What Yu Nu Jian is for
The skin this formula addresses is flushed and hot across the face, with a dryness underneath that the heat keeps renewing. The colour sits high on the cheeks and nose, the surface feels warm and dry rather than oily, and the flush deepens with heat, spice and alcohol. The formula clears the Stomach Heat that drives the colour and rebuilds the Kidney Yin that should be keeping that Heat in check.
The change is concentrated on the face: a persistent flush or patchy redness over the cheeks, nose and chin, with a dry, warm surface and a tight feeling after washing. The skin is not greasy and does not scale in sheets, but the colour is there most days and deepens with heat, spice and alcohol. In the same picture the lips and the skin around the mouth can crack, and cold sores can recur along the lip line when the Heat is high.
Shi Gao clears the Stomach Heat strongly, which is what takes the colour and the heat out of the upper body. Zhi Mu clears Heat and moistens at the same time, Shu Di Huang rebuilds the Kidney Yin at depth, Mai Dong moistens the surface from above, and Niu Xi guides the whole action downward so the Heat does not simply rise again. Cooling above and nourishing below is the design, which is why the flush eases without the skin being left dry.
It is a short course, days rather than weeks, for a mixed picture of Heat above and deficiency below. It is not for cold patterns, where the skin is pale and cool, and not for Damp-Heat with a greasy surface. Persistent redness across the face, or a lesion that keeps recurring in one place, needs medical assessment rather than repeated short courses.
Actions
- Clears Stomach Heat
- Nourishes Kidney Yin
- Benefits the gums and mouth
- Guides Heat downward
Properties
- Taste and temperature: Predominantly sweet and bitter with a cold quality. Sweet and cold clear Heat and nourish Yin, bitter drains the Heat downward.
- Organs: Stomach, Kidney, Lungs
- Channels: Stomach, Kidney
The pattern behind it
The pattern is Stomach Heat with Kidney Yin deficiency. The Heat produces the gum problems, the mouth ulcers and the facial flushing, while the deficient Yin below explains why the Heat is not controlled and why there is lower back weakness. The formula addresses both ends at once.
Composition
The herbs in Yu Nu Jian, with their role and dose.
| Role | Herb | Dose | Properties | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King | Shi Gao | 15 to 30 g | Cold, Sweet, pungent | Clears Stomach Heat strongly, the main cooling herb. |
| Shu Di Huang | 9 to 30 g | Slightly warm, Sweet | Nourishes Kidney Yin deeply, addressing the deficiency below. | |
| Assistant | Zhi Mu | 3 to 6 g | Cold, Bitter, sweet | Clears Heat and nourishes Yin, bridging the two actions. |
| Deputy | Mai Dong | 6 to 9 g | Slightly cold, Sweet, bitter | Moistens the upper body and supports the Yin. |
| Niu Xi | 3 to 6 g | Neutral, Bitter, sour | Guides the action downward and strengthens the lower body, balancing the rising Heat. |
Patterns it treats
Stomach Fire
Flushed, warm, dry skin across the cheeks, nose and chin, with colour that deepens with heat, spice and alcohol. Stomach Heat drives the flush while the Kidney Yin that should hold it down is depleted, so the surface stays hot and dry underneath.
How the formula is built
The formula clears above and nourishes below. Shi Gao and Zhi Mu deal with the Heat, Shu Di Huang and Mai Dong restore the Yin, and Niu Xi directs the action downward so the Heat does not simply rise again. That is why it suits the mixed picture rather than pure Heat or pure deficiency.
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 cooling is added.
- If the Yin deficiency dominates, the nourishing herbs are increased.
- If there is bleeding from the gums, hemostatic herbs are added.
- If the pattern is cold, the formula is not used.
Timing
Taken warm in two divided doses.
Duration
Short-term use: five to fourteen days, reassessed.
Diet while taking it
Avoid hot spicy and drying food, and alcohol, which add to Stomach Heat.
Safety
Contraindications
Avoid in Spleen and Stomach Yang deficiency with cold limbs and loose stools. It is a short-course formula for Heat with Yin deficiency, not for cold patterns.
Interactions
The mineral content can affect absorption of some medicines, so it should be separated from other medication.
Pregnancy
Use with caution in pregnancy. Niu Xi has a strong downward-directing and Blood-moving quality.
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 persistent gum or mouth problems need dental or 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
Jing Yue Quan Shu (景岳全书, The Complete Works of Jingyue) by Zhang Jingyue, Ming dynasty, 17th century.
Zhang Jingyue designed the formula for the pattern where Heat burns above while the Yin is depleted below, a common combination in older or chronically stressed patients. It remains the reference formula for that mixed picture, and its skin uses are in the same territory: facial flushing and dry hot skin with Yin deficiency.
Classical record
Zhang Jingyue recorded the formula for Stomach Heat with Kidney Yin deficiency, clearing the Heat above while nourishing the Yin below.
Jing Yue Quan Shu (景岳全书, The Complete Works of Jingyue), Zhang Jingyue, Ming 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
How is it different from Qing Wei San?
Qing Wei San clears Stomach Fire without nourishing Yin. Yu Nu Jian adds Kidney Yin support, so it is used when lower back weakness and dryness show deficiency.
Can it help gum problems?
Where there is Stomach Heat with Yin deficiency. Persistent gum problems need dental assessment.
Why does it contain Niu Xi?
To guide the action downward so the Heat does not simply rise again, and to strengthen the lower body that the Yin deficiency has weakened.
How long is it used?
Five to fourteen days, then reassessed.