In the long history of the application of Chinese medicine, we often come across two or more drugs that are combined to form a formula, which can often play a more comprehensive role and have a more satisfactory effect. The combination of only two drugs, but can play the ultimate efficacy, we often call “mandarin duck with”. Such a combination not only has outstanding effects, but also reduces the body’s burden of drug transformation because of the reduced cost of drug supplies, so it is not too much to call it a “good prescription”.
Today, I would like to introduce to you a combination of two herbs, the star combination for replenishing Qi and blood – Astragalus + Angelica. The combination of these two herbs has a long history of application, the most typical one being “Huang Qi Angelica Soup”. This formula was invented by Li Dongyuan, one of the Four Great Masters of Jin Yuan. He was also the founder of the doctrine of spleen and stomach and was especially good at treating various spleen and stomach diseases. He believed that the spleen and stomach belonged to the center of the five viscera and six internal organs, and the treatment of any disease could not be separated from the regulation of the spleen and stomach. He also wrote a book entitled “Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach” to discuss his views.
According to the theory of Chinese medicine, the five elements of the spleen and stomach are earth, which is responsible for the production of qi and blood, so the spleen and stomach are also the “source of qi and blood biochemistry. This is why Li Dong Yuan invented this classic formula that has been handed down to this day as a double tonic for Qi and Blood. Although this formula has only two herbs, it is too simple, but it contains great wisdom.
Huang Qi
First of all, let’s talk about the herb Huang Qi. Li Dongyuan’s preference for Astragalus comes from his master Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan believes that Astragalus has many benefits, most notably the ability to strengthen the spleen and stomach, invigorate the blood and produce blood, the ability to tonic deficiency is more prominent, good for the vital energy. It is certainly not too much to say that it is the first qi tonic. Many people will come out to “correct” at this time: you do not take ginseng into account! No, it is not. Ginseng, as many people know, is a great tonic for the vital energy, and is so strong that the average person can’t bear it, and will have a nosebleed if he eats some. In addition, the quantity of high-quality ginseng is scarce and expensive, so ordinary people certainly do not take it as their first choice.
Astragalus, on the other hand, is not the same, as it is a tonic and warm, especially for people with a weak spleen and stomach, as it is less potent and less prone to deficiency. The most important point is that astragalus is more affordable and belongs to the class of drugs that the public can afford. It can be described as: a righteousness. The use of Astragalus in the ancient world is endless, and today it is a common medicine for our body. For example, some of our fans of the teacher community friends, due to long speech lectures, consume a lot of lung gas, thus hoarse speech, shortness of breath and dizziness, recommended that they use astragalus tea, natural voice like a flood of bells, speech.
Astragalus has a wide range of applications due to its calming properties: weakness and weakness in speech, walking up a few steps on the stairs and panting, you can use Astragalus; in the Qi trapped in the prolapse of the organs, you can use Astragalus; because of the role of Astragalus to promote water and muscle, fat prone to edema can use Astragalus; in addition, Astragalus is rich in trace elements can be anti-inflammatory and anti-viral, to help regulate the body’s immune system, regular colds or people suffering from It can also be used by people who suffer from rhinitis.
Angelica
After talking about astragalus, let’s talk about its good partner, angelica. The ancient names for herbs are also very poetic. There is a very romantic statement that I like: Ancient people married to have children, and angelica is a good remedy for female diseases. Women often miss their husbands at home and look forward to their return, hence the name Angelica, which means the same as the Tang poem “No one planted the flax when it was ready to return”.
Many of us know that angelica has a blood tonic effect and is often used in gynecological treatment. However, many people do not know that it also has the function of invigorating the blood. It is known to be made from donkey skin, but it is very nourishing and difficult to digest and easily gets inflamed. The greatest feature of Angelica tonic blood is that it not only nourishes the blood but also invigorates it. If the blood and Qi are sufficient but not alive, it is equivalent to a pool of stagnant water, which is not good for the body. Angelica’s healing effect of tonifying and invigorating blood is very effective for people with blood deficiency and bruises, such as women with low menstrual flow, blood clots and dark color.
From the above, it is clear that the invention of Astragalus and Angelica soup is so great wisdom, impartial and just the right amount of neutralization of the medicine. At this point, some people may ask: I only have one of these counterparts, can I just nourish the qi or just the blood? This is never to be respected, qi and blood are unified relationship, interdependent, only one of them is favored, the effect is often not outstanding. Because more blood needs qi to carry away, in order to run to the whole body, otherwise it is just stagnant blood, and qi is generated by blood, blood is not enough, qi has nothing to rely on, scurrying around, forming annoying evil fire. So qi and blood need to be supplemented together, blood needs to be led by qi, qi needs to be restrained by blood. Here is the mystery of the double tonic of qi and blood. I have to praise the wisdom of the developer of Astragalus angelica soup again!