Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng for Overthinking Insomnia
Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng for Sleep
Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng is another teeny-tiny formula,[1] consisting of zhīzǐ, 3 g, and gānjiāng, 6 g. It is mentioned only in clause 80 of the Shānghán lùn, where it states, “In cold damage, the doctor used pills to purge strongly. Body heat remains, and there is slight vexation. Zhīzǐ Gānjiāng Tāng rules.
Let’s break this down a bit, starting with “cold damage.” Cold damage is often considered a term limited to the causative factor of the Máhuáng Tāng pattern. However, when thoroughly reading the Shánghān zábìng lùn, it is clear that Zhāng Zhòngjǐng used it in a much broader way than this. His use of the term cold damage can be summarized as an event that blocks the flow of the life-force yáng in the body. This is in contrast to the term wind-strike, which is also a much broader term than simply the causative factor causing a Guìzhī Tāng pattern. Wind-strike can be summarized as an event that leaves aspects of the body too open and thus prone to leakage. Hence, we have cold damage expressing blockage and wind-strike expressing leakage.
In this case, a blockage, cold damage, was understandably treated with strong purgation. Though we think of purgation […]