The ancients conducted in-depth research on the compatibility and application of traditional Chinese medicine decoctions, forming soups to address common conditions with four types of herbs, which are well-documented in the history of Chinese medicine.Some of the more famous decoctions includeFour Gods Soup, Four Substances Soup, and Four Gentlemen Soup, which are widely used and have significant medicinal effects, still enjoying popularity among the public today.However, many peopleknow only the names of these three soups but are unaware of their uses. Today, we will explore the uses and differences of these three decoctions.Four Gods
【Ingredients】Fu Ling (Poria), Huai Shan (Chinese Yam), Lian Zi (Lotus Seed), Qian Shi (Euryale Seed, or Yi Yi Ren – Coix Seed)【Effects】Strengthens the spleen, clears heat, promotes urination, nourishes the skin, reduces drynessFour Gods Soup is a well-known spleen-strengthening recipe in TCM, where the “Four Gods” areFu Ling, Huai Shan, Lian Zi, and Qian Shi. These four “immortals” complement each other when combined, creating a soup that offers numerous benefits such as strengthening the spleen, nourishing the skin, and reducing dryness, achieving an almost “invincible” effect, justifying the name Four Gods.It is said that when Emperor Qianlong traveled to the south, his four loyal ministers, due to their hard work day and night, along with the travel and unfamiliar environment, fell ill one after another. Faced with this situation, even the imperial physician was at a loss.Thus, Emperor Qianlong ordered the local governor to seek a physician, and soon a monk came forward. After taking their pulses, he prescribed a decoction of “equal parts of lotus seeds, Euryale seeds, Huai Shan, and Fu Ling stewed with pig stomach,” declaring, “Four ministers, the matter is settled!”After taking this prescription, the four ministers indeed recovered immediately. Since then, whenever officials traveled south, they would use this recipe to stew food for health, and over time, it became widely known as ‘Four Ministers Soup’ among the people.When this recipe reached Taiwan, due to the misunderstanding of the origin of ‘Four Ministers Soup’, and because ‘ministers’ and ‘gods’ are pronounced the same in Taiwanese, it was mistakenly referred to as ‘Four Gods Soup’.【Ingredients】250g pig intestines, 30g Yi Yi Ren, 30g Lian Zi (or Dang Shen), 20g Qian Shi, 10g Fu Ling, 5g salt, 100g flour, 15ml rice wine【Steps】1. Rinse the pig intestines thoroughly with clean water, then use chopsticks to turn them inside out, washing the inner walls to remove excess fat, and then wash repeatedly with flour to remove the surface mucus.2. Rinse the pig intestines several times with clean water until completely clean, then blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes to remove the fishy smell, and then rinse under running cold water to remove any residue.3. Place the cleaned pig intestines back into a pot with clean water, bring to a boil, then cook for 10 minutes, turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Remove and cut into 3cm long diagonal pieces.4. Rinse the Yi Yi Ren, Lian Zi, Qian Shi, and Fu Ling with clean water and place them in a pot, add an appropriate amount of clean water (about 1000ml), bring to a boil, then add the pig intestine pieces, and continue to simmer on low heat for 30 minutes.5. Finally, add salt and rice wine to taste.【Nutritional Tips】Four Gods Soup can help regulate the immune system, strengthen the body, reduce swelling, promote urination, and enhance beauty, suitable for those with weak intestinal function, postpartum recovery, and post-surgery care.【Tips】1. The pig intestines have a strong odor, so it is essential to wash them repeatedly with flour; otherwise, the Four Gods Soup will be ruined by the smell. Beer is also a good material for cleaning pig intestines, so if possible, you can try it.2. Dried lotus seeds may have bitter cores; check before use, and if there are bitter cores, you can remove them with a fine needle.
【Ingredients】Shu Di Huang (Rehmannia), Bai Shao (White Peony), Dang Gui (Angelica), and Chuan Xiong (Szechuan Lovage)【Effects】Tonifies blood and regulates menstruation. Treats deficiency of the Chong and Ren channels. Irregular menstruation, abdominal pain, restless fetus during pregnancy, excessive bleeding, postpartum complications, abdominal masses, and intermittent chills and fever.Four Substances Soup has been used in TCM clinical practice for over a thousand years and is known as the holy formula for gynecology.Why is that? First, let’s discuss the three common issues women face:Women are prone to blood deficiency, which is commonly referred to as anemia; second, women are prone to blood stasis; and third, women often experience irregular menstruation. These three common causes of women’s health issues are often interrelated; blood deficiency can lead to blood stasis, and blood stasis can also cause blood deficiency, which in turn can lead to irregular menstruation, and irregular menstruation is also a common cause of blood deficiency and stasis.Four Substances Soup specifically addresses these physiological characteristics of women, providing excellent effects in tonifying blood, invigorating blood circulation, and regulating menstruation, making it a formidable remedy for the three common issues women face.Moreover, the formula of Four Substances Soup is very reasonable, combining Shu Di, Bai Shao (gentle blood tonics) with the warming and invigorating properties of Dang Gui and Chuan Xiong (qi tonics), achieving a balance of movement and stillness, tonifying blood without causing stagnation, invigorating blood without harming it. Some blood tonics may have strong effects but can easily lead to excessive heat if used improperly, causing false heat to arise.In contrast, Four Substances Soup is warm but not drying, nourishing but not greasy, making it very suitable for long-term use for health maintenance. It is a commonly used formula for tonifying blood, invigorating blood circulation, and regulating menstruation, hence it is referred to as the “holy formula for gynecology.”
【Ingredients】Rose petals (appropriate amount), Dang Gui 150g, Bai Shao 250g, Shu Di 100g, Chuan Xiong 50g, Hong Zao (Red Dates) 100g【Steps】1. Soak the herbs in a large pot of water for 30 minutes; add the rose petals after the decoction is ready, so they do not need to be soaked initially;2. After soaking the herbs, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat, covering the pot;3. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours, then turn to high heat to boil, add the rose petals, stir, then return to low heat, covering the pot;4. After five minutes, turn off the heat, and after ten minutes, pour the decoction into a pot, let it cool, and store in small bottles in the refrigerator.【Nutritional Tips】Four Substances Soup has the effect of tonifying blood and invigorating circulation, replenishing the yin blood consumed during menstruation. Rose petals have a mild effect of invigorating blood and resolving stasis, and they contain vitamin C. Red dates are rich in various nutrients and are known as a natural source of vitamins, which can tonify qi and strengthen the spleen.【Tips】Each time, take a small bowl and heat it for drinking, starting after menstruation ends, twice a day, morning and evening, or once a day for fourteen days.Four
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【Ingredients】【Effects】Strengthens the stomach and spleen, tonifies yang and benefits qi, used for chronic gastritis, anemia, gastrointestinal weakness, loss of appetite, vomiting, and weakness of the limbs due to spleen and stomach qi deficiency.Four Gentlemen Soup is a foundational formula for treating spleen and stomach qi deficiency, from which many subsequent formulas for tonifying the spleen and benefiting qi have been derived. Clinical applications focus on symptoms such as pale complexion, poor appetite, shortness of breath, weak pulse, and pale tongue with white coating as key diagnostic points.Four Gentlemen Soup is derived from the “Li Zhong Wan” in the Treatise on Cold Damage, removing the harsh dry ginger from the original formula and replacing it with the milder Fu Ling, transforming the formula from expelling cold to warming and tonifying the middle qi.It consists of only four ingredients: Ren Shen (Ginseng), Bai Zhu (White Atractylodes), Fu Ling (Poria), and Gan Cao (Licorice), which are neither hot nor drying, applying moderate force, embodying the ancient principle of “the gentleman achieves harmony.”【Ingredients】500g lamb, 10g Dang Shen, 10g Fu Ling, 10g Bai Zhu, 10g Gan Cao
【Steps】1. Clean the four herbs and place them in a herb bag.2. Blanch the lamb, rinse it with clean water, place it in a clay pot, add enough clean water, scallions, ginger, cooking wine, and the herb bag.3. Simmer for about 5 hours until the lamb is tender, then add salt and pepper before serving.【Nutritional Tips】Ren Shen is warm and tonifies qi, strengthens the spleen and stomach; Bai Zhu and Fu Ling strengthen the spleen and dry dampness; Gan Cao harmonizes the ingredients and tonifies qi. Although the formula consists of only four herbs, the combination is very precise, providing the effect of tonifying qi and strengthening the spleen.Four Gentlemen Soup embodies the principle of harmony, with Ren Shen, Fu Ling, Bai Zhu, and Gan Cao working together to tonify qi and strengthen the spleen, making it suitable for treating spleen and stomach qi deficiency.