Four Gentlemen Decoction

The Si Jun Zi Tang (“Decoction of the Four Gentlemen”) is one of the most fundamental blends in the whole Chinese pharmacopoeia.

Dating from the He Ji Ju Fang (1078, Song dynasty), it is composed of four herbs only: Ren Shen (white ginseng), Bai Zhu (white atractylodes), Fu Ling (poria), and Gan Cao (liquorice).

This pared-down composition, which looks simple, is in fact the very archetype of the Bu Qi register of the Qi of the Earth Phase — the “mother blend” from which dozens of other blends of the same register derive.

The name “Gentlemen” (Jun Zi) evokes Confucian nobility: four herbs of upright, well-matched and complementary character.

The foundational blend for constitutions of deficient Qi of the Earth Phase, when the Qi of Earth weakens and transformation (Yun Hua) slows.

Present as the base of most of the more complex supplementing blends (Liu Jun Zi Tang, Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang, Gui Pi Tang, and others).

• Traditional preparation: 1 sachet in 500 ml of water, simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, strain and drink in 2 servings over the day
• Classic use: 1 sachet a day for 2 to 4 weeks, to be repeated as it feels right
• Mother blend: the base of a great many blends of the supplementing register — a fundamental reference in the pharmacopoeia

To be used with care in cases of settled heat, of deficient Yin with marked dryness, or of marked stagnation (plain supplementing can feed stagnation).

Ask a practitioner for advice so it can be matched to your own constitution.