Formulas · Regulate Qi 理氣 · Hwaje Gukbang (和劑局方)

Five Aromatics Powder

Ohyang-san

한글 오향산 · Pinyin Wu Xiang San

五香散

The transcription writes 隂 for 陰, 欝 for 鬱, 癕 for 癰, 沉 for 沈, 𤍠 for 熱 and 為 for 爲; the standard forms are printed, and 麄末 is printed as the transcription and the corpus both have it.

Composition 構成

Mokhyang Mu Xiang
木香 목향 · Costus Root

2.4 g
Chief 君

equal parts
Jeonghyang Ding Xiang
丁香 정향 · Clove

2.4 g
Deputy 臣

equal parts
Chimhyang Chen Xiang
沈香 침향 · Agarwood

2.4 g
Deputy 臣

沉香, equal parts
Yuhyang Ru Xiang
乳香 유향 · Frankincense

2.4 g
Assistant 佐

equal parts
Sahyang She Xiang
麝香 사향 · Musk (prohibited)

2.4 g
Envoy 使

equal parts · CITES
Gwakhyang Huo Xiang
藿香 곽향 · Korean Mint

—
Envoy 使

in the alternative formula, in place of the musk

Total 12 g per packet (첩) · representative dosage — verify against source texts. Excludes 1 ingredient measured by count or used as a vehicle, shown as —.

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

Breaks up the Qi of Yin and Yang bound together and refusing to disperse
Reduces knotted nodes with swelling and pain

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Yin and Yang Qi bound up and not dispersing (陰陽之氣鬱結不消)
Knotted nodes, swollen and painful (結核腫痛)
A swelling resembling an abscess or a boil, with alternating cold and heat and headache

Biomedical correlates

Suppurative or reactive lymphadenitis
Early cellulitis with systemic symptoms
Inflammatory nodules

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治陰陽之氣鬱結不消, 結核腫痛, 或似癰癤, 使人寒熱ㆍ頭痛. 木香ㆍ丁香ㆍ沈香ㆍ乳香ㆍ麝香各等分, 爲麄末. 每取三錢, 水煎服. ○一方, 無麝香, 有藿香. 《局方》

Translation

Treats the Qi of Yin and Yang bound up and refusing to disperse, with knotted nodes, swelling and pain, or something resembling an abscess or a boil, making the person feel cold and hot by turns with headache. Costus root, clove, agarwood, frankincense and musk, equal parts, made into a coarse powder. For each dose take 3 don and decoct in water. One formula leaves out the musk and has Korean mint instead. — Gukbang 局方 (Donguibogam · Ongjeo)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Five aromatics and nothing else, in equal parts. The chapter prescribes it together with 五香湯 for the five effusions — at the back of the head, the temples, the brows, the jaw and the back — and the reasoning is in the indication rather than the drug list: a swelling that will not disperse is read as Qi bound up, and aromatics are what unbind Qi. 結核腫痛, knotted nodes with swelling and pain, is the chapter's own term and the formula is aimed at it as much as at a formed abscess. The closing variant is worth keeping: one version drops the musk and puts Korean mint in its place, which is a substitution of a cheap aromatic for an expensive one and makes the formula usable. That substitution is the one to follow now in any case. **Contains musk, CITES Appendix I and prohibited in trade; the alternative form of the formula, with Korean mint in its place, is the one the text itself offers.** Swollen, painful nodes with fever need a cause found — bacterial lymphadenitis, tuberculosis and lymphoma all present this way. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.