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Introduction to Chinese Herbs
Also known as: Shan Ju Qiong, Xiong Dan, Xiang Guo, Hu Xiong, Xiong Dan, Que Nao Xiong, Jing Xiong, Guan Xiong, Sheng Chuan Jun.
Taste and Properties: Spicy, Warm. Enters the Liver, Gallbladder, and Pericardium meridians.
Functions: Invigorates blood and promotes Qi circulation, dispels wind and alleviates pain.
Category: Blood-activating and pain-relieving herbs
Chuanxiong, a Chinese medicinal herb, is the dried rhizome of the plant Ligusticum chuanxiong, belonging to the Umbelliferae family. It has the effects of invigorating blood circulation, promoting Qi flow, dispelling wind, and alleviating pain. It is primarily used for chest pain due to blood stasis in the heart, rib pain due to liver Qi stagnation, stabbing pain in the chest and ribs due to liver blood stasis, pain from falls and injuries due to blood stasis, swelling and pain from sores, menstrual irregularities, dysmenorrhea, postpartum pain, retained lochia, various types of headaches, and rheumatic pain.
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Chinese Herbal Verse
Chuanxiong is spicy and warm, promotes Qi and resolves blood stasis,
Stops headaches from wind, alleviates rheumatic pain.
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Common Combinations
Chuanxiong combined with Bai Shao
Chuanxiong is spicy and warm, dispersing and warming, invigorating blood and promoting Qi, making it a Qi herb in the blood; Bai Shao is bitter and sour, cooling, adept at nourishing blood and softening the liver, and stopping pain.
The combination of these two herbs has the effect of invigorating blood, promoting Qi, and alleviating pain (by regulating the body’s Qi mechanism to relieve pain), nourishing blood, softening the liver, and regulating menstruation, suitable for menstrual irregularities, dysmenorrhea, and amenorrhea caused by blood deficiency or Yin deficiency with heat.
Chuanxiong combined with Chai Hu
Chuanxiong can invigorate blood and disperse stasis, promoting the flow of Qi; Chai Hu can soothe liver Qi stagnation.
When used together, they enhance the effects of soothing the liver, relieving depression, promoting Qi, and alleviating pain, suitable for rib pain and menstrual irregularities caused by liver Qi stagnation.
Chuanxiong combined with Dan Shen
Chuanxiong is spicy, aromatic, and warm, with strong blood-invigorating and Qi-promoting effects, making it a Qi herb in the blood; Dan Shen is bitter and slightly cold, with strong blood-invigorating and channel-opening effects, particularly effective for chest obstruction.
The combination of these two herbs can invigorate blood and open channels, promote Qi, and alleviate pain, suitable for chest pain due to blood stasis in the heart.
Chuanxiong combined with Bai Zhi
Chuanxiong is spicy and has the effect of dispersing wind, adept at treating headaches; Bai Zhi is spicy and warm, can release the exterior, dispel wind, and scatter cold, commonly used for treating exterior-induced headaches.
The combination of these two herbs enhances the effect of ascending and dispersing wind, suitable for headaches caused by exterior wind-cold.
Chuanxiong combined with Du Huo
Chuanxiong has the effects of invigorating blood and dispelling wind and pain, able to circulate throughout the body’s small collaterals; Du Huo excels at dispelling wind and dampness, alleviating pain (removing numbness in limbs).
The combination of these two herbs can dispel wind, eliminate dampness, scatter cold, invigorate blood, and alleviate pain, suitable for bi pain caused by wind-cold-dampness obstructing the meridians and joints, leading to Qi and blood stagnation.
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Distribution Areas
Distribution Regions:
Mainly cultivated in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and other regions.
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Folklore
It is said that the Medicine King Sun Simiao went to Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan to gather herbs. While resting in the pine forest at the top of the mountain with his disciples, they discovered a female crane playing with several chicks in a small box in the mountain stream. After a while, the crane lowered its head, continuously crying out, its legs trembling, and its wings and tail drooping, indicating that the female crane was ill.
The Medicine King, seeing this scene, knew that the crane was suffering from an acute illness. The next day, he led his disciples back to see what was happening, only to hear the sick female crane moaning in its nest. After a while, they saw several white cranes flying from the top of the mountain, dropping leaves that looked like carrot leaves from their beaks. The Medicine King instructed his disciples to collect and preserve them. On the third day, they saw the white cranes flying again, dropping small white flowers and some nodular lumps from their beaks, which they also collected and preserved. It turned out that the white cranes were bringing herbs to treat the sick crane.
Within a few days, the female crane recovered and led the chicks to play in the water.
The Medicine King then led his disciples to gather this herb at the top of the mountain, and after tasting and clinical experimentation, they discovered it had the effects of invigorating blood circulation, promoting menstruation, and dispelling wind and alleviating pain. The Medicine King was moved and composed a poem:
Chuanxi Qingcheng is the most secluded in the world, the first flow of the immortal cave;
Strange herbs and immortal cranes skillfully deliver, coming from the top of the sky’s medicine.
After reciting the poem, the Medicine King named this herb “Chuanxiong.”
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Summary from Ancient Texts
1. Zhang Jiegu: A sacred medicine that can disperse wind from the liver meridian, treating Shaoyang and Jueyin meridian headaches and headaches due to blood deficiency.
2. Ben Cao Yao Lue: Spicy and warm in taste, used in blood medicines, can assist blood flow; however, if used excessively, it can lead to sudden death. It can stop headaches due to excess; it can disperse insufficiency and guide clear blood downward. The ancients referred to it as a Qi herb in the blood, as it can disperse and guide blood upward. It is often used in the treatment of carbuncles and boils due to its entry into the heart, allowing it to disperse. The heart commands Qi and moves blood; when Chuanxiong enters the heart, it assists the heart in commanding Qi and moving blood, leading to the dispersal of evil Qi and the resolution of carbuncles. Dongyuan stated that it guides blood to nourish new blood; it is not only spicy and warm but must also ascend and disperse. Blood is precious for its tranquility and not for its agitation; Chuanxiong is spicy and warm, thus it can ascend and disperse but cannot descend and guard, hence it can descend to nourish new blood. In the Si Wu Decoction, it is used specifically for its spicy warmth and to resolve blood stagnation. Is it truly used as a spicy and warm dispersing medicine?
3. Ben Cao Gang Mu: Chuanxiong is a Qi herb in the blood. The liver suffers from urgency, thus it is supplemented with spiciness, making it suitable for blood deficiency. Spicy disperses, thus it is suitable for Qi stagnation. If blood dysentery has been resolved but pain persists, it is due to Yin deficiency and Qi stagnation; adding Chuanxiong as an assistant can promote Qi and regulate blood, leading to the resolution of the condition.
4. Ben Cao Zheng: Chuanxiong is good at dispersing and enters the liver meridian, being a Qi herb in the blood. Both Chuanxiong and Gui belong to blood herbs, but Chuanxiong’s dispersing action is stronger than that of Gui, thus it can disperse wind and cold, treating headaches. Due to its ascending nature, it can also regulate menorrhagia and dizziness; because it is slightly sweet, it disperses excess but is insufficient for supplementation. It is particularly suitable for headaches caused by wind-cold. If the three Yang fire is obstructed above and causes pain, ascending may worsen it; modern people do not understand ascending and descending, but only know that Chuanxiong treats headaches, which is a great misunderstanding.
5. Ben Cao Hui Yan: Chuanxiong ascends to the head, regulates menstruation, opens up stagnation, and is a Qi herb in the blood. It has been used by Dang Gui, not only for its blood-invigorating effects but also for its Qi-promoting efficacy. It is spicy and Yang in taste, good at moving and dispersing without any Yin stagnation. Even in the blood, it can eliminate all wind and regulate all Qi. For any stagnation in the middle burner, Chuanxiong must be used to open and elevate Qi, leading to the natural descent of stagnation.
6. Ben Cao Xin Bian: Chuanxiong specializes in nourishing blood and has remarkable effects in treating headaches. It circulates in the blood sea, opens the liver meridian, breaks up blood stasis, and promotes the generation of new blood postpartum. It can treat all forms of bleeding, including hemoptysis, epistaxis, hematuria, hematochezia, and menorrhagia. It can unblock blood stasis, disperse exterior pathogens, and alleviate headache pain. This herb can serve as a monarch, minister, or assistant, but should not be used alone; it must be combined with Qi and blood tonics for maximum efficacy. If used alone for blood supplementation, it may lead to blood movement and loss. If used alone for pain relief, it may stop pain but lead to sudden death. If combined with Ren Shen, Huang Qi, Bai Zhu, and Fu Ling for Qi supplementation, it may not only supplement Qi but also generate blood; if combined with Dang Gui, Shu Di, Shan Zhu Yu, Mai Dong, and Bai Shao for blood supplementation, it may not only generate blood but also essence. The concern is only when used with wind-dispersing herbs. It can be used temporarily but not long-term; for moderate conditions, it is sufficient, but why rely on it for a long time?
7. Zhong Zhong Can Xi Lu: Chuanxiong has a fragrant and dispersing Qi, is warm, and its warming and dispersing properties allow it to ascend and descend, reaching everywhere. Its special strength lies in guiding the body’s clear and light Qi to the brain, treating headaches caused by wind attacking the head, headaches from floating heat rushing to the head, and headaches due to blood congestion in the brain. Its warming and dispersing power can also promote Qi and invigorate blood, treating overall stiffness and women’s menstrual closure without children.
Note: The above content is for reference only and may not be suitable for all populations. It is recommended to adjust under the guidance of a physician.