Formulas · Clear Heat 淸熱 · Uihak Immun (醫學入門)

Rhinoceros Horn Decoction

Seogak-tang

한글 서각탕 · Pinyin Xi Jiao Tang

犀角湯

Composition 構成

Seogak Xi Jiao
犀角 서각 · Rhinoceros Horn (prohibited)

4 g
Chief 君

CITES
Hyeonsam Xuan Shen
玄參 현삼 · Scrophularia

4 g
Deputy 臣
Seungma Sheng Ma
升麻 승마 · Cimicifuga

3.2 g
Deputy 臣
Moktong Mu Tong
木通 목통 · Akebia

3.2 g
Assistant 佐
Yeongyo Lian Qiao
連翹 연교 · Forsythia

2.4 g
Assistant 佐
Siho Chai Hu
柴胡 시호 · Bupleurum

2.4 g
Assistant 佐
Chimhyang Chen Xiang
沈香 침향 · Agarwood

2 g
Assistant 佐
Sagan She Gan
射干 사간 · Blackberry Lily

2 g
Assistant 佐
Mangcho Mang Xiao
芒硝 망초 · Mirabilite

1.6 g
Assistant 佐
Maekmundong Mai Men Dong
麥門冬 맥문동 · Liriope

1.6 g
Assistant 佐
Gamcho Gan Cao
甘草 감초 · Licorice

2 g
Envoy 使

Total 28.4 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 and frees the yang that has bound
Disperses swelling of the four limbs

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

Bound yang pattern with the four limbs swollen and closed
Swelling and pain of the joints of hands and feet mistaken for wind

Biomedical correlates

Inflammatory arthritis with swelling
Peripheral oedema with joint involvement

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治結陽證, 四肢腫閉. 犀角ㆍ玄參各一錢, 升麻ㆍ木通各八分, 連翹ㆍ柴胡各六分, 沈香ㆍ射干ㆍ甘草各五分, 芒硝ㆍ麥門冬各四分. 右剉, 作一貼, 水煎服. 《入門》

Translation

Treats the bound yang pattern, with the four limbs swollen and closed. Rhinoceros horn and scrophularia 1 don each; cimicifuga and akebia 8 pun each; forsythia and bupleurum 6 pun each; aloeswood, belamcanda and licorice 5 pun each; mirabilite and ophiopogon 4 pun each. Cut up, make one packet, decoct in water and take. — Uihak Immun 入門 (Donguibogam · Bujong)

Clinical commentary 臨床

The passage at 2.7 that this formula answers makes a pointed clinical argument: people today, seeing swelling and pain in the joints of the hands and feet, treat it all as wind — and that is a mistake. What the Neijing calls bound yang is damp heat contending with qi in the four limbs, and it is cleared rather than dispersed. That distinction still holds. Joint swelling with heat is not the same problem as joint pain that moves with the weather, and the formulas for the two share nothing. **Contains rhinoceros horn, a CITES Appendix I product prohibited in international trade; contemporary practice substitutes water buffalo horn 水牛角. Joint swelling with heat requires assessment — septic arthritis and crystal arthropathy must be excluded.** — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.