Four Substances Decoction

The Si Wu Tang (“Decoction of the Four Substances”) is the archetype of the blends of the Bu Xue (补血) register — that of the Blood — in the Chinese pharmacopoeia.

Dating from the He Ji Ju Fang (1078), it brings together four herbs only: Shu Di Huang (prepared Rehmannia, of the register that supplements the Yin and the Blood in depth), Dang Gui (Chinese angelica, which classical usage places at once in the Bu Xue and Huo Xue readings of the Blood), Bai Shao (white peony, of the register that enriches the Blood and settles the Yin of Wood), Chuan Xiong (Chuan lovage, which moves the Qi within the Blood).

A composition of remarkable elegance, poised between supplementation (Shu Di + Bai Shao), enrichment (Dang Gui) and movement (Chuan Xiong) — the mother blend of the Blood, turned in particular towards women’s constitutions.

The foundational blend for constitutions of deficient Blood, particularly in women, when the Blood no longer fully feeds and the harmony of the Blood’s rhythms is troubled.

The base of many derived blends (Tao Hong Si Wu Tang, which adds a moving dimension; Si Wu Tang with Huang Qi, which takes in the Qi and the Blood at once; and so on).

• 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: a tradition of use over 2 to 4 weeks
• Mother blend: the base of a great many blends of the Blood supplementing register

To be avoided in cases of settled heat from deficient Yin with empty heat. To be used in moderation where the work of transformation is much weakened (the blend can feed Dampness).