What Huang Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang is for
Huang Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang is for skin that has stopped being supplied. It feels numb, cool, thick or insensitive, and it may be dry and cracked where the surface has gone without nourishment for a long time. Qi and Blood are not reaching the tissue, so nothing is blocked and nothing is inflamed: the skin is simply undernourished. The formula warms and moves rather than breaking stasis.
The skin is undernourished rather than inflamed. It may be numb to touch, cool, and thick or tight in texture, as though the surface has lost some of its suppleness. Dry cracks appear and heal badly, and the tissue looks pale or dull. The person is depleted, so the picture is quiet: no redness, no heat, no swelling and no discharge. Where numbness is sudden or one-sided it is a medical emergency rather than a pattern to treat.
Huang Qi tonifies Qi and pushes it out to the surface, restoring the force that supplies the tissue. Gui Zhi warms the channels and moves Blood to the limbs. Bai Shao nourishes the Blood and softens the tissue, and Sheng Jiang disperses through the skin so the supply actually arrives. Da Zao nourishes the middle, which is the source. No herb in the formula breaks stasis, and that is why it can be given to a depleted person without exhausting them.
It suits numbness, coldness and dryness on a deficient base, including dry cracked skin that will not heal and thickened insensitive skin with no stasis signs. Warmth and supply are the treatment, so the response is slow and measured in weeks. It is not for numbness with a purple tongue and fixed severe pain, which needs a stasis-breaking formula, and not for acute hot swelling or Yin deficiency with Heat. Sudden numbness or skin tightening needs medical assessment.
Actions
- Tonifies Qi and warms Yang
- Harmonises the Ying and Wei levels
- Moves Blood to the surface
- Relieves numbness and improves tissue nourishment
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly sweet and pungent. Sweet tonifies and nourishes, pungent and warm moves Qi and Blood to the surface.
- Organs: Spleen, Lungs, Heart
- Channels: Spleen, Lung, Heart
The pattern behind it
The pattern is Qi and Blood deficiency with Cold, so the surface is not reached and the tissue becomes numb, thick, cool and slow to repair. The formula tonifies the Qi, warms the channels and supplies the Blood, which is why it improves tissue nourishment without breaking stasis.
Composition
The herbs in Huang Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | Huang Qi | 9 to 30 g | Slightly warm, Sweet | Tonifies Qi and pushes it to the surface, restoring the force that supplies the tissue. |
| Gui Zhi | 9 to 15 g | Warm, Pungent, sweet | Warms the channels and moves Blood to the limbs, the warming half of the formula. | |
| Bai Shao | 9 to 15 g | Slightly cold, Bitter, sour | Nourishes Blood and softens the tissue, supporting the nourishing half. | |
| Sheng Jiang | 15 to 30 g | Slightly warm, Pungent | Warms and disperses through the surface, helping the Qi and Blood reach the skin. | |
| Da Zao | 8 to 25 g | Warm, Sweet | Nourishes the middle and the Blood, supporting the source of Qi and Blood. |
Patterns it treats
Qi and Blood Deficiency
Numb, cool, thick or dry skin on a depleted person, with cracks that heal badly and no redness, heat or swelling. The tissue is not being reached by Qi and Blood rather than being blocked. The formula warms and supplies the surface gently.
How the formula is built
Two herbs tonify and warm the source, one nourishes and softens, one disperses through the surface, one supports the middle. Nothing breaks stasis, which is exactly why it can be given to a depleted person and why it is the gentle choice for numb, cool, dry tissue.
Skin conditions it is used for
Where this formula appears in the skin conditions of the library.
Preparation and use
Decocted in water and taken warm, in two or three divided doses.
Modifications
- If the Cold is marked, more warming is added.
- If the Blood deficiency dominates, nourishing herbs are increased.
- If stasis appears, moving herbs are added cautiously.
- If the numbness is one-sided or sudden, it is assessed medically before treatment.
Timing
Taken warm in two or three divided doses.
Duration
Four to twelve weeks for chronic conditions, reassessed regularly, and longer with modification under guidance.
Diet while taking it
Warm cooked nourishing food; avoid cold and raw food.
Safety
Contraindications
Caution in Yin deficiency with Heat signs, where the warming herbs can add to dryness. Avoid in acute hot swelling. Sudden numbness or one-sided weakness is a medical emergency.
Interactions
Huang Qi may affect blood sugar and immune function, and Gui Zhi may add to anticoagulant effects.
Pregnancy
Generally considered safe in pregnancy, as none of the five herbs has abortifacient properties, though professional guidance is appropriate.
Breastfeeding
Considered acceptable under professional guidance.
Children
Used in children with reduced dose for numbness and deficiency patterns.
Before you use it
Recorded from the classical record and rewritten in this project's own words. Educational only: not a prescription, and sudden numbness, weakness or skin tightening needs medical assessment.
General safety references
General references for herbal hepatotoxicity and herb-drug interactions; they are not specific to this formula.
- Review article: Herbal hepatotoxicity - an update on traditional Chinese medicine preparations. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2014. PMID: 24844799.
- Interactions between herbal medicines and prescribed drugs: an updated systematic review. Drugs, 2009. PMID: 19719333.
- Warfarin and food, herbal or dietary supplement interactions: a systematic review. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2021. PMID: 32478963.
Origin and history
Jin Gui Yao Lue (金匮要略, Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber) by Zhang Zhongjing, Eastern Han dynasty, around 220 CE.
The formula appears in the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber as the treatment for numbness and weakness of the limbs in a depleted person. Its five herbs make it one of the gentlest formulas in the tradition, and that gentleness is why it is used for tissue that needs supplying rather than for obstruction that needs breaking.
Classical record
Zhang Zhongjing recorded the five-herb formula for numbness and weakness of the limbs with a depleted constitution, where the Ying and Wei levels are not harmonised at the surface.
Jin Gui Yao Lue (金匮要略, Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber), Zhang Zhongjing, Eastern Han dynasty.
Evidence note
No controlled trial of this treatment in skin conditions was identified for this entry. What is described here rests on the classical and later materia medica record and on traditional clinical use, not on controlled trial evidence, and it is not a prediction of benefit. Where skin-specific research does exist it is linked above.
Common questions
What kind of numbness does it treat?
Numbness on a depleted, cool base without a purple tongue or fixed severe pain. Other kinds of numbness need assessment.
How is it different from Dang Gui Si Ni Tang?
That formula warms more strongly and treats cold painful dusky extremities. This one is gentler and treats numbness and tissue nourishment without such marked Cold.
Can it help cracked skin?
Where the cracks come from poor nourishment of the surface in a depleted person, yes, over weeks.
Should sudden numbness be assessed?
Yes, urgently. Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side, is a medical emergency.