In China, ginger has a history of over 3000 years. When experiencing wind-cold, a bowl of ginger soup with a spoonful of brown sugar can dispel wind and cold. If there is cold in the stomach, a cup of gan jiang (dried ginger) and jujube tea can warm the spleen and stomach. For cold-type abdominal pain, a bit of pao jiang (roasted ginger), brown sugar, and pepper can warm the middle and relieve pain.
Today, let’s introduce the differences between sheng jiang (fresh ginger), gan jiang (dried ginger), and pao jiang (roasted ginger).
Sheng Jiang (Fresh Ginger)
Sheng jiang has a pungent flavor and a slightly warm nature. It enters the lung, spleen, and stomach meridians. It is known as the “sacred medicine for vomiting.”
Sheng jiang has the effects of dispelling wind and cold, warming the middle and stopping vomiting, warming the lungs and stopping cough, and detoxifying. It is commonly used for wind-cold colds, cold conditions of the spleen and stomach, vomiting due to stomach cold, and cough due to lung cold. It can also detoxify fish and crab poison.
Gan Jiang (Dried Ginger)
Gan jiang has a pungent flavor and a hot nature, entering the spleen, stomach, kidney, heart, and lung meridians.
Gan jiang has the effects ofwarming the middle and dispersing cold, reviving yang and unblocking meridians, and warming the lungs and transforming phlegm. It is commonly used for cold pain in the abdomen, vomiting and diarrhea, cold limbs with weak pulse, and cough due to cold phlegm. The saying “old ginger is spicier” is indeed true.
Pao Jiang (Roasted Ginger)
Pao jiang has a pungent flavor and a hot nature. It enters the spleen, stomach, and kidney meridians.
Pao jiang has the effects ofwarming the meridians and stopping bleeding, and warming the middle and relieving pain. It is commonly used foryang deficiency with blood loss, vomiting, nosebleeds, and abdominal pain with diarrhea, and is often used to treat dysmenorrhea.
How to Use Sheng Jiang in Medicine
1Sheng Jiang with Da Zao to Harmonize Ying and Wei The combination of sheng jiang and da zao (jujube) is first seen in the “Shang Han Lun” where 32 formulas out of 113 include the combination of ginger and jujube, such asGui Zhi Tang, Xuan Fu Dai Zhe Tang, Zhi Gan Cao Tang, Ma Huang Lian Qing Chi Xiao Dou Tang, Wu Zhu Yu Tang, etc.
Da zao benefits qi and harmonizes the middle to tonify the spleen, while sheng jiang induces sweating, dispels cold, and aids digestion, thus enhancing the function of the spleen and stomach. Therefore, this combination is a common pairing in TCM formulas, helping to dispel wind and harmonize Ying and Wei; when used in spleen-tonifying and qi-regulating formulas, it has a tonifying effect on the spleen and stomach.2Sheng Jiang with Ban Xia to Harmonize the Stomach and Descend Rebellious Qi The Xiao Ban Xia Tang from the “Jin Kui Yao Lue” is an example of this combination of two herbs, decocted in water to treat vomiting without thirst and a feeling of fluid retention in the heart. The two herbs work together to enhance each other’s effects, and sheng jiang can also mitigate the toxicity of ban xia (Pinellia), allowing for better stomach harmonization and descending of rebellious qi.
Three Types of People Who Should Eat GingerThose who are afraid of cold, those with a cold constitution, and those with poor appetite.
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