1. Fuzi (Aconite) combined with Ganjiang (Dried Ginger)
Fuzi excels in reviving yang and rescuing from reversal, moving without restraint, capable of penetrating through internal and external pathways. Ganjiang has the function of reviving yang and unblocking meridians, holding steady while not moving, warming the middle and reviving yang. When these two herbs are combined, Ganjiang enhances Fuzi’s ability to revive yang and rescue from reversal, as stated by ancient practitioners: “Fuzi cannot generate heat without ginger.” Moreover, Fuzi is toxic, and the addition of Ganjiang can reduce its toxicity. Thus, Fuzi is often used in cases of yang deficiency, commonly paired with Ganjiang. This combination is known as the “Zhongjing Fuzi Combination Method,” as seen in the Sijunzi Decoction, which includes ginger, Fuzi, and licorice to warm the middle, disperse cold, and revive yang. The combination of Fuzi and Ganjiang also warms the kidneys and spleen, disperses cold, and alleviates pain, as seen in formulas like Chishizhi Pill and Wumei Pill, which, although they use ginger and Fuzi, aim to disperse cold and relieve pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Yang qi deficiency with internal cold or conditions resulting from excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea leading to cold extremities, spontaneous sweating, and weak pulse indicating yang deficiency.
2. Treating chronic diarrhea due to spleen and kidney yang deficiency, as described in “Fuzi Combinations for Six Stubborn Diseases,” where a male patient suffered from chronic diarrhea for three years, with bowel movements 3-4 times daily, experiencing cold pain in the lower abdomen after defecation, which was alleviated by applying a warm towel. His tongue was swollen with a white greasy coating, and his pulse was deep and thin. Regular stool tests were normal. The treatment involved 6g of Fuzi, 10g of Ganjiang, 15g of Dangshen, 15g of fried Baishao, 6g of Wumei, and 10g of Cangzhu, adjusted according to symptoms, with over 20 doses resulting in effectiveness.
2. Fuzi combined with Rougui (Cinnamon)
Both herbs have the ability to tonify fire and assist yang, disperse cold, and alleviate pain. However, Fuzi is intense, excelling in reviving yang and rescuing from reversal, while Rougui is milder, warming the lower jiao and tonifying kidney yang, guiding fire back to the source to restrain rootless fire and promote qi flow. When used together, they warm the kidneys, assist yang, guide fire back to the source, and warm the meridians to disperse cold and alleviate pain.
Mainly used for: Symptoms of lower jiao kidney fire deficiency, such as weakness in the lower back and knees, cold extremities, impotence, frequent urination, cold testicles, limb coldness, and edema with shortness of breath.
3. Fuzi with Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig)
Fuzi warms kidney yang, unblocks the twelve meridians, dispels cold, eliminates dampness, alleviates pain, and unblocks joints, effectively dispelling deep-seated cold dampness. Guizhi warms the meridians, disperses cold, and unblocks the joints, resolving superficial wind-cold. When combined, these two herbs enhance each other’s effects, warming and unblocking heart and kidney yang qi, increasing the efficacy of dispelling cold and unblocking the meridians.
Mainly used for:
1. Cold intolerance and pain in the limbs due to yang deficiency with external wind-cold dampness (Fuzi is more dominant than Guizhi).
2. Heart yang deficiency leading to palpitations, sweating, and even heart failure, with a weak or intermittent pulse (Guizhi is more dominant than Fuzi). Chen Miaofeng used these two herbs combined with Dangshen, Huangqi, Maidong, Danshen, and Zhi Gan Cao to treat yang deficiency type arrhythmia, believing that Fuzi strengthens the heart, increases myocardial blood supply, enhances the excitability of the sinoatrial node, and improves conduction function, applicable for both slow and rapid arrhythmias with doses ranging from 10-30-45 grams. Zhang Bosui’s experience in treating heart obstruction (coronary heart disease, angina) emphasizes the use of Fuzi and Guizhi, especially Fuzi alone, which can both warm and unblock yang, particularly in relation to Guizhi.
4. Fuzi combined with Wutou (Aconite)
Fuzi is highly warming and toxic, capable of dispelling cold, drying dampness, warming the middle, unblocking yang, and alleviating pain. Wutou is warm and highly toxic, dispersing wind and dampness, dispelling cold, and breaking up stagnation. The combination of these two herbs significantly enhances the effects of dispelling cold and eliminating dampness, alleviating pain.
Mainly used for: Wind-cold-damp obstruction, joint pain; chest obstruction and abdominal pain caused by cold evil.
5. Fuzi combined with Xixin (Asarum)
Fuzi warms internally, supports yang, dispels cold, and unblocks the meridians. Xixin disperses wind-cold externally, eliminates internal yin accumulation, warms and unblocks kidney qi, and opens the orifices. The combination of these two herbs warms, disperses, and unblocks, penetrating the bladder meridian and reaching the kidney meridian, complementing each other to achieve the effects of warming yang, dispersing cold, eliminating phlegm, and warming the womb. This combination addresses both internal and external conditions, restoring yang while resolving external cold, enhancing the effects of warming yang, resolving exterior conditions, and alleviating pain.
As stated in “Bencao Huiyan”: “Xixin, when combined with ginger and cinnamon, can drive away cold from the viscera; when combined with Fuzi, it can dispel various diseases of cold…” Li Gao stated: “Xixin treats evil in the interior, hence Zhang Zhongjing used Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction for Shaoyin syndrome.”
Mainly used for:
1. Yang deficiency with cold symptoms, cold limbs, body aches, and joint pain.
2. Severe wind-damp joint pain with difficulty in flexion and extension.
3. Pathological sinoatrial node syndrome due to yang deficiency and cold accumulation. However, it has been observed that Xixin may induce atrial fibrillation, so caution is advised for those prone to this condition.
4. Yang deficiency with cold accumulation causing cough and wheezing, used as a key herb. Gong Zhixian’s self-formulated Fushen Quanshui Decoction includes 30 grams of Fuzi, 6 grams of Xixin, 12 grams of Ganjiang, 12 grams of Guizhi, 12 grams of Banxia, and 9 grams of Zhi Gan Cao. This formula utilizes Fuzi to warm yang and transform fluids, while Xixin disperses cold and eliminates fluids, yielding good therapeutic effects.
5. Used to treat kidney yang deficiency, cold accumulation in the womb causing dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and infertility. For example, Zhu Jiuzhi used it to treat uterine cold accumulation infertility, achieving the effect of warming yang and dispersing cold.
6. Fuzi combined with Huojiao (Sichuan Pepper)
Both Fuzi and Huojiao are spicy and warming, with the ability to warm internally and disperse cold. Fuzi enters the kidney meridian to warm yang qi, assisting the spleen, while Huojiao effectively disperses cold evil from the middle jiao, warming the middle and alleviating pain. When used together, they treat both spleen and kidney, complementing each other to strongly promote yang, disperse cold, and alleviate pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Cold pain in the stomach and abdomen due to middle jiao deficiency, with vomiting of clear fluids.
2. Sudden stomach pain caused by cold evil.
7. Fuzi combined with Banxia (Pinellia)
Fuzi is very spicy and warming, tonifying the life fire, reviving yang, warming the middle, dispersing cold, eliminating yin, dispelling wind, overcoming dampness, warming the meridians, alleviating pain, and unblocking the twelve meridians. Banxia is spicy and warm, resolving phlegm, eliminating fluids, dispelling fullness, and stopping vomiting. The combination of these two herbs disperses stagnation in the viscera, meridians, and both internal and external pathways, allowing yin and cold to disperse, warming the spleen and kidneys, transforming dampness, and eliminating phlegm, thus resolving symptoms of yang deficiency, phlegm obstruction, and nausea.
Mainly used for: Cold body, fear of cold, phlegm accumulation, deep pulse, or weak and powerless pulse. Wu Peiheng often used Sijunzi Decoction combined with Erchen Decoction, adding Mahuang and Xixin to treat all types of lung phlegm and yin conditions, such as new and old coughs, asthma, and cough with clear, thin phlegm, especially when exterior symptoms are prominent, using Xiao Qinglong Decoction with Fuzi, all employing Fuzi combined with Banxia.
Note: “The Eighteen Contradictions of Materia Medica” clearly states that Banxia contradicts Wutou, and since Chuanwu and Fuzi come from the same plant, it should also be noted that Banxia contradicts Fuzi. Qing Dynasty’s Zhang Lu in “Bencao Fengyuan” stated this, and modern famous physician Zhang Xichun also mentioned that “Fuzi, Wutou, and Tianxiong all contradict Banxia.” Modern customary usage and current textbooks mostly consider Banxia and Fuzi to be incompatible and not to be used together. However, historical records show that Fuzi and Banxia have been used together, such as in “Jinkui” Fuzi and Jingmi Decoction, “Bianque Xinshi” Fuzi Banxia Guangpi Ginger Decoction, “Chuan Yan Shiyong Fang” Taiyi Dan, “Qianjin Fang” Banxia Decoction, Fuzi Wujisan, and “Zhengzhi Zhunsheng” Xiao Banxia Decoction. According to statistics by Chen Fuxin, in “Pujifang” and “National Chinese Medicine Prescription Collection,” there are a total of 411 prescriptions containing the eighteen contradictions, with Fuzi and Banxia being the most common, reaching 163 prescriptions, indicating the widespread application of this combination.
Fuzi contradicts Banxia, ultimately summarizing the lessons of predecessors, indicating that toxicity may refer to raw or fresh products with excessive toxicity; or improper processing leading to residual toxicity; or excessive dosage increasing toxicity; or decocting with cold water for too short a time; or drinking alcohol or bathing after taking the medicine; or high environmental temperatures increasing poisoning factors; or individual differences leading to adverse reactions to both herbs, etc. However, practice has proven that as long as precautions are taken, it can be used without taboo.
8. Fuzi combined with Lu Rong (Deer Antler Velvet)
Fuzi warms yang, disperses cold, and alleviates pain, having yang without yin, moving without restraint, with the power to revive yang and rescue from reversal. Lu Rong strengthens kidney yang, expels cold, and benefits essence and blood, holding steady while not moving, able to secure essence and consolidate yin. The combination of these two herbs complements each other, warming the life fire and filling the essence, strengthening yang, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Cold intolerance, cold limbs, lower back and knee pain, impotence, nocturnal emissions, chronic diarrhea, and chronic dysentery. Bai Qingzu’s experience in treating this condition often involves grinding 3 grams of Lu Rong into powder and decocting 15 grams of Fuzi to take with water.
2. Wind-cold-damp obstruction.
9. Fuzi combined with Aiye (Mugwort)
Fuzi combined with Aiye warms the meridians and warms the womb.
Mainly used for: Deficiency cold in Chong and Ren meridians, amenorrhea, abdominal pain, etc.
10. Fuzi combined with Hulukou (Fenugreek)
Fuzi combined with Hulukou, both herbs can warm yang, disperse cold, and alleviate pain, and their combination enhances efficacy.
Mainly used for: Cold pain in the lower abdomen and lower limbs due to yang deficiency and internal cold dampness.
11. Fuzi combined with Mahuang (Ephedra)
Fuzi is very spicy and warming, strongly tonifying the original yang. Mahuang is spicy and warm, inducing sweating and releasing the exterior. The combination of these two herbs, one attacking and one supplementing, assists yang and releases the exterior, used for those with a constitution of yang deficiency who are re-exposed to wind-cold, preventing the weakness of yang from allowing evil to escape or the fear of sweating further harming yang. This allows for a combination of supplementation and dispersal, with sweating that does not harm the upright qi; supplementation that does not obstruct evil.
Fuzi has the power to warm the kidneys and strengthen yang, transforming qi and promoting water metabolism, while Mahuang has the ability to disperse lung qi, relieve wheezing, and promote water metabolism. When combined, they exhibit excellent effects in warming yang and promoting water metabolism.
Representative formulas: Mahuang Fuzi Gancao Decoction, Mahuang Fuzi Xixin Decoction.
Mainly used for:
1. Externally contracted diseases, such as bronchitis, asthma, yang deficiency with external contraction, and cold-type cough.
2. Meridians and joints diseases, such as wind-damp obstruction, facial nerve paralysis, and hemiplegia. Wang Dajing’s experience indicates that the combination of these two herbs can enhance the warming, yang-dispersing, and pain-relieving effects, making them effective for treating cold-damp obstruction pain.
3. Cardiovascular diseases, such as pathological sinoatrial node syndrome. The application is broad, but rarely used for edema. Recent pharmacological studies have found that the combination of Mahuang, Xixin, and Fuzi can enhance the anti-allergic response of Mahuang.
4. Cough and wheezing due to kidney and heart yang deficiency. For virtual wheezing, Mahuang is not contraindicated; in cases of pulmonary heart disease with phlegm and cough, edema can be treated with San’ao Decoction, Yuepi Decoction, and Xiao Qinglong Decoction combined with Zhenwu Decoction, yielding good results. Yan Dexin treats asthma with a preference for cold dominance, often using these two herbs. Dong Jianhua also skillfully combines these two herbs to assist yang and relieve wheezing, particularly for kidney and heart yang deficiency, phlegm cough, or concurrent external wind-cold, achieving effects of warming yang, transforming fluids, and relieving lung qi.
5. Mahuang disperses cold stagnation to increase heart rate for symptomatic treatment, while Fuzi warms heart and kidney yang qi for fundamental treatment, commonly used for treating insufficient heart and kidney yang qi with slow pulse. Fuzi can enhance sinoatrial node function and improve atrioventricular conduction block. Fan Changhua treated complete atrioventricular block by gradually increasing the dosage of Mahuang to 60-120 grams, Fuzi to 15-30 grams, and adding Xixin at 4-15 grams. Fan’s experience dosage can serve as a reference. However, some believe that increasing Mahuang and Xixin is akin to pulling seedlings to grow taller.
6. Chen Yaotang used these two herbs to treat post-stroke hemiplegia due to liver yang deficiency, with yang deficiency causing wind.
7. Kidney inflammation and kidney disease with yang deficiency and exterior cold causing edema and cough.
12. Fuzi combined with Ren Shen (Ginseng)
Fuzi is good at warming yang and dispersing cold, with the ability to revive yang and rescue from reversal. Ren Shen is good at tonifying the five organs’ original qi, with the ability to benefit qi and rescue from collapse. The combination of these two herbs complements and coordinates, assisting heart yang from above, tonifying kidney yang from below, and benefiting spleen yang in the middle, replenishing original qi, reviving yang, and securing collapse. Fuzi with Ren Shen allows for the revival of yang without the dryness and heat that harms yin, while Ren Shen with Fuzi allows for the replenishment of qi while also warming the interior.
Wu Qian stated: “The combination of these two herbs, when used appropriately, can instantly transform qi in the realm of nothingness, instantly generate yang within the life gate, making it the most miraculous and swift method.” In “Shanghan Yunyao”: “Fuzi is a key herb for yin conditions; for all cold damage transforming into three yin and middle cold with yin mixed, even with great heat in the body, if the pulse is deep, it must be used. If there is cold limbs and abdominal pain, with a deep and thin pulse, or cyanosis of the lips and retraction of the scrotum, it must be urgently used, as it has the power to retreat yin and revive yang, bringing the dead back to life… Moreover, with mixed yin cold, both internally and externally being yin, yang qi suddenly declines, it is necessary to urgently use Ren Shen to strengthen the pulse and benefit the original, assisted by Fuzi to warm the meridians, disperse cold, and without this, what else can save it?” “Ren Shen returns original qi from the realm of nothingness, which is the royal way; black Fuzi returns yang, which is a powerful and glorious function.” Ke Xuefan stated: “The combination of Fuzi, which revives yang and rescues from reversal, with Ren Shen, which greatly tonifies original qi, is a combination of warming and tonifying, as well as a mutual promotion of yang and qi, having a synergistic effect. Using Fuzi alone to warm yang may restore yang qi temporarily, but it is difficult to maintain. The “Shanghan Lun” warns that ‘if the pulse is violent, one dies.’ If only Ren Shen is used, although original qi can be restored, original yang is not stimulated, and the cold evil cannot be dispelled, posing a risk of reversal again. Only the combination of Fuzi and Ren Shen can effectively save critically ill patients on the verge of death. Furthermore, Fuzi is spicy and hot, while Ren Shen is sweet and neutral; the combination can create a balancing effect.
Mainly used for:
1. Severe illness, prolonged illness, and blood loss leading to significant depletion of original qi, yang qi collapse with profuse sweating, cold limbs, weak breath, and a pulse that is deep and weak or floating and large without root.
2. Cold and dampness causing pain in joints and chest and abdominal pain.
3. The combination of Fuzi and Ren Shen is used in Shenfu Decoction, and the injection made from this formula is widely used in clinical settings for heart failure, myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, and hemorrhagic shock, being convenient and highly effective.
4. Zhu Weijun often uses it, believing it to be the supreme method for treating collapse during the onset of Shaoyin disease.
5. When using Fuzi and Ren Shen for supporting yang and reviving the pulse, Fuzi should be used raw; when used to warm the meridians, disperse cold, and alleviate pain, Fuzi should be processed.
However, due to the rarity and high price of Ren Shen, modern experience suggests substituting with Huangjing, Gan Cao, or Dangshen, each at one tael, which can achieve similar effects.
13. Fuzi combined with Huangqi (Astragalus)
Fuzi enters the heart and kidney, warming and supplementing yang, both warming kidney yang and spleen yang. Huangqi enters the lung and spleen, strengthening the spleen, promoting water metabolism, and benefiting qi to secure the exterior. The combination of these two herbs nourishes both heart and lung, treats both spleen and kidney, replenishes fire to generate earth, and has the functions of warming yang, promoting water metabolism, benefiting qi, and securing the exterior to stop sweating.
As stated in “Bencao Fengyuan”: “Huangqi can replenish the five organs’ deficiencies, treat pulse tension and spontaneous sweating, drain yin fire, eliminate lung heat, and if there is no sweating, it will develop; if there is sweating, it will stop, entering the lung to secure exterior deficiency sweating, and entering the spleen to support ulceration… When combined with Guizhi and Fuzi, it treats exterior deficiency and yang collapse with unceasing sweating, being the total commander of opening and closing the pores.”
Mainly used for:
1. Qi deficiency and weak yang, with unceasing spontaneous sweating, fatigue in the limbs, etc.
2. Edema, difficulty in urination, cold limbs, and fear of cold.
14. Fuzi combined with Fuling (Poria)
Fuzi is spicy, sweet, and very warm, supplementing fire and assisting yang, warming the kidneys, dispelling cold, and alleviating pain; Fuling is sweet and bland, neutral, strengthening the spleen, promoting water metabolism, and eliminating dampness. The combination of these two herbs warms the kidneys, strengthens the spleen, promotes water metabolism, warms yang, dispels cold, and alleviates dampness and pain. Fuling benefits Fuzi by supplementing fire to generate earth, allowing water to return; Fuzi benefits Fuling by stimulating kidney yang to promote water retention.
Mainly used for:
1. Spleen and kidney yang deficiency with water retention, edema in the limbs, difficulty in urination, aversion to cold, and a deep pulse.
2. Yang deficiency with cold dampness invading, causing qi and blood stagnation leading to joint pain, aversion to cold, and a weak and deep pulse.
15. Fuzi combined with Baizhu (Atractylodes)
Fuzi warms the kidneys, warms the spleen, dispels cold, and eliminates dampness, supplementing fire to generate earth. Baizhu benefits spleen qi, warms and moves spleen earth, dries dampness, and promotes water metabolism. The combination of these two herbs has the functions of warming yang, dispersing cold, strengthening the spleen, eliminating dampness, promoting water metabolism, and unblocking the meridians, also treating both spleen and kidney.
Zhang Yuansu stated: “Fuzi paired with Baizhu is a holy medicine for eliminating cold dampness, with the dampness being less added to guide the meridians.”
Mainly used for: Edema, difficulty in urination, diarrhea, dizziness, blood in stool, and wind-damp joint pain due to spleen and kidney yang deficiency. (Note: When using Baizhu and Fuzi together, if used for dispelling obstruction, the dosage of Fuzi should be larger; if used for warming yang and promoting water metabolism, the dosage of Baizhu should be larger.)
16. Fuzi combined with Gancao (Licorice)
Fuzi is spicy, sweet, and very warm, capable of reviving yang and rescuing from reversal, with a strong and intense nature that moves without restraint, capable of penetrating through the twelve meridians and driving away cold dampness. Gancao is sweet and neutral, with a sweet and calming nature, which can moderate the intense herbs when combined; it has the function of benefiting the middle and enhancing qi, and when combined with warming herbs, it can enhance the warming and tonifying effects; it also has detoxifying properties, which can reduce the toxicity of Fuzi. The combination of these two herbs takes advantage of their strengths and compensates for their weaknesses, and Gancao has the function of supplementing earth to restrain fire. Experimental evidence shows that boiling Gancao with cooked Fuzi greatly reduces the latter’s toxicity.
As stated in “Jingyue Quanshu” and “Bencao Zheng”: “Fuzi’s nature is urgent, and it becomes mild with Gancao; Fuzi’s nature is toxic, and it becomes resolved with Gancao; Fuzi’s nature is moving, and it benefits the heart and spleen with Gancao; Fuzi’s nature is dispersing, and it regulates the nutritive and defensive qi with Gancao.” In “Tangye Bencao”: “Fuzi is used in the middle with Gancao, fearing it will be too hasty; when used to regulate the stomach and promote qi, Gancao is used, fearing it will descend too quickly; the use of these two herbs is not for harmonization, but for moderation.”
Mainly used for:
1. Wind-damp obstruction, joint pain, and difficulty in flexion and extension.
2. Cold extremities, fatigue, and desire to sleep.
17. Fuzi combined with Danggui (Angelica Sinensis)
Fuzi warms yang, disperses cold, alleviates pain, being a pure yang herb without yin. Danggui nourishes blood, invigorates blood circulation, regulates menstruation, and alleviates pain. The combination of these two herbs disperses cold and nourishes blood, warming the meridians and regulating menstruation, balancing yin and yang, and achieving the effects of nourishing blood while promoting warmth, warming the meridians while nourishing blood, alleviating cold while relieving pain, warming without drying, nourishing while allowing for unblocking, achieving the effects of warming yang, dispersing cold, nourishing blood, harmonizing the nutritive and defensive qi, and alleviating pain.
As stated in “Tangye Bencao”: “Danggui enters the hand Shaoyin, as its heart governs blood; it enters the foot Taiyang, as its spleen contains blood; it enters the foot Jueyin, as its liver stores blood. When combined with Guizhi, Fuzi, and Zhuyou, it becomes hot; when combined with Dahuang and Mangxiao, it becomes cold.”
Mainly used for:
1. Blood deficiency leading to irregular menstruation, delayed menstruation, and blood conditions, especially those of a cold nature.
2. Chest obstruction and heart pain.
18. Fuzi combined with Shengdi (Rehmannia)
Fuzi warms and unblocks heart yang, while Shengdi is moistening and nourishing. The combination of these two herbs warms yang while nourishing yin, balancing the two, and achieving harmony.
Mainly used for:
1. Treating heart diseases. Chen Susheng’s experience indicates that Shengdi strengthens the heart while also clearing heat and nourishing yin, and with Fuzi’s unblocking properties, it benefits the recovery of cardiac conduction function and the elimination of myocarditis. The combination of these two herbs balances the intense and mild properties, reducing Fuzi’s dryness and enhancing the synergistic effects of Fuzi, which is considered a poison for the heart, while also being a holy medicine for the heart. Fuzi warms yang and strengthens the heart, while Shengdi nourishes yin and strengthens the heart, containing trace elements beneficial for heart function, promoting tissue renewal and restoring normal hormonal functions. Therefore, the combination of these two herbs is very suitable for various heart diseases, including rheumatic heart disease, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, and atrioventricular conduction block, all of which are characterized by deficiency of both heart yin and yang or insufficient heart yang.
2. Rheumatoid arthritis is also suitable for this combination. Jiang Chunhua believes that Shengdi, as stated in the “Bencao,” has the function of “dispelling and eliminating obstruction.” Therefore, for stubborn obstruction, large doses of Shengdi are often used, up to 150 grams, added to warming and unblocking formulas to clear obstruction, support the upright qi, and dispel evil, achieving better results than using hormones and anti-rheumatic drugs.
3. Chronic convulsions characterized by deficiency of both yin and yang are also suitable for this combination. Cheng Menxue skillfully uses Fuzi and Shengdi Decoction to treat this condition, achieving good results.
19. Fuzi combined with Shudi (Rehmannia Preparata)
Fuzi warms the kidneys and assists yang, while Shudi is nourishing and moistening. Fuzi is intense and warming, while Shudi is soft and moistening. The combination of these two herbs warms yang while nourishing yin, balancing the two, and achieving harmony.
Mainly used for:
1. Diseases characterized by deficiency of both yin and yang. Zhu Weijun often uses Fuzi and Shudi, combined with Baji Tian and Yin Yang Huo, achieving good results.
2. Yin abscesses, as Zhu states: “Yin abscesses are due to the body’s upright qi being unable to resist external bacteria. The treatment must increase the body’s strength to turn from yin to yang, which is the correct approach. Therefore, Zhu often uses Yanghe Decoction as the main treatment, adding Fuzi.”
20. Fuzi combined with Baishao (White Peony)
Fuzi warms yang, disperses cold, unblocks the meridians, and revives yang. Baishao nourishes blood, astringes yin, alleviates pain, and harmonizes the liver. Fuzi promotes the true yang of the kidneys, driving qi and blood in the viscera, assisting Baishao in nourishing yin blood. Baishao astringes and collects yin, while also moderating Fuzi’s intense nature, allowing for warming yang, dispersing cold without harming yin, and nourishing blood while allowing for unblocking. The combination of these two herbs achieves the effects of warming yang, dispersing cold, nourishing blood, harmonizing the nutritive and defensive qi, and alleviating pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Yang deficiency with abdominal pain and cramping, especially effective for those with weak blood.
2. Yang deficiency with cold in the liver causing pain in the hypochondrium and lower abdomen, dysmenorrhea, etc. He Zihua uses Fuzi to revive yang and disperse cold, while Baishao harmonizes and alleviates pain, treating cold accumulation in the womb causing dysmenorrhea, warming yang and dispersing cold without harming yin or moving blood.
21. Fuzi combined with Yiyiren (Job’s Tears)
Fuzi warms the middle, unblocks yang, disperses cold, and alleviates pain; Yiyiren clears heat from the lung, promotes urination, and relaxes the muscles, unblocking the joints. The combination of Fuzi and Yiyiren warms yang, transforms dampness, dispels obstruction, and alleviates pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Cold damp obstruction causing severe joint pain and calf muscle cramps.
2. Modern applications of Yiyiren and Fuzi in Baijiao San have shown good effects in treating chronic appendicitis, appendiceal abscess, and appendiceal masses.
22. Fuzi combined with Cangzhu (Atractylodes)
Fuzi is spicy, sweet, and very warm, supplementing fire and assisting yang, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain. Cangzhu is spicy, bitter, and dry, capable of dispelling wind-dampness. The combination of these two herbs disperses cold and eliminates dampness.
Mainly used for: Acute and chronic arthritis and gout.
23. Fuzi combined with Hugu (Tiger Bone)
Fuzi warms yang, disperses cold, and alleviates pain; Hugu is spicy, warming, and tonifying, strengthening bones and muscles, dispersing cold, unblocking the meridians, and alleviating pain. The combination has strong effects on strengthening bones and muscles, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain.
Mainly used for: Joint and muscle pain due to wind-damp obstruction.
(Note: Tiger bone is currently a prohibited substance, and this reference is for informational purposes only.)
24. Fuzi combined with Danshen (Salvia)
Fuzi is a key herb for strengthening the heart, while Danshen enters the heart and breaks up stasis. The combination of these two herbs can directly reach the heart, warming yang and invigorating blood.
Mainly used for: Chest obstruction, palpitations, and irregular pulse.
25. Fuzi combined with Suanzaoren (Sour Jujube Seed)
Fuzi warms and unblocks heart yang, stimulating and strengthening the heart. Suanzaoren nourishes yin blood, benefiting the heart and calming the spirit. The combination of these two herbs is spicy and sour, warming yang while nourishing yin, achieving a balance of stimulation and calming, and promoting the effects of warming heart yang, nourishing heart yin, and calming the spirit.
Mainly used for:
1. Zhu Weijun’s experience indicates that this combination has a stronger heart-strengthening effect than Western medicine’s Rehmannia, which is highly regarded by Western medicine, but its effects are not long-lasting, and it may have side effects for some patients. In contrast, Fuzi and Suanzaoren’s heart-strengthening effects do not have these drawbacks. Often, in differential diagnosis, these two herbs are added, with Fuzi at 18 grams and Suanzaoren at 30 grams, achieving good warming and nourishing heart effects.
2. Chen Susheng’s experience indicates that this combination can regulate the autonomic nervous system’s dysfunction in the cardiovascular system, effectively treating tachycardia and premature beats. From a TCM perspective, it is suitable for those with both heart yin and yang deficiency, where yang deficiency fails to warm the heart and spirit, and insufficient heart blood fails to nourish, leading to anxiety, insomnia, palpitations, and irregular pulse.
3. Pharmacological studies suggest that both herbs may lead to arrhythmias or cardiac arrest. Although they are often used together in clinical practice, careful observation is still necessary.
26. Fuzi combined with Shizhi (Magnetite)
Fuzi has a strong and dry nature, moving without restraint, capable of assisting heart yang to unblock the meridians, warming spleen yang to promote movement, and tonifying kidney yang to benefit fire, reviving yang and rescuing from reversal, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain, making it a key herb for warming and supporting yang. Shizhi is cold and heavy, serving as a tranquilizer, benefiting the kidneys, retaining qi, and subduing yang. The combination of these two herbs, one promoting excitement and strength, the other promoting calmness and inhibition, harmonizes movement and stillness, allowing for warming yang without losing its upward and floating nature, while calming without losing its downward and suppressive nature, achieving the effects of warming yang and calming the spirit.
This combination is well-utilized by Zhu Weijun, who refers to it as the warming and subduing method, stating: “Fuzi promotes excitement, while Shizhi calms; combining excitement with calmness leads to strength.” “For those with qi deficiency and excessive excitement, it is advisable to use warming and subduing herbs.” “For those with neurasthenia, who are easily fatigued and excited, this combination is effective.”
Mainly used for:
1. Treating heart and kidney yang deficiency, with floating yang causing disturbance to the spirit, leading to palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, tinnitus, dizziness, cough, hemoptysis, and oral ulcers, achieving good warming and nourishing effects. Chen Susheng skillfully uses this combination to treat palpitations and insomnia with remarkable efficacy, but it should not be used in cases of atrioventricular block.
2. Xu Zhongcai’s experience indicates that for patients with hypertension and a fine pulse, especially in the second and third stages, often presenting with excess above and deficiency below, the combination of Fuzi with Shizhi, Shijue Ming, and Erzhi Wan, or Huangqin and Dilong, can warm the lower jiao, guiding fire back to the source, calming the liver, and achieving good results.
3. Cheng Menxue prefers to use Fuzi with Muli, Shijue Ming, Dihua, Baiwei, and other herbs, achieving a calming and regulating effect. Hu Guojun also uses Fuzi with Muli to treat heart and kidney disharmony.
4. Zhu Weijun treats patients with cold and deficiency, with floating yang and external evil, using this combination with Guizhi, Baishao, and Xingren, adding Fuzi, Shizhi, and Shijue Ming.
27. Fuzi combined with Lingyangjiao (Antelope Horn)
Fuzi revives yang and rescues from reversal, disperses cold, and alleviates pain. Lingyangjiao clears heat, disperses blood, detoxifies, and calms the liver. The combination of these two herbs, one promoting movement and the other promoting stillness, achieves two major effects: 1. Harmonizing yin and yang, with liver excess above and kidney deficiency below, leading to disharmony between liver and kidney. The use of Lingyangjiao calms the liver, allowing it to descend, while Fuzi stimulates kidney yang, allowing it to rise, achieving harmony between the two. 2. Supporting yang while nourishing yin, as “without yin, yang cannot grow; without yang, yin cannot be born.” While nourishing yin and promoting water, it can also support yang to promote the evaporation of kidney water, thus ancient practitioners often used Fuzi in combination with nourishing kidney herbs. Furthermore, Lingyangjiao can restrain the rigidity of liver wood, while Fuzi can secure the yang within the kidney, achieving the dual purpose of supporting yang and nourishing yin.
Mainly used for:
1. Zhu Weijun’s experience indicates that Lingyangjiao treats the brain, while Fuzi strengthens the heart, making it most suitable for those with physical weakness and brain symptoms. It is particularly effective for stubborn headaches caused by cold and dampness, with symptoms of aversion to cold and a desire to be wrapped up.
2. Yang deficiency type hypertension, with dizziness, headache, and cold limbs, is treated with this combination. For stroke with concurrent symptoms, Cheng Menxue skillfully combines these two herbs with Ren Shen, Zhuye, Jiangzhi, Zhiban, and other herbs, achieving good results.
28. Fuzi combined with Shijue Ming (Stone Calamus)
Both herbs warm yang and disperse cold while also promoting blood circulation and detoxifying. The combination enhances the effects of warming and unblocking, while also promoting detoxification.
Wang Dajing’s experience indicates that Shijue Ming clears heat and detoxifies, having a certain effect on reducing blood sedimentation. For rheumatoid arthritis with a cold type and fast blood sedimentation, or for liver dysfunction with elevated transaminases, the combination of these two herbs, with their mutual warming and cooling properties, yields better results.
29. Fuzi combined with Daizheshi (Hematite)
Zhang Xichun stated that Daizheshi “can generate blood and cool blood, with a heavy and sinking quality,” being bitter and slightly cold, primarily entering the lung meridian. When combined with the spicy and warming Fuzi, which moves without restraint, the combination of one cold and one hot, one still and one moving, achieves the effects of harmonizing yin and yang, securing the Chong and Ren meridians.
Mainly used for:
1. Menorrhagia, as Hu Qiaowu believes that for those with a cold constitution or yin disease, and for those with heat in the blood, if using hemostatic agents is ineffective, one can try using Daizheshi combined with Fuzi.
2. Modern practitioners have reported using this combination with Gan Song, Lilu, Lingxiaohua, and Shichangpu to treat epilepsy.
30. Fuzi combined with Shengshigao (Gypsum)
Fuzi warms and unblocks heart yang, reviving yang and rescuing from reversal. Shengshigao clears lung heat and relieves wheezing, clearing the yangming qi and expelling evil heat, generating fluids and relieving irritability. The combination of these two herbs, with their spicy and cold properties, works together to warm and clear, supplement and drain, achieving a balance of warming without harming yang and clearing without harming yin, allowing for mutual transformation of yin and yang.
Mainly used for:
1. Jiang Chunhua’s experience indicates that Shengshigao has side effects of weakening heart function, and when combined with Fuzi, they can mutually control and assist each other, warming yang and clearing heat. In cases of warm diseases with excessive heat in the qi level, leading to heart yang deficiency, heart function insufficiency, and resulting in collapse, this combination is a key herb. For pneumonia with lung heat and concurrent heart failure, one can use Mahuang, Xingren, Shengshigao, and Fuzi, and in severe cases, add Ren Shen and Longmu for warming yang and rescuing from collapse, clearing and expelling lung heat.
2. Modern practitioners have used Fuzi and Shengshigao to treat high fever, believing that the two herbs together can clear inflammation and reduce heat, with Fuzi’s warmth reducing the coldness of Shengshigao, while not eliminating its ability to stop secretion; the coldness of Shengshigao does not eliminate Fuzi’s warming effects, allowing for a balance of both.
3. Xu Xiaopu has treated children with summer heat syndrome (also known as summer heat) using Fuzi and Shengshigao. The main symptoms include fever, dry and hot forehead, irritability, excessive thirst, but with cold feet, frequent urination, and clear urine. Xu believes this is due to deficiency of original yang below and excessive heat above, thus creating a treatment plan to clear above and warm below. The upper clearing uses Huanglian, while the lower warming uses Fuzi, combined with Shizhi, Longmu, Fupenzi, Tianshu, and other herbs, sometimes adding Shengshigao to clear heat.
4. For conditions of excess heat above and cold below, with irritability and fever, cold limbs, abdominal pain, and symptoms of both yangming and jueyin channels, as well as severe diabetes, one can use Fuzi and Shengshigao together. For example, in the Qing Dynasty, Shu Chiyuan treated a student with dysentery, whose symptoms included fever above and cold below, believing that the heat was above and cold was below, with irritability and heat in the heart, using Shengshigao; for bitter mouth and dry throat, Huangqin was used; for poor appetite, Huangqi, Baizhu, Banxia, and Sharen were used; for heavy sweating, Fuzi, Paojiang, and Pojiao were used; for abdominal pain, Fuzi and Wuzhuyu were used, resulting in significant improvement.
31. Fuzi combined with Zhimu (Anemarrhena)
Fuzi warms heart and kidney yang qi, warming the meridians and alleviating pain. Zhimu clears heat, drains fire, nourishes yin, and moistens dryness. The combination of these two herbs warms yang while also nourishing and moistening, achieving a balance of both.
Mainly used for:
1. Patients with cold damage and insufficient fluids benefit from this combination, as both herbs warm yang and generate fluids.
2. Yang damage and yin damage, with symptoms of both yin and yang deficiency, such as irritability, dry mouth, thirst, and insomnia, can also be treated with this combination.
3. For rheumatoid arthritis with low fever, this combination can be used regardless of whether it is excess heat or deficiency heat, as Wang Dajing believes that Zhimu nourishes yin and clears heat, while Fuzi can dispel evil heat.
4. It can also be used to treat febrile diseases with thirst and a desire to drink, but with insufficient heart yang.
32. Fuzi combined with Dahuang (Rhubarb)
Fuzi warms heart yang, unblocks the meridians, warms spleen yang to assist in movement, and warms kidney yang to benefit fire, warming the meridians, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain. Dahuang purges the intestines and drains dampness, clearing heat and detoxifying, dispelling blood heat and stagnation. The combination of these two herbs, with their cold and warm properties, works together to warm and clear, supplement and drain, achieving a balance of warming without harming yang and clearing without harming yin, allowing for mutual transformation of yin and yang, promoting the expulsion of evil and the renewal of the body.
Mainly used for:
1. Kidney yang deficiency with insufficient warmth to transform qi and promote water metabolism, leading to stagnation or overflow, can be treated with this combination. For chronic nephritis and uremia with yang qi deficiency, this combination is beneficial for alleviating symptoms. Fuzi and Dahuang, with their cold and warm properties, can be used together to warm yang and clear dampness.
2. Yang deficiency with cold dampness causing pain, blood stagnation, and dampness obstruction can be treated with this combination, especially for rheumatoid arthritis with gastrointestinal heat accumulation and constipation.
3. Yang deficiency with heat accumulation, leading to hematemesis, epistaxis, oral ulcers, dizziness, and headache, can also be treated with this combination. Fuzi and Dahuang are often used together in the form of Fuzi Dahuang Decoction, utilizing their spicy and bitter properties to clear heat and dispel stagnation, warming yang and reducing fire.
4. For cold hernia, testicular swelling and pain, and hydrocele, this combination has shown good efficacy. In “Zhiyuan Yihua”: “In TCM, the herbs used to treat hernias are often Chuanlianzi, Xiaohuixiang, Qingmuxiang, Juhua, and so on. For mild cases, hernias can be effectively treated. In severe cases, Fuzi is used, which is highly effective. However, based on my experience, the most effective formula is the combination of Fuzi and Dahuang. This method involves using both cold and hot herbs simultaneously, and although there are ancient formulas, it is still surprising. However, I have accumulated decades of clinical experience, and using Fuzi and Dahuang together has shown remarkable effects.
5. Lü Zhong’s experience indicates that for cold accumulation and qi stagnation, leading to local pain in the organs and meridians, this combination is effective, especially when combined with Danshen for enhanced results. For painful sores, red and swollen areas, stomach pain, recurrent oral ulcers, urinary burning pain, breast swelling, and shingles, this combination has shown good analgesic effects.
6. For dysentery and diarrhea: In modern times, Zhu Weijun has used Fuzi’s warming properties combined with Dahuang’s purging properties to treat amoebic dysentery, achieving remarkable results. He often states that while Shaoyao Decoction is the most effective, it must be used in conjunction with Fuzi and cooked Dahuang for optimal efficacy. The common prescription includes Huangfu Pian (first decocted), Danggui, Shaoyao, and Jiegeng, each at 12 grams, with cooked Dahuang, Rougui, Huaping, Paoji, Chen Zhike, each at 9 grams, Huanglian at 4 grams, and Zhi Gan Cao at 6 grams. Zhang Bosui also skillfully combines these two herbs with Baishao, Xingren, Jiegeng, Danggui, Diyi, and Paojiang to treat diarrhea and abdominal pain, achieving good results.
7. Dong Jianhua treats post-stroke sequelae with hemiplegia, particularly in elderly patients with early kidney deficiency, cold limbs, and a weak pulse, often adding Fuzi to blood-activating and meridian-unblocking formulas. This approach not only warms the kidneys and assists yang but also transforms fluids, allowing phlegm and turbidity to dissipate. Additionally, adding cooked Dahuang to Fuzi enhances the effects of both herbs.
8. Zhu Weijun also skillfully uses this combination to treat stubborn urticaria, taking advantage of its warming, blood-activating, and detoxifying properties. The common prescription includes Huangfu Pian (first decocted), Huangqi, Baishao, and Haitongpi, each at 12 grams, with raw Dahuang, Huangqin, Fangfeng, and Wumei, each at 9 grams, Huanglian at 3 grams. Xu Zhongcai treats chronic urticaria with a mixed pattern of cold and heat, using Fuzi Dahuang Decoction, emphasizing the use of Fuzi to invigorate the body’s resistance to disease, incorporating warmth into cold conditions, allowing for the simultaneous action of both cold and heat.
9. Zhang Bosui treats elderly patients with coronary heart disease, where heart yang is insufficient, often using Fuzi combined with Dahuang.
10. Jia Hexian and Wang Huiwu’s experience indicates that Fuzi combined with Dahuang can treat hemoptysis, chest pain, and diarrhea. Hemoptysis due to cold obstruction, chest pain due to yin stagnation, and diarrhea due to cold accumulation can all be treated with this combination, as the warming and cooling properties work together to achieve therapeutic effects.
11. In recent years, this combination has been widely used to treat chronic colitis, chronic dysentery, recurrent oral ulcers, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, chronic cholecystitis, uremia, chronic appendicitis, chronic colitis, kidney failure, and late-stage tumors, particularly in cases of yang deficiency with cold accumulation and stagnation.
When using Fuzi and Dahuang together, it is important to note: for loose stools, use processed Dahuang; for constipation, use raw Dahuang.
33. Fuzi combined with Huanglian (Coptis)
Fuzi is spicy, warm, and intense, with the strongest ability to revive yang and rescue from reversal, being a key herb for tonifying original yang, warming the meridians, and dispersing cold. Huanglian is bitter and cold, a key herb for draining fire and detoxifying, particularly effective for clearing heart heat and treating damp-heat dysentery. The combination of these two herbs, one hot and one cold, works together to achieve a balance of warming and clearing, supplementing and draining, with the spicy properties opening and the bitter properties descending, harmonizing yin and yang. As Wang Xugao stated: “Huanglian combined with Fuzi can harmonize water and fire in an instant.”
Mainly used for:
1. Symptoms of fullness in the chest and abdomen, diarrhea, nausea, and irritability due to the combination of cold and heat, with symptoms of yang deficiency and cold limbs, weak pulse, and excessive sweating.
2. Hemoptysis, hematemesis, oral ulcers, insomnia, and cold limbs.
3. Spleen and kidney yang deficiency with damp-heat accumulation, leading to diarrhea.
4. In cases of damp-heat lingering after febrile diseases, where fever persists and dampness obstructs the middle jiao, leading to diarrhea, this combination can be used to achieve unexpected effects. Huanglian clears dampness and drains heat, while Fuzi warms yang and promotes the expulsion of heat.
5. For children with cold limbs, no sweating, excessive thirst, and frequent urination during summer heat, this combination has shown good efficacy. (Jia Hexian, Wang Huiwu, “Methods to Improve the Efficacy of TCM,” Chongqing University Press, 1986, pages 145-146)
6. For palpitations due to mixed cold and heat, this combination is also very suitable. Pharmacological studies have shown that Huanglian in small doses can stimulate the heart muscle, increasing coronary blood flow and preventing arrhythmias. The combination of these two herbs has a good effect on warming heart yang and calming palpitations. Zhang Bosui skillfully uses this combination to treat arrhythmias characterized by mixed cold and heat.
34. Fuzi combined with Chaihu (Bupleurum)
Fuzi warms and supplements heart and kidney yang qi. Chaihu soothes the liver, relieves stagnation, and promotes the flow of qi and blood. The combination of these two herbs warms yang while assisting in the smooth flow of qi, complementing each other to achieve the effects of warming yang and soothing the liver.
Mainly used for:
1. Zhu Weijun treats intermittent chills and fever with Fuzi combined with Xiao Chaihu Decoction and Chaihu Guizhi Decoction, achieving good results.
2. Liver enlargement and fullness under the ribs can be treated with this combination, often adding Danggui and Baishao, and in severe cases, adding Sanling and Ezhush to reduce liver size.
3. Zhu Weijun uses this combination with Sanzi, Danshen, Guizhi, Bai Jiezi, and Baishao to treat pleurisy and pleural effusion, achieving certain therapeutic effects.
35. Fuzi combined with Gualou (Trichosanthes)
The two herbs are opposites, with varying experiences.
1. Zhang Bosui’s experience indicates that the combination of these two herbs warms yang and opens the chest, effectively treating chest obstruction due to yang deficiency and cold accumulation, with no observed toxic side effects. Although Fuzi and Wutou belong to the same plant, they are not the same. Ancient texts only mention Wutou contradicting Gualou, but not Fuzi.
2. Zhu Weijun’s experience indicates that the Gualou and Xiebai wine decoction is very effective for chest obstruction, and in modern times, it is believed that if Fuzi and other yang-reviving herbs are added, the efficacy will be even more pronounced.
3. Huang Zengfeng’s experience indicates that Fuzi combined with Gualou and Xiebai Decoction has unique efficacy in treating gallstones, with no adverse reactions observed.
4. Shi Dianbang encountered a patient with widespread joint pain accompanied by chest discomfort, and after administering Fuzi and Gualou, the patient experienced nausea and abdominal pain, vomiting a large amount of coffee-like liquid, with a strong positive result in the stool occult blood test. This may have been caused by the disease itself, but previous records indicate that caution should be exercised.
36. Fuzi combined with Yinchenhao (Artemisia)
Fuzi assists yang and disperses cold, while Yinchenhao clears heat and promotes dampness. The combination of these two herbs complements each other, with both attacking and supplementing, allowing for the effects of promoting dampness and clearing heat to be significantly enhanced while avoiding the cold nature that harms yang.
Mainly used for: Jaundice due to cold damp obstruction.
37. Fuzi combined with Zhizi (Gardenia)
Fuzi is spicy, warm, and very hot, moving without restraint, warming yang, dispersing cold, and alleviating pain; Zhizi is bitter and cold, draining fire, relieving irritability, clearing heat, promoting dampness, and detoxifying. The combination of these two herbs, one hot and one cold, works together to achieve a balance of warming and clearing, promoting heat while not harming yang, and warming yang while not promoting heat.
Mainly used for: Chest and abdominal pain with mixed cold and heat, with a fine and rapid pulse and pale white tongue, but with a bitter mouth and clear urine, with cramping pain that is relieved by pressure, treated with the spicy and warming Fuzi combined with the bitter and cold Zhizi.
38. Fuzi combined with Qumai (Plantago)
Fuzi is spicy, warm, and very hot, entering the spleen and kidney meridians, with the function of dispelling cold and supporting yang, warming the kidneys and alleviating pain. Qumai is bitter and cold, entering the small intestine meridian, with the function of clearing heat, promoting urination, and invigorating blood circulation. The combination of these two herbs is clearly an opposite pairing, but it is also a rare combination. Fuzi combined with Qumai is seen in the “Jinkui” Gualou Qumai Pill (Fuzi, Qumai, Gualou root, Fuling, and Huaiyam). Later generations mistakenly believed this formula to be a diuretic for treating edema, or thought it to be similar to the function of Kidney Qi Pill, thus it has not been emphasized. In modern clinical practice, the combination of Fuzi and Qumai has been used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia and urinary difficulties, achieving good results. It has also been found that the root of Qumai (a member of the Dianthus family) has inhibitory effects on human bladder cancer cells, leading to renewed attention to the Gualou Qumai Pill.
39. Fuzi combined with Longdancao (Gentian)
Fuzi warms the spleen yang, assisting qi transformation, while Longdancao clears liver and gallbladder damp-heat, detoxifying. The combination of these two herbs, both spicy and warming, with bitter and cold properties, works together to open the channels, clear heat, and warm the liver, achieving the effects of warming yang, clearing heat, and detoxifying.
Mainly used for:
1. Chronic hepatitis, prolonged hepatitis, or those with spleen yang deficiency who have contracted damp-heat evil; or those who have overused bitter and cold herbs, leading to excessive clearing and harming yang. In cases of damp-heat symptoms with aversion to cold and loose stools, this combination can be used to warm yang, clear the liver, and detoxify.
2. Wang Dajing’s experience indicates that this combination is effective for treating rheumatoid arthritis with yang deficiency and concurrent liver yang hyperactivity, with good effects on reducing blood sedimentation.
40. Fuzi combined with Shijianchuan (Stone Calamus)
Both herbs warm yang and disperse cold while also promoting blood circulation and detoxifying, enhancing the effects of warming and unblocking, while also promoting detoxification.
Wang Dajing’s experience indicates that Shijianchuan clears heat and detoxifies, having a certain effect on reducing blood sedimentation. For rheumatoid arthritis with a cold type and fast blood sedimentation, or for liver dysfunction with elevated transaminases, the combination of these two herbs, with their mutual warming and cooling properties, yields better results.
41. Fuzi combined with Quanzhen (Scorpion)
Fuzi warms yang, dispels cold, and alleviates pain, while Quanzhen extinguishes wind, stops spasms, dispels wind, unblocks the meridians, and alleviates pain. The combination of these two herbs warms yang while extinguishing wind, achieving the effects of unblocking and alleviating pain.
Mainly used for:
1. Zhu Weijun often uses Fuzi combined with Quanzhen to treat convulsions.
2. Yang deficiency with cold damp obstruction causing stubborn pain and migraine is also treated with this combination.
In addition, there are:
Fuzi combined with Juhua (Orange Seed) and Chuanlianzi to treat cold hernia pain. The Jueyin meridian is responsible for the yin organs, and when Jueyin fails to disperse, combined with insufficient middle yang, qi deficiency leads to hernia pain, which should be treated by dispelling cold and promoting dispersal. Juhua and Chuanlianzi disperse, while Fuzi dispels cold, allowing yang to flourish and cold to dissipate, thus relieving hernia pain.
Fuzi combined with Lu Jiao (Deer Antler) and Xianmao (Epimedium) to strongly tonify original yang and warm the governor vessel, treating diseases of the governor vessel, back pain, and metabolic disorders.
Fuzi combined with Baiwei (Baiwei) and Yin Chaihu to treat low fever and deficiency heat, characterized by cold limbs, spontaneous sweating, and fatigue, where general antipyretic medications are ineffective.
Fuzi combined with Xiao Chaihu Decoction to treat persistent chills and fever. For those with a weak constitution who have contracted external evil, with persistent heat and no resolution, using spicy and warming herbs can easily harm yin, thus using a combination of spicy and cooling herbs to harmonize the middle and support the upright qi is the best approach.