Listen to TCM sharing, learn TCM knowledge, and carry on TCM traditions.This powerful formula for activating blood and resolving stasis is called Xuefu Zhuyu Tang (Blood Mansion Dispersing Stasis Decoction), created by the renowned Wang Qingren, the foremost expert in resolving stasis. I recommend everyone to delve deeper into this formula because it is incredibly effective. What makes it so useful? Let me explain one by one.
- Xuefu Zhuyu Tang can relieve pain. The location of stasis is fixed, so the pain is also fixed, like a needle pricking at that spot. For example, in cases of headache, if there is stasis in the head, it feels like wearing a golden hoop. This type of pain is localized. Wang Qingren stated: “For those suffering from headaches, if there are no exterior symptoms, no interior symptoms, no qi deficiency or phlegm retention, and the pain comes and goes unpredictably, with no effect from various treatments, one dose of this formula will cure it.” Headaches that are not due to external factors, qi deficiency, or other reasons, but simply pain that is unpredictable, like the weather, can be alleviated by Xuefu Zhuyu Tang as it resolves the stasis and stops the pain.
- Chest pain. Why is it called Xuefu Zhuyu Tang? The “blood mansion” is located in the chest. TCM believes that the chest is where blood gathers, and stasis in the chest can lead to various pains, whether it be pain in the ribs, stomach pain, back pain, or pain from injuries. As long as there is a stabbing pain, Xuefu Zhuyu Tang is effective.
- Xuefu Zhuyu Tang can stop sweating. Stasis that accumulates in the body for a long time can transform into heat. Why? The circulation of blood in the body relies on the movement of qi, known as “qi moves blood”; conversely, blood carries qi. When energy accumulates, it inevitably transforms into heat, which pushes fluids to the skin’s surface, resulting in sweating. During sweating, one may also feel a wave of heat rising from within.
- Dry heaving is not due to food poisoning or other symptoms, but Wang Qingren believes it is due to stasis in the throat.
- Persistent hiccups, commonly thought to be a stomach issue, occur when the qi of the stomach does not descend, but the pathway for descending qi is blocked by stasis.
- Palpitations. The heart is nourished by blood; if there is insufficient heart blood, the heart will feel anxious. In this case, one can take a little Gui Pi Wan (Restore the Spleen Pill). Another situation is when there is not a lack of heart blood, but stasis blocks the blood vessels, preventing new blood from reaching the heart, leading to a lack of blood supply and anxiety. In such cases, simply supplementing blood will not help, as it cannot reach where it needs to go; one must activate blood and resolve stasis.
- Insomnia with vivid dreams is also caused by stasis transforming into heat, disturbing the heart spirit, making it difficult to sleep at night. Although Xuefu Zhuyu Tang does not contain any calming herbs, it can resolve stasis and address the root cause. Some people can fall asleep but have many dreams; when asked what they dreamt about, they cannot recall, just that it was chaotic and continuous. Xuefu Zhuyu Tang can help.
- Inability to bear weight on the chest: at night, one may kick off the covers because they feel uncomfortable with weight on their chest. Chest requiring weight to sleep: some need something pressing on their chest to sleep; without it, they can only sleep face down. This may sound strange, but Wang Qingren’s Yilin Gai Cuo records two such cases. The original text states: “The governor of Jiangxi, aged seventy-four, could only sleep with his chest exposed at night; if a layer of cloth pressed on him, he could not sleep, for seven years. A twenty-two-year-old woman could only sleep if a servant sat on her chest; this lasted for two years.” It is noted that this governor, regardless of the season, had to sleep with his chest exposed to fall asleep, unable to tolerate even a thin layer of cloth. Coincidentally, both individuals consulted Wang Qingren and were prescribed the same formula, Xuefu Zhuyu Tang, and both recovered.
- Choking on water occurs because stasis is lodged in the throat, preventing water from reaching the stomach, leading to choking.
- Dry skin, sometimes itchy. The Huangdi Neijing mentions: “Dryness prevails, leading to dryness.” This reminds us of land; when it loses moisture, it becomes dry and cracked. However, sometimes dryness in the body is not solely due to a lack of fluids, meaning it is not caused by a deficiency of qi or blood, but rather by blocked pathways of qi and blood due to stasis. When Xuefu Zhuyu Tang activates blood, the skin becomes nourished and no longer itchy.
- Xuefu Zhuyu Tang can also regulate emotional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and irritability. A person who is always unhappy or becomes irritable over trivial matters is often said to have liver issues, with liver qi stagnation. If qi stagnation continues, it can lead to blood stasis. Ordinary depression and irritability are still at the qi level, causing chest tightness. However, if one frequently experiences irritability, it gradually escalates from the qi level to the blood level, leading to stasis and stabbing pain in the chest. At the qi level, one can use Xiaoyao Wan (Free and Easy Wanderer Pill), but at the blood level, Xuefu Zhuyu Tang is necessary.
- Liver cirrhosis is also closely related to anger; each time one gets angry, the liver’s qi mechanism becomes tense, leading to stagnation of qi and blood.
- Varicose veins, in TCM, are seen as a mass of stasis blocking the blood vessels, causing the veins in the calves to bulge.
- Coronary heart disease typically presents with chest tightness and pain due to stasis around the heart, leading to pain when there is obstruction.
- Many gynecological issues can also be treated with Xuefu Zhuyu Tang, such as dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, uterine fibroids, and ovarian cysts, all of which are related to qi and blood stagnation.
- Hair loss occurs when stasis blocks qi, blood, and various nutrients, preventing nourishment from reaching the scalp, leading to hair loss.
How to determine if there is stasis in the body? Individuals with stasis often have dark lips, black spots on the face, dark circles under the eyes, thick and dark sublingual veins, and unexplained bruises on the body, appearing without any impact. 
Finally, here is the formula: Sheng Di (Rehmannia Root) 9g, Chuan Xiong (Szechuan Lovage Root) 6g, Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis) 9g, Chi Shao (Red Peony Root) 6g, Tao Ren (Peach Kernel) 12g, Hong Hua (Safflower) 9g, Chai Hu (Bupleurum) 3g, Zhi Ke (Bitter Orange) 6g, Gan Cao (Licorice) 3g, Niuxi (Achyranthes Root) 9g, Jie Geng (Platycodon Root) 6g. Xuefu Zhuyu Tang is essentially based on Tao Hong Si Wu Tang (Peach Blossom Four Substance Decoction) for nourishing and activating blood, with the addition of Chai Hu, Zhi Ke, Shao Yao, and Gan Cao to regulate qi, ensuring that when qi moves, blood moves as well, and using Jie Geng and Niuxi to open pathways. There are also modern preparations of Xuefu Zhuyu capsules available.
Warm reminder: This account aims to spread TCM culture. The herbal formulas mentioned in the text are for learning and exchange purposes only.
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