Formulas · Regulate Qi 理氣 · Uihak Jeongjeon (醫學正傳)

China Fir Knot Decoction

Samjeol-tang

한글 삼절탕  ·  Pinyin Shan Jie Tang

杉節湯

Cut and made into one packet, decocted in downstream-flowing water and taken. The chapter records that Liu Zihou, banished to the south, developed leg qi surging into the Heart with a stone-hard mass below the flank and lost consciousness; someone transmitted this method to him, he took it, and within half a meal's time had three great movements of the bowel, whereupon the Qi passed, the mass dispersed, and he revived. **Note on modern practice: leg swelling with breathlessness and collapse is a cardiac emergency requiring immediate medical care.**

Composition 構成

Total 248 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

Indications 主治

Pattern-based

  • Leg qi entering the abdomen and surging into the Heart (脚氣入腹衝心)
  • Critical and on the point of expiring
  • A mass below the flank hard as stone

Biomedical correlates

  • Acute decompensation in beriberi — historical management
  • Cardiac emergency of the era
  • Rescue therapy

Source text 原文

Donguibogam 東醫寶鑑

治脚氣入腹衝心, 危急欲絶, 以此救之. 杉木節 四兩, 大腹皮 一兩, 檳榔 七箇, 靑橘葉 四十九片 <span class='sochu'>無則用皮</span>. 右剉, 作一貼, 以順流水煎服. 《正傳》

Translation

Treats leg qi entering the abdomen and surging into the Heart, critical and on the point of expiring; this rescues them. China fir knot 4 nyang; areca husk 1 nyang; areca nut, 7 pieces; green tangerine leaf, 49 leaves <span class='sochu'>— the peel if leaves are unavailable —</span>. Cut the above, make one packet, decoct in downstream-flowing water and take. — Jeongjeon 正傳 (Donguibogam · Jok)

Clinical commentary 臨床

Four ingredients for the chapter's worst emergency, and the leading one is unusual — the knot of a China fir, four ounces of it. The vehicle matters as much: downstream-flowing water, chosen for its direction of travel, which is the same reasoning behind every downward-driving instruction in this chapter. The case history attached is one of the most famous in the leg qi literature. — Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.

Related formulas 關聯

Look up another