【Properties and Channels】Bitter, slightly cold. Enters the Lung, Heart, and Small Intestine meridians.
【Functions and Indications】Clears heat and detoxifies, reduces swelling and disperses nodules. Used for abscesses, scrofula, mastitis, erysipelas, wind-heat colds, initial stages of warm diseases, heat entering the nutritive level, high fever with thirst, delirium with rashes, and heat strangury.
【Source】This herb is the dried fruit of the plant Lian Qiao (Forsythia suspensa) (Thunb.) Vahl, belonging to the Oleaceae family. The fruit is harvested in autumn when it is initially ripe and still green, impurities are removed, steamed, and dried, commonly referred to as “Qing Qiao”; when the fruit is fully ripe, it is harvested, dried, and impurities removed, commonly referred to as “Lao Qiao”.
Lian Qiao 
Using Lian Qiao to Treat Wind-Heat Colds
Recently, there has been an outbreak of influenza, and many people have caught it. Especially those who stay up late, do not sleep well, and eat slightly hot foods, such as fried items, tend to catch colds very quickly. This young man had a headache, fever, dry mouth, and sore throat.
Little Ziyue said, “Grandpa, isn’t this wind-heat external invasion?” The old gentleman replied, “That’s right, the pulse is floating and rapid, indicating excess heat in the upper jiao.”
Little Ziyue said, “Then should we use Yin Qiao San or Wei C Yin Qiao Pian?” The old gentleman said, “That would work, but using just Lian Qiao would be simpler.”
Little Ziyue asked, “Can Lian Qiao alone treat wind-heat colds?” The old gentleman replied, “Exactly, Lian Qiao can disperse wind-heat outward and clear heat and detoxify inward, so the exterior wind-heat can be dispersed by Lian Qiao, inducing slight sweating, and the internal heat toxins can also be expelled by Lian Qiao.”
Then the young man took one tael of Lian Qiao decocted in water, induced slight sweating, and felt better the next day. He said, “I usually take five to six days to recover from a cold, why did I get better so quickly this time?”
The old gentleman said, “Because you used the medicine quickly at the onset of the disease, treating according to the pattern. It’s easy to pull out a small weed, but once it grows, it cannot be uprooted without a hoe.”
Then Little Ziyue wrote in his notebook:
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Zhang Xichun said, “No one has verified that Lian Qiao induces sweating, but it is effective for treating external wind-heat. Using one tael will definitely induce sweating, and the sweating is gentle and prolonged. I once treated a young man with initial wind-heat, using only one tael of Lian Qiao decocted, and he sweated lightly all night, and the next morning he was as if he had recovered.” |
Essential Medicine for Treating Wind-Heat Skin Rashes
After a wave of influenza, many people have recovered, but some have no obvious cold symptoms yet develop red rashes on their skin that become streaky when scratched.
This patient has had these scratches for over ten days, and they take several days to fade. If he doesn’t scratch, the itching is unbearable, and scratching makes the skin look bad.
Little Ziyue said, “Grandpa, this pulse is also floating and rapid.” The old gentleman said, “Floating indicates the disease is on the surface; we should disperse the surface heat using Lian Qiao. Lian Qiao is the essential medicine for treating wind-heat, whether for wind-heat colds or wind-heat urticaria, it has remarkable effects.”
So he used one tael of Lian Qiao decocted in water, which also induced sweating and relieved the surface symptoms, the itching disappeared, and he stopped scratching. The streaky red rashes naturally faded away.
Little Ziyue said, “Grandpa, it’s strange that after taking one tael of Lian Qiao, not only did the skin rashes disappear, but the itching sensation is gone too.” The old gentleman said, “All itching and pain belong to the Heart; once the wind-heat in the Heart is dispersed, the body will no longer have wind-itch.”
Little Ziyue asked, “Why is Lian Qiao good at clearing wind-heat from the Heart?” The old gentleman replied, “Lian Qiao resembles the human heart, with two petals forming a flower, but it has lobes. Ancient texts record that Lian Qiao is good at draining the stagnant fire of the six meridians, but it is light and clears the qi, making it a wonderful medicine for the Heart. Therefore, Lian Qiao primarily enters the Heart, and since the Heart governs fire, when the Heart is clear, the wind, fire, and toxins of all meridians will also be cleared!”
However, those with a weak stomach and poor appetite should use Lian Qiao with caution, as it is a cooling herb. Prolonged use or heavy doses of cooling herbs can easily damage the spleen and stomach in those with insufficient middle jiao. Thus, the “Ben Cao Tong Xuan” states that prolonged use of Lian Qiao may lead to cold damage in the middle jiao.
Then Little Ziyue wrote in his notebook:
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“Yu Qiao Yi Ling” states, for treating red rashes and toxins, use Lian Qiao decocted in water.” |
Lian Qiao is the Holy Medicine for Sores
There was an elderly lady with a very impatient temperament, taking care of several grandchildren. Instead of enjoying her old age, she found herself in a situation where the grandchildren were always noisy, making it difficult for her to discipline them. Over time, this accumulated stress affected her health, leading to lumps forming in her throat.
These lumps were hard and painful, and the doctor said they were swollen lymph nodes in the neck, but despite taking many anti-inflammatory medications, they could not be resolved.
So she sought help from the bamboo fence cottage.
The old gentleman said, “Ziyue, why can’t such a powerful anti-inflammatory medicine resolve the lymph node swelling?”
Little Ziyue replied, “The pulse shows a hard knot in the left guan position; besides the inflammation fire, there is also liver qi stagnation. Anti-inflammatory medications work well for inflammatory heat, but they struggle to resolve local stagnation. Therefore, we need to not only reduce inflammation but also disperse the nodules.”
The old gentleman nodded and said, “Then which herb can both disperse the stagnation of liver qi and relieve the toxic sores?” Little Ziyue replied, “Lian Qiao is the best; it is the holy medicine for sores, specifically treating various types of heat toxin sores.”
The old gentleman asked, “Can Lian Qiao also disperse the stagnation of liver qi?” Little Ziyue replied, “Lian Qiao is light and fragrant, good at ascending and dispersing; anything that is stagnant should be dispersed. Because of its light quality, Lian Qiao can promote the circulation of qi and blood, treating blood stasis and qi stagnation in the twelve meridians.”
The old gentleman nodded and said, “Exactly, the “Ben Cao Jing Shu” states that Lian Qiao is good at dispersing the stagnant qi of the foot Shaoyang gallbladder meridian because it has a clear and fragrant qi. It is also good at clearing the heat toxins of the foot Shaoyang gallbladder meridian because it is bitter and can drain.”
Since this patient’s lump is located on the side of the neck where the gallbladder meridian passes, and she has dry mouth and tongue, it indicates that the gallbladder qi is stagnant, transforming into fire and consuming the fluids, leading to liver qi stagnation and the formation of lumps. Therefore, using Lian Qiao can disperse the qi stagnation and clear the heat toxins.
This elderly lady also took Lian Qiao alone, and after five days of continuous use, not only did the lump in her neck disappear, but her previously irritable temperament also calmed down significantly. She felt as if she had been washed by a spring rain, becoming much gentler and less prone to anger.
Then Little Ziyue wrote in his notebook:
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“Ben Cao Jing Shu” states that for abscesses and sores, it is due to the obstruction of nutritive and defensive qi, and Lian Qiao clears the heat to remove the stasis, dispersing the stagnation, thus harmonizing the nutritive and defensive qi, leading to the resolution of sores and swellings!”
Li Dongyuan said, “Lian Qiao is indispensable among the twelve meridian medicines for sores; it is meant to disperse what is stagnant.” “Yang’s Family Collection of Formulas” states that for treating scrofula and tuberculosis that do not resolve, use equal parts of Lian Qiao, Gui Jian Yu, Qu Mai, and Zhi Gan Cao, ground into a fine powder, taking two qian before sleep with rice wash water.” Zhang Xichun said, “Lian Qiao is also good at regulating liver qi; it can both soothe the stagnation of liver qi and calm the excess of liver qi. I once treated an elderly lady over seventy who had swelling and pain in her hands and arms for several years. Her pulse was wiry and strong, so I added four qian of Lian Qiao to the heat-clearing and swelling-reducing medicine. After a few days, the swelling disappeared and the pain was relieved. Her family said she used to be very irritable, but after taking this medicine, not only did she recover, but her irritability was completely gone. What a miraculous medicine this is! Therefore, Lian Qiao can be considered an essential medicine for regulating liver qi.” |
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Lian Qiao 【Properties and Channels】Bitter, slightly cold. Enters the Lung, Heart, and Small Intestine meridians. 【Functions and Indications】Clears heat and detoxifies, reduces swelling and disperses nodules. Used for abscesses, scrofula, mastitis, erysipelas, wind-heat colds, initial stages of warm diseases, heat entering the nutritive level, high fever with thirst, delirium with rashes, and heat strangury. 【Source】This herb is the dried fruit of the plant Lian Qiao (Forsythia suspensa) (Thunb.) Vahl, belonging to the Oleaceae family. The fruit is harvested in autumn when it is initially ripe and still green, impurities are removed, steamed, and dried, commonly referred to as “Qing Qiao”; when the fruit is fully ripe, it is harvested, dried, and impurities removed, commonly referred to as “Lao Qiao”. |
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