What Qing Gong Tang is for
This formula belongs to one narrow skin situation: a rash that appears during a severe febrile illness, when the Heat has gone deep enough to disturb the mind. It is an emergency formula, not a skin treatment.
The rash is deep red, sometimes dusky or purple, and it appears in the middle of a severe febrile illness rather than on its own. The tongue is crimson, the skin is hot and dry, and the colour of the eruption is deep rather than bright. What marks the picture out is the depth: the eruption is not a surface event but the visible edge of Heat that has reached the Blood behind it, and it comes with clouding of the mind. A rash in that setting is a medical emergency, whatever name the tradition gives the level.
The herbs cool from the inside out. Shui Niu Jiao in large doses and Xuan Shen cool the Blood and reach the deep Heat that is driving the eruption, Lian Qiao clears Heat and resolves the toxicity, and Zhu Ye with Lian Zi Xin settle the spirit so the disturbance at the centre is addressed rather than only the spots. Mai Dong holds the fluids that the fever is burning away, because cooling without that protection would leave the body drier still. It is a coordinated, heavy prescription given under supervision.
Nothing here is a home treatment, and nothing here is for an ordinary rash. A simple eruption without fever, without a crimson tongue and without mental change is a different problem and needs a different formula. Cold patterns, where the skin is pale and the body cold, are excluded. The formula is used in hospital care for days, adjusted as the illness moves, and any rash with fever and confusion is a reason to call emergency services rather than to reach for herbs.
Actions
- Clears Heat from the Pericardium
- Cools the Blood
- Nourishes Yin and protects fluids
- Settles the spirit and clears the mind
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly bitter and sweet with a cold quality. Bitter clears Heat, sweet and cold protect the Yin.
- Organs: Heart, Pericardium, Liver
- Channels: Heart, Pericardium
The pattern behind it
The pattern is Heat that has reached the Pericardium, the protector of the Heart. The Heat disturbs the spirit, producing restlessness and delirium, and damages the Blood and fluids. The formula clears that Heat and protects the Yin, which is why it is used in the severe febrile stage rather than for skin disease.
Composition
The herbs in Qing Gong Tang, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shui Niu Jiao | 30 to 60 g | Cold, Salty, cold | Cools the Blood and clears deep Heat in large doses. | |
| King | Xuan Shen | 9 to 12 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter, salty | Cools the Blood, clears Heat and nourishes Yin. |
| King | Lian Qiao | 6 to 9 g | Slightly cold, Bitter | Clears Heat and resolves toxicity, reaching the Heart. |
| Assistant | Zhu Ye | 6 to 9 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter | Clears Heart Heat and settles restlessness without drying. |
| Envoy | Mai Dong | 9 to 12 g | Slightly cold, Sweet, bitter | Nourishes Yin and protects the fluids being consumed by the fever. |
| Envoy | Lian Zi Xin | 1.5 to 3 g | Cold, Bitter | Clears Heart Heat and settles the spirit, addressing the mental disturbance directly. |
Patterns it treats
Heat in the Pericardium
A deep red or dusky rash appearing in the middle of a severe febrile illness, on hot dry skin, with a crimson tongue. The eruption is the visible edge of Heat that has gone deep rather than a surface rash, which is why this picture is treated as an emergency.
How the formula is built
Two herbs cool the Blood deeply, two clear Heart Heat and settle the spirit, and one protects the fluids. The formula clears the Pericardium and holds the Yin at the same time, which is what severe febrile illness with mental disturbance requires.
Skin conditions it is used for
Where this formula appears in the skin conditions of the library.
Preparation and use
Decocted and given under urgent medical supervision.
Modifications
- If the mind is clouding, the formula is escalated and urgent care is required.
- If the fluids are badly damaged, moistening herbs are increased.
- If a rash or bleeding appears, Blood-cooling is increased.
- If the pattern is cold, the formula is not used.
Timing
Given in divided doses under close medical supervision.
Duration
Emergency use: one to five days, modified as the illness evolves.
Diet while taking it
Hospital care decides oral intake.
Safety
Contraindications
Avoid in cold patterns. This is an emergency formula for severe febrile illness and is never self-administered.
Interactions
The very cold heavy doses require hospital supervision and coordination with any other treatment.
Pregnancy
Contraindicated without specialist care in pregnancy.
Breastfeeding
Contraindicated without specialist guidance.
Children
Used only in hospital care with specialist dosing.
Before you use it
Recorded from the classical record and rewritten in this project's own words. Educational only, not a prescription. Fever with confusion, delirium or a rash is a medical emergency: call emergency services.
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
Wen Bing Tiao Bian (温病条辨, Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases) by Wu Jutong, Qing dynasty, 1798.
Qing Gong Tang comes from Wu Jutong's warm-disease framework, where the Pericardium is the last defence of the Heart. Its role is to clear Heat that has reached the mind, and it belongs to emergency care rather than to the treatment of skin disease.
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
Is this a skin formula?
No. It is for severe febrile illness with mental disturbance. It appears here because a rash can accompany that illness, but it is a hospital-level formula.
When is it an emergency?
Fever with confusion, delirium, a rash or bleeding is a medical emergency and needs immediate hospital care.
How is it different from Qing Ying Tang?
Qing Ying Tang cools the nutritive level. Qing Gong Tang is used when the Heat has reached the Pericardium and the mind is affected.
Can it be given at home?
No. It is used only in supervised medical care.