Clear the Heart Decoction

Cheongsim-tang

한글 청심탕 · Pinyin Qing Xin Tang

淸心湯

Cut and made into one packet with 7 bamboo leaves and a little honey, decocted together down to half; the mirabilite is stirred in, the dregs removed, and the liquid taken warm. Note on modern practice: rhubarb and mirabilite are purgatives; short courses only.

Composition 構成

Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

6.8 g
Chief 君
Yeongyo Lian Qiao
連翹 연교 · Forsythia

2.8 g
Deputy 臣
Chija Zhi Zi
梔子 치자 · Gardenia

2.8 g
Deputy 臣
Daehwang Da Huang
大黃 대황 · Rhubarb

2.8 g
Deputy 臣 wine-steamed
Bakha Bo He
薄荷 박하 · Mint

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Hwanggeum Huang Qin
黃芩 황금 · Scutellaria

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Hwangryeon Huang Lian
黃連 황련 · Coptis

2.8 g
Assistant 佐
Mangcho Mang Xiao
芒硝 망초 · Mirabilite

2 g
Assistant 佐朴硝
Jukyeop Zhu Ye
竹葉 죽엽 · Bamboo Leaf

3 g
Envoy 使 7 leaves

Total 28.6 g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts.

Received this formula from your practitioner? Amounts shown here are classical reference values — granule and prepared products differ. Always follow your prescribed dosage and directions.

Actions 效能

Clears heat accumulated in the upper burner
Opens a passage below so what is banked above can come down

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Accumulated heat of the upper burner (上焦積熱)
Heat in chest and head with constipation
Banked heat requiring an exit

Biomedical correlates

Upper-body inflammatory heat with constipation
Oral ulcers and throat heat
Short-course clearing therapy

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治上焦積熱. 甘草一錢七分, 連翹ㆍ梔子ㆍ大黃(酒蒸)ㆍ薄荷ㆍ黃芩ㆍ黃連各七分, 朴硝五分. 右剉, 作一貼, 入竹葉七片ㆍ蜜少許, 同煎至半, 入硝去滓, 溫服. 《丹心》

Translation

Treats accumulated heat of the upper burner. Licorice 1 don 7 fun; forsythia, gardenia, wine-steamed rhubarb, mint, scutellaria, and coptis, 7 fun each; mirabilite 5 fun. Cut the above, make one packet, add 7 bamboo leaves and a little honey, decoct together down to half, stir in the mirabilite, remove the dregs, and take warm. — Dansim 丹心 (Donguibogam · Hwa)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Cool the Diaphragm Powder rebuilt with licorice promoted to chief at nearly seven fun — an unusual arrangement that softens what is otherwise a brisk purgative. The rest is the familiar architecture of the upper-burner shelf: forsythia and gardenia cooling above, rhubarb and mirabilite opening below, and seven bamboo leaves floating on top. The chapter's reasoning throughout this section is that heat banked in the chest needs an exit more than it needs a coolant. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.