Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan — Aurantium Pill to Guide Out Stagnation

On this page

1. Overview
2. TCM pattern
3. Key herbs
4. Formula actions
5. Conditions treated
6. Cautions

Overview

Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan — the “Aurantium Pill to Guide Out Stagnation” — is a Jin-Yuan dynasty formula from Li Dongyuan’s Nei Wai Shang Bian Huo Lun (1247). It addresses food stagnation with damp-heat in the middle and lower burner — the pattern that develops when greasy, rich, alcoholic or excessive food sits in the gut, ferments, and generates heat and damp.

The formula combines a strong Qi-moving herb (Zhi Shi) with a downward-purging herb (Da Huang), Damp-heat-clearing herbs (Huang Lian, Huang Qin) and Spleen-strengthening herbs (Bai Zhu, Fu Ling, Ze Xie, Shen Qu). The combination clears food stagnation downward while transforming the damp-heat that the stagnation has created.

I prescribe Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan as part of bespoke herbal formulas from pharmaceutical-grade granules sourced from Sun Ten in Taiwan.

TCM pattern

Zhi Shi Dao Zhi Wan is prescribed for food stagnation with damp-heat:

• Abdominal distention and fullness — uncomfortable, worse after eating
• Constipation with hard, foul stools or alternating diarrhoea with foul mucus
• Heaviness in the body
• Reduced appetite, foul belching
• Bitter taste, foul breath
• Dark, scanty urine
• Mild fever or feeling of heat
• Tongue — red, yellow greasy coat
• Pulse — slippery and forceful, possibly rapid

Key herbs

1. Zhi Shi (immature bitter orange) — powerfully moves Qi and breaks stagnation
2. Da Huang — purges Heat and stagnation downward
3. Huang Lian — clears damp-heat from middle
4. Huang Qin — clears damp-heat
5. Bai Zhu — tonifies Spleen
6. Fu Ling — drains Damp
7. Ze Xie — drains Damp through urination
8. Shen Qu (fermented leaven) — transforms food stagnation

Formula actions

1. Guides out food stagnation
2. Clears damp-heat from the middle burner
3. Strengthens the Spleen
4. Promotes bowel movement

Conditions treated

1. Acute food stagnation after overeating, holiday excess, alcohol or rich food
2. Functional dyspepsia with abdominal fullness and Heat signs
3. Acute gastroenteritis with damp-heat pattern
4. Acute viral gastroenteritis in the recovery phase
5. Chronic constipation with damp-heat pattern
6. Bacterial dysentery early stage (alongside antibiotics)
7. Childhood food stagnation — bad breath, foul stools, reduced appetite
8. Weight management with metabolic syndrome — alongside lifestyle changes

Cautions

Contains Da Huang. Not appropriate in pregnancy.

Not appropriate for cold-pattern or Spleen Qi deficiency without Heat.

Use cautiously in older adults or those with weak digestion.

For short-term use only; not for chronic constipation without Heat.

Always consult a qualified Chinese herbalist registered with the RCHM.

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