What Qing Ying Tang is for
This formula treats the stage of a febrile illness at which a faint rash appears and the skin begins to dry out, because the Heat has moved deeper than the surface. It cools that deeper level and restores the moisture the fever is using.
The skin picture is subtle. A faint rash of small red points appears, pale enough that it is easy to miss, and it tends to look more pronounced at night, when the fever rises. The skin is dry and hot to the touch, and this is not the flaky dryness of a chronic complaint but the tight, parched quality of tissue dried from within. The tongue is deep crimson and dry, with little or no coat. What makes it a distinct picture is how faint the eruption is against how deep the Heat has gone.
The formula cools the level the Heat has reached and restores what it is consuming. Shui Niu Jiao and Sheng Di Huang cool the Blood and protect the Yin at the base, while Xuan Shen and Mai Dong replace the fluids the fever has used, so the parched quality of the skin has something to draw on. Jin Yin Hua, Lian Qiao, Zhu Ye and Huang Lian clear the Heat and resolve the toxicity that keeps the rash coming, and Dan Shen moves the Blood so the deep cooling does not leave stagnation behind.
It is an acute formula, used for days, and it is not a treatment for chronic dry skin. It is also not for cold or damp patterns, where the surface looks pale and moist rather than parched and the tongue is not crimson. The two pictures can both show dry, rough skin, and the difference lies in the Heat behind it. Because the rash here belongs to a febrile illness, it needs medical assessment rather than self-treatment.
Actions
- Cools the nutritive level and clears Heat
- Nourishes Yin and generates fluids
- Resolves toxicity
- Moves the Blood so cooling does not cause stasis
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly bitter and sweet with a salty note. Bitter clears Heat, sweet and salty nourish Yin and fluids.
- Organs: Heart, Liver, Kidney
- Channels: Heart, Liver, Kidney
The pattern behind it
The pattern is Heat that has moved into the nutritive level, where it disturbs the spirit and begins to damage the Blood and fluids. Clearing only the surface would leave it in place, so the formula cools the deeper level while restoring the fluids it is consuming.
Composition
The herbs in Qing Ying Tang, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | Shui Niu Jiao | 30 to 60 g | Cold, Salty, cold | The strongest Blood-cooling substance, used in large doses for deep febrile Heat. |
| King | Sheng Di Huang | 15 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter | Cools the Blood and nourishes Yin, protecting the fluids the Heat is consuming. |
| Xuan Shen | 9 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter, salty | Cools the Blood and nourishes Yin, supporting the deeper level. | |
| King | Mai Dong | 9 g | Slightly cold, Sweet, bitter | Nourishes Yin and generates fluids, addressing the dryness and thirst. |
| Jin Yin Hua | 9 g | Cold, Sweet | Clears Heat and resolves toxicity while being gentle on the Stomach. | |
| Lian Qiao | 6 g | Slightly cold, Bitter | Clears Heat and resolves toxicity, supporting the clearing action. | |
| Zhu Ye | 3 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter | Clears Heat and settles restlessness, with a light quality that does not dry. | |
| Huang Lian | 5 g | Cold, Bitter | Clears Heat from the Heart, addressing the restlessness and the spirit. | |
| Dan Shen | 6 g | Slightly cold, Bitter | Moves and cools the Blood, so the deep cooling does not leave stasis behind. |
Patterns it treats
Heat in the Ying Level
A faint rash of small red points on dry, hot skin, more visible at night, with a parched quality and a deep crimson tongue. The eruption is pale against the depth of the Heat, which is what marks this picture out from a surface rash.
How the formula is built
The formula cools and nourishes in parallel. The cold herbs reach the nutritive level and clear the Heat, while the moistening herbs restore the fluids it is consuming, and Dan Shen keeps the Blood moving. Without the nourishment the cooling would dry the body further, and without the cooling the fluids would continue to be burned off.
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 Heat is very intense, more cooling is added.
- If the fluids are badly damaged, moistening herbs are increased.
- If a rash is pronounced, Blood-cooling herbs are increased.
- If the mind is clouding, the formula is escalated and medical care sought immediately.
Timing
Taken warm in two or three divided doses.
Duration
Acute use only: three to seven days, reassessed daily, because it treats a rapidly evolving febrile condition.
Diet while taking it
Cool fluids in small sips if conscious and permitted; cool moistening food during recovery.
Safety
Contraindications
Avoid where the tongue coat is white and slippery: that points to Cold or Dampness, where this cooling and nourishing formula would be wrong. Use only in acute febrile presentations and never as a chronic skin treatment.
Interactions
Dan Shen may add to anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication. Shui Niu Jiao and the cooling herbs are used only in supervised acute care.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy. Dan Shen actively invigorates Blood circulation and carries a theoretical risk.
Breastfeeding
Use only under professional guidance.
Children
Used only with professional supervision in acute febrile illness.
Before you use it
Recorded from the classical record and rewritten in this project's own words. Educational only: not a prescription. Fever with a rash or an altered mental state needs urgent 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.
Selected PubMed records
Real PubMed records for the modern, non-TCM discussion of this formula. They are references, not a claim that the formula is proven for any skin condition.
- Post-treatment With Qing-Ying-Tang, a Compound Chinese Medicine Relives Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Cerebral Microcirculation Disturbance in Mice.. Frontiers in physiology, 2019. PMID: 31708795.
Origin and history
Wen Bing Tiao Bian (温病条辨, Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases) by Wu Jutong, Qing dynasty, 1798.
Wu Jutong set out the four-level model of warm disease in 1798 and gave a formula for each level. Qing Ying Tang is the third-level formula, for Heat that has reached the nutritive layer, and its combination of deep cooling with fluid nourishment reflects the recognition that at this depth the Heat damages the body's substance, not just its surface.
Classical record
Wu Jutong recorded the formula for Heat that has entered the nutritive level, with night fever, a crimson dry tongue, restlessness and a faint rash, to cool the level and protect the fluids.
Wen Bing Tiao Bian (温病条辨, Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases), Wu Jutong, Qing dynasty, 1798.
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?
Only in the sense that febrile illness can produce a rash. It is not used for chronic skin conditions, and the rash it addresses is a sign of systemic Heat.
Why does it contain nourishing herbs?
Because at this depth the Heat burns off the body's fluids. Cooling without restoring them would leave the person dry and depleted.
When is it dangerous?
Fever with confusion, a spreading rash or bleeding is an emergency and needs immediate medical care. This formula belongs to hospital or closely supervised care.
How long is it used?
Three to seven days, reassessed daily, because the condition evolves quickly.