which are introduced as follows.
Greatly Tonifying Yuan Qi
Formulas such as Si Ni Jia Ren Shen Tang (Four Reversal Decoction with Ginseng), Fu Ling Si Ni Tang (Poria Four Reversal Decoction), and Tong Mai Si Ni Jia Ren Shen (Four Reversal Decoction with Ginseng for Unblocking the Pulse) all utilize Ren Shen to greatly tonify Yuan qi. In addition to stimulating the central nervous system and enhancing the body’s non-specific resistance, it also improves stress adaptation and strengthens the heart, making it the primary medicine for rescuing from collapse.
In recent years, decoctions or injections of Ren Shen or Shen Fu Tang (Ginseng and Aconite Decoction) and Sheng Mai San (Generate the Pulse Powder) have been used to treat various heart failures and shock, achieving good results.
Tonifying the Five Organs
Tonifying the heart to calm palpitations, addressing chest obstruction and palpitations.
Tonifying the spleen to nourish blood, addressing spleen and stomach deficiency and qi sinking.
Strengthening the spleen and regulating the middle, addressing vomiting and diarrhea.
Enhancing intelligence and calming the spirit, addressing deficiency of both heart and spleen.
Tonifying the kidneys and assisting yang, addressing deficiency of the lesser yin and cold stagnation.
Tonifying the lungs to calm wheezing, addressing lung atrophy and reverse coughing.
Benefiting Qi and Generating Fluids
Ren Shen has a sweet and slightly bitter flavor, good at tonifying qi and benefiting yin, generating fluids and quenching thirst. The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing states: “It stops thirst.” The Ben Cao Gang Mu mentions that Ren Shen treats: “stopping thirst and generating body fluids.”
Zhong Jing also used Si Ni Jia Ren Shen Tang to return yang and benefit yin, treating cholera with symptoms of yang collapse and fluid loss. All of the above illustrate that Ren Shen has the function of benefiting qi, generating fluids, and tonifying yin.
Harmonizing the Exterior and Interior
Xiao Chai Hu Tang (Minor Bupleurum Decoction) treats pathogens located between the exterior and interior in the Shaoyang syndrome. Ren Shen can tonify internal deficiency and assist in generating qi, allowing the Shaoyang pathogen to reach the exterior, achieving the effect of calming the interior and expelling the exterior. While Xiao Chai Hu Tang is indeed a specialized formula for harmonization, Bupleurum and Huang Qin only expel external pathogens; the true harmonizer of the exterior and interior is Ren Shen.
Supporting the Right and Expelling Evil
Ren Shen greatly tonifies Yuan qi to assist righteous qi. The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing states: “It primarily tonifies the five organs… and expels evil qi”; the Ben Cao Gang Mu states it can treat “all forms of deficiency in men and women.”
Modern pharmacological studies have proven that Ren Shen can enhance the body’s immune function, such as increasing T cells, enhancing the phagocytic function of mononuclear macrophages, and improving the body’s resistance to disease and stress. Later formulations like Shen Su Yin (Ginseng and Suo Decoction) and Ren Shen Bai Du San (Ginseng to Overcome Pathogenic Factors Powder) are based on this principle.
Keep your hands busy~ Click to follow
Every journey begins with a desire to be with you, whether you are willing or not~