When heat rises in the evening

Heat rising at the end of the day, warm palms and soles, cheeks that redden, a dry mouth and throat at night, restless sleep, a tired lower back… In TCM, these signs may be associated with Kidney Yin Deficiency accompanied by Empty Heat. Yin, which cools and moistens, becomes depleted; the heat it no longer holds back rises upwards. Tradition speaks of an “Empty Fire”: not an excess of heat, but a lack of coolness.

Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan appeared under the Ming, in 1584, in the Yi Fang Kao (《医方考》) by Wu Kun (吴昆), then entered, under the Qing, the Yi Zong Jin Jian (《医宗金鉴》), the great compendium compiled by imperial order. It takes up Liu Wei Di Huang Wan in full, the reference formula for Kidney Yin, and adds two cool herbs, anemarrhena and phellodendron. Its name designates them: Zhi for Zhi Mu, Bai for Huang Bai, Di Huang Wan for the base formula.

Nourishing Water, calming Fire

Tradition describes two actions to be carried out together here. The six herbs of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan gently nourish the Yin, three that nourish and three that balance; but on their own, they lack the strength to temper heat that is already present. Anemarrhena and phellodendron bring this strength. It is one of the best-known pairs of the Chinese materia medica, and each corrects the other.

Nourishes Kidney and Liver Yin: Prepared rehmannia, the most dosed herb, deeply nourishes the Yin and Blood, with cornelian cherry for the Liver and Chinese yam for the Spleen.

Clears Heat: Phellodendron cools while drying, anemarrhena cools while moistening: together, as the established phrase goes, they put out the Fire without drying. Tree peony backs them up by tempering the heat of the Blood.

Cools and preserves the Fluids: Unctuous, anemarrhena preserves the Fluids that heat consumes, and poria and water plantain keep the richness of rehmannia from weighing the whole down. Cooler than Liu Wei Di Huang Wan, the formula is suited to times when heat comes to the fore.