When warm wind takes hold of the upper body
Dry throat, a feeling of heat in the face and head, thirst, feeling slightly chilly in the wind, a craving for coolness, especially at the change of seasons or in hot, windy weather… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Wind-Heat affecting the surface of the body. According to the Wen Bing (温病) school, Wind-Heat first reaches the Lung and the outermost layer of the body, then rises towards the head and throat.
The parent formula, Yin Qiao San (银翘散), appeared under the Qing dynasty in the Wen Bing Tiao Bian (《温病条辨》) by Wu Jutong (吴鞠通), dated 1798. Wu Jutong built it around two aromatic, cool herbs, honeysuckle and forsythia, and described it as a “pungent and cool formula of moderate strength”. Yin Qiao Jie Du Pian is a modern form of it, originally presented as tablets (pian, 片).
Dispersing outwards, cooling the upper body
Honeysuckle and forsythia, in equal parts at the head of the formula, clear Heat while helping to release what lingers at the surface. Around them, the herbs go in pairs: mint and burdock disperse Wind-Heat towards the head and throat; schizonepeta, slightly warm, pushes outwards. This is intentional: a little warmth amid the coolness, so that the coolness does not congeal anything.
Clarifies Heat: Honeysuckle and forsythia, aromatic and cool, form one of the most famous pairs of the Chinese pharmacopoeia for clearing Heat from the upper body.
Expels Wind: Mint and burdock, pungent and cool, disperse Wind; schizonepeta backs them up. A classic commentary sums it up: tempered by honeysuckle and forsythia, it disperses without drying.
Brings gentle freshness to the throat: Platycodon carries the action of the formula upwards; with licorice, it forms a pair that tradition has associated with comfort of the throat since the Shang Han Lun.
