When heat and wind rise to the head
A hot, heavy head, a face that grows warm, eyes that feel hot at the end of the day, a nape sensitive to wind while the upper body stays warm, a temper that flares quickly… In TCM, these signs can be associated with Wind-Heat, mixed with a little Dampness, which rises and lingers in the head. As the highest point of the body, the head is, for tradition, a “clear and empty” place where clear Yang must flow freely: when Heat rises there, it clutters it.
Qing Kong Tang takes up the architecture of Qing Kong Gao (清空膏), a formula attributed to Li Dongyuan (李东垣), one of the four great masters of the Jin and Yuan dynasties, and recorded in his Lan Shi Mi Cang (《兰室秘藏》). It keeps its principle: a large share of bitter, cold herbs to clear Heat, carried upwards by light Wind herbs.
Carrying coolness upwards
Bitter, cold herbs naturally sink downwards; for them to act on the head, tradition pairs them with pungent, light herbs that rise. Baikal skullcap, more than a third of the formula, and coptis clear Heat; saposhnikovia, bupleurum and Sichuan lovage carry them upwards, and licorice, the second herb by quantity, softens and harmonises.
Clarifies Heat: Baikal skullcap clears Heat from the upper body and coptis clears that of the Heart and Stomach: together, they temper what rises.
Expels Wind: Saposhnikovia disperses Wind without drying; bupleurum, being light, helps release what lingers at the surface.
Brings freshness and lightness to the head: Sichuan lovage, in a small amount, rises to the top of the head and moves the Qi and Blood there, so that the coolness of the bitter herbs reaches it.
