Introduction
The season for taking gāo zī formulas is approaching, yet many people have a superficial understanding of these formulas. In the coming period, I will guide everyone to systematically understand gāo zī formulas, focusing on the Gāo Zī Fèng Shēng formula under the guidance of the Five Movements and Six Qi theory. I will introduce the connotation of gāo zī formulas, the theoretical basis of Gāo Zī Fèng Shēng, the principles of its prescription, the scope of nourishment, suitable populations, timing, and methods of consumption.
Gāo, as defined in the “Shuō Wén Jiě Zì – Ròu Bù”: “Gāo means fat”; in the “Guǎng Yǎ – Shì Yán”: “Gāo means marsh”; and in the “Jí Yùn Hào Yùn”: “Gāo means moistening”. It often refers to the essence of things, such as “the fat of the people”, “the fat of gold”, and “the fat of black jade”. In the “Lǐ Jì – Nèi Zé”, Kong Yingda commented: “The congealed is fat, the released is gāo, which nourishes and makes it fragrant and beautiful.” This connects easily with our health preservation. The “Líng Shū – Wǔ Shāo Jīn Yè Bié” states: “The essence of the five grains, when combined, becomes gāo, which seeps into the bone cavities and nourishes the brain marrow.”
Thus, “gāo” originally referred to animal fat, later broadly indicating a thick, paste-like substance. In traditional Chinese medicine, herbal materials can be processed into a semi-fluid substance that is as fine and thick as animal fat, referred to as gāo jì.
Gāo Jì, in terms of dosage forms, belongs to one of the eight types of traditional Chinese medicine preparations: pills, powders, pastes, elixirs, wines, tinctures, soups, and tablets. Gāo jì is further divided into internal and external gāo jì, with external gāo jì also known as gāo tiē, thin patches, or plasters. Early literature mostly refers to external gāo, such as the “Zhōng Cáng Jīng” which includes the Great Sage Tongshen乳香膏, Water Clear Gāo, Geng Su Gāo, and Qiān Jīn Gāo, which are mostly used externally. Therefore, historically, gāo formulas have been more associated with external applications, commonly referred to as “gāo yào” (e.g., “贴膏药”, “狗皮膏药”). The “Wǔ Shí Èr Bìng Fāng” also contains a small number of internal gāo formulas, such as “boil one dou of water, one sheng of gelatin, and one sheng of rice, and consume it after cooking, avoiding food in the evening”, which, although not named as “gāo”, can be seen as one of the earliest internal gāo formulas in literature. Later, the “Wǔ Wēi Hàn Jiǎn” contains “gāo yào fāng for treating a hundred diseases” and “gāo yào fāng for treating a thousand gold”, which are the earliest known internal gāo formulas in existing literature.
Gāo Fāng, as we now understand it, generally refers to internal gāo, which was often referred to as “jiān” in early texts, such as the Great Wǔ Tóu Jiān and Pig Gāo Fā Jiān in the “Jīn Kuì Yào Lǜ”. Many formulas referred to as “jiān” were often made into pills for consumption. This “jiān” is different from our current “jiān” for decocting herbs; it refers to the process of boiling herbs into a gāo, which often needs to be made into pills afterward, such as the tortoise shell gāo pill in the “Jīn Kuì Yào Lǜ” and many gāo formulas in the “Qiān Jīn Fāng”. These early internal preparations referred to as “gāo” or “jiān” were mainly used for treating diseases, with a few primarily for nourishment. For example, the two-district yellow gāo in the “Zhōng Cáng Jīng” (one version claims it can “relieve fatigue, promote muscle growth, aid digestion, invigorate blood, and nourish qi”; another claims “long-term use can suppress desires, leading to immortality”); and the Lù Kàng Gāo cited in the “Wài Tái” (also recorded in the “Qiān Jīn”, with similar formulas).
Gāo Zī Fāng specifically refers to a type of “gāo zī medicine” that is popular in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions around Lake Tai, traditionally consumed in winter. It is a specific cultural concept. In Jiangnan folklore, the winter tonic used for “preventing diseases” is commonly referred to as “gāo zī medicine”; currently, some people refer to taking “gāo fāng” when they actually mean taking “gāo zī”. Strictly speaking, the gāo zī prescriptions prescribed by doctors are called “gāo fāng”. To this day, in the “gāo zī” cultural area, especially in the Longsha cultural area, people still habitually refer to it as “eating gāo zī”. The “gāo zī” used for winter nourishment expresses not only a form of preparation but also serves a purpose beyond mere nourishment. “Gāo zī” or “gāo fāng” is a term with a specific concept in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, carrying special medical significance. The distinction between gāo fāng, gāo zī, and gāo jì is evident.
The Chinese Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine defines “gāo fāng” as: “gāo fāng is a type of Chinese herbal gāo preparation primarily used for health preservation, also known as ‘gāo zī’.” It clearly states that the main purpose of gāo fāng is not to treat diseases (treating “existing diseases”), but to preserve health and adjust the body (preventing “unmanifested diseases”).
In summary, gāo fāng refers to internal gāo among gāo jì, while gāo zī specifically refers to a type of gāo fāng aimed at “preventing unmanifested diseases”, commonly consumed in winter.
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