When fatigue empties both drive and reserves
Deep fatigue after a long period of exhaustion, a lack of drive at the slightest effort, a dry mouth and throat, a pale complexion, light sleep, nervousness as soon as you feel overwhelmed… In TCM, these signs may be associated with a double Deficiency: Yin and Blood are lacking to nourish, and Qi and Yang are lacking to set things in motion. Tradition often sees this as the outcome of prolonged exhaustion, affecting the Spleen, source of Qi and Blood, the Kidney, root of Yin, and the Heart, which houses the Shen.
Zhi Gan Cao Tang appeared around 200 AD, at the end of the Eastern Han, in the Shang Han Lun (《伤寒论》) by Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景). It is one of the few formulas that address Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood at the same time. Under the Tang, Sun Simiao (孙思邈) extended it to exhaustion due to Deficiency, and under the Qing, Tang Rongchuan regarded it as the foremost of the formulas that supplement the Blood.
Qi restores drive, Yin restores substance
The formula has two emperors for two shortfalls. Honey-fried licorice, sweet and warm, supports the Qi of the centre; rehmannia, sweet and cold, by far the most dosed, nourishes the Yin and Blood. Ginseng and jujube back up licorice, ophiopogon backs up rehmannia. Cinnamon twig and fresh ginger, pungent and warm, set the whole in motion again and keep these rich herbs from weighing on digestion: the formula nourishes without heaviness and warms without drying.
Tonifies the Qi: Honey-fried licorice, ginseng and jujube support the Spleen, from which Qi and Blood arise. With cinnamon twig, licorice forms a pair that tradition sums up thus: the pungent and the sweet generate Yang.
Nourishes Yin and Blood: Rehmannia, at 930 mg per 6 capsules, carries the weight of the formula: it deeply nourishes the Yin and Blood.
Preserves the body’s Fluids: Ophiopogon moistens the Yin and the Fluids and, with rehmannia, illustrates a classic principle: nourishing Lung Yin supports Kidney Yin.
Supports you through periods of fatigue: By rebuilding both what gives drive and what gives substance, the formula accompanies the gradual return of strength after a period that has used everything up.
