What Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang is for
The skin here has thinned and lost its spring: dry, papery and inelastic over the cheeks and the backs of the hands, with a faint redness where the dryness is worst. It is the surface of someone whose moisture has been spent, after a long illness or through ageing, rather than the surface of an acute eruption. The formula restores the Yin that keeps tissue supple and clears the mild Heat the dryness has left behind.
The change is one of quality rather than of colour: the skin looks crepey and finely lined, lifts into a fold that stays for a moment, and has a dry sheen instead of an oily one. It is thin enough to look translucent at the temples, and it feels tight after washing. The redness that appears is faint and patchy, at the cheekbones or beside the nose, and it does not weep or scale. This is the surface of depletion, quiet and settled, and it arrives slowly rather than overnight.
Sheng Di Huang and Xuan Shen rebuild the Yin at depth and cool what the dryness has heated, Mai Dong and Chuan Bei Mu moisten so the tissue is supplied from above, Bai Shao and Mu Dan Pi soften and cool the Blood that feeds the surface, and Bo He lifts the last of the mild Heat away without drying it further. The effect is not a coating or a cover: it is moisture restored from inside, which is why the change shows over weeks and not on the first day.
It suits the dry depleted picture and not Dampness, where a greasy coat shows the body is holding fluid rather than lacking it, and it is not for an acute red or weeping eruption. Deepening dryness with a changing lesion needs medical assessment, since thinning skin can have causes beyond the ordinary. The course is measured in weeks, and the surface is watched for regained suppleness rather than for a dramatic change.
Actions
- Nourishes Yin
- Clears mild Heat from the Lungs
- Moistens the throat and skin
- Transforms Phlegm gently
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly sweet and slightly bitter with a cool quality. Sweet and cool nourish and moisten, bitter clears the mild Heat.
- Organs: Lungs, Kidney, Stomach
- Channels: Lung, Kidney
The pattern behind it
The pattern is Lung Yin deficiency with mild Heat. The lack of Yin leaves the throat and skin dry and permits a low-grade Heat to develop in the Lungs. The formula nourishes the Yin and clears that Heat, which is why it is used for chronic dryness rather than for an acute eruption.
Composition
The herbs in Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | Sheng Di Huang | 12 to 30 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter | Nourishes Yin and cools the Blood, the main moistening herb. |
| Xuan Shen | 9 to 15 g | Cold, Sweet, bitter, salty | Nourishes Yin, clears Heat and softens the throat. | |
| King | Mai Dong | 9 to 12 g | Slightly cold, Sweet, bitter | Nourishes Lung and Stomach Yin and generates fluids. |
| Bai Shao | 5 to 9 g | Slightly cold, Bitter, sour | Nourishes Blood and softens the tissue. | |
| King | Mu Dan Pi | 5 to 9 g | Slightly cold, Bitter, pungent | Cools the Blood and clears the mild Heat. |
| Chuan Bei Mu | 5 to 9 g | Slightly cold, Bitter, sweet | Moistens the Lungs and transforms Phlegm gently. | |
| Envoy | Bo He | 3 to 6 g | Cool, Pungent | Disperses the mild Heat lightly without drying. |
| Gan Cao | 3 to 6 g | Neutral, Sweet | Harmonises the formula and benefits the throat. |
Patterns it treats
Lung Yin Deficiency
Dry, papery, inelastic skin with fine creping and a faint patchy redness, the surface of someone whose moisture has been spent. The Yin that keeps tissue supple is low, so the skin thins and tightens, and the mild Heat left behind shows as colour.
How the formula is built
Four herbs nourish and moisten, two cool and soften, one transforms Phlegm and one disperses the light Heat. The result is a formula that restores moisture while gently clearing, which is why it suits the chronic dry pattern.
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 divided doses.
Modifications
- If the Heat is marked, more clearing is added.
- If the dryness dominates, more moistening herbs are added.
- If Phlegm is present, Phlegm-transforming herbs are increased.
- If Dampness appears, the formula is stopped.
Timing
Taken warm in two divided doses.
Duration
Two to four weeks, reassessed.
Diet while taking it
Moistening food and fluids; avoid drying food, alcohol and smoking.
Safety
Contraindications
Avoid in Dampness with a greasy coat and in cold deficiency. Persistent dry cough or a changing skin lesion needs medical assessment.
Interactions
Gan Cao may interact with diuretics, digoxin and corticosteroids.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy and only under professional guidance.
Breastfeeding
Use only under professional guidance.
Children
Used only with professional supervision.
Before you use it
Recorded from the classical record and rewritten in this project's own words. Educational only: not a prescription, and a persistent dry cough or unexplained skin change 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.
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.
- Quercetin is the Active Component of Yang-Yin-Qing-Fei-Tang to Induce Apoptosis in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.. The American journal of Chinese medicine, 2019. PMID: 31179723.
Origin and history
Chong Lou Yu Yao (重楼玉钥) by Zheng Meijian, Qing dynasty, 18th century.
Yang Yin Qing Fei Tang comes from an 18th century Qing text on throat and respiratory disease. Its combination of Yin nourishment with light clearing made it the standard formula for chronic dry throat and cough with a red thin tongue, and the same logic applies to dry depleted skin.
Classical record
The formula is recorded for Lung Yin deficiency with mild Heat, with a dry throat and dry cough, nourishing the Yin and clearing the Lungs together.
Chong Lou Yu Yao (重楼玉钥), Zheng Meijian, Qing 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 is it used for?
Chronic dry throat, dry cough and dry skin with a red thin tongue, from Lung Yin deficiency with mild Heat.
How is it different from Sha Shen Mai Men Dong Tang?
That formula is gentler and used after a febrile illness. This one is fuller and used for chronic Lung Yin deficiency.
Can it help dry skin?
Where the dryness comes with a dry throat and a red thin tongue, over weeks.
How long is it used?
Two to four weeks, reassessed.