When the Blood stagnates along the Liver pathway
Discomfort along the sides of the chest that always returns to the same spot, a feeling that something is no longer flowing, a duller complexion, a mood that tightens with every annoyance… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Blood stasis settled along the Liver meridian, which runs through the flanks. According to tradition, the Qi carries the Blood: when the Liver Qi becomes blocked, the Blood slows down in turn and ends up lingering.
Fu Yuan Huo Xue Tang is attributed to Li Dongyuan (李东垣), one of the four great masters of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and recorded in the Yi Xue Fa Ming (《医学发明》). What sets it apart is bupleurum root (Chai Hu): it guides the formula towards the Liver meridian and the flanks, where the Blood herbs need to act. It belongs to the large family of formulas that move the Blood, alongside Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang.
Guide, then move
The formula combines two movements. Bupleurum, the herb with the highest dose, frees the Liver Qi and steers the whole; peach kernels, safflower and Chinese angelica set the Blood moving again and help disperse the stasis. Trichosanthes root, which is cool, tempers the heat that stagnation can give rise to, and licorice harmonises.
Supports Blood circulation: Peach kernels and safflower form a pairing well known in tradition for moving the Blood. Chinese angelica accompanies them by nourishing what they set in motion.
Supports the flow of Qi: Bupleurum frees the Liver Qi. And according to tradition, where the Qi flows, the Blood flows too.
Harmonises the Qi and Blood: One Qi herb, three Blood herbs and two tempering herbs: the formula gets things moving without forcing.
