Ping Wei San: Herbal Relief for Dampness and Digestive Comfort
Health Lab- Jan 30
- 6 min read
Updated: May 3
Ping Wei San, or Stomach-Calming Powder, is a trusted Chinese herbal formula first documented in the Northern Song Dynasty’s Boji Fang and later featured in Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang.
This remedy excels at clearing dampness from the spleen and stomach, boosting digestion, and easing discomfort. Popular in places like Taiwan and Hong Kong, it’s a go-to solution for digestive issues and remains a trending topic online.
What’s in Ping Wei San?
Ping Wei San combines four key herbs, carefully prepared for maximum effect:
Atractylodes: Peeled, ground, and fried until golden, it dries dampness and strengthens the spleen.
Magnolia Bark: Peeled, coated with ginger juice, and roasted, it reduces bloating and moves energy.
Tangerine Peel: Washed and dried, it regulates digestion and clears stagnation.
Licorice: Roasted to a yellow hue, it harmonizes the formula and soothes the stomach.
To use, grind the herbs into a fine powder and take 4-6g with a ginger and jujube tea, or boil them into a decoction.
What Does It Do?
Ping Wei San dries excess dampness, supports the spleen, promotes smooth energy flow, and calms the stomach. In simple terms, it clears “wetness” in the body that slows digestion, causing bloating, nausea, or fatigue, while restoring comfort and appetite.
When to Use It
This formula treats “spleen and stomach dampness,” which shows up as:
Bloating or a full abdomen
No appetite or tasteless mouth
Nausea, vomiting, or acid reflux
Burping with a sour smell
Heavy, tired limbs
Sleepiness or laziness
Frequent diarrhea
Thick, white tongue coating
Slow pulse
Why Dampness Matters
In Chinese medicine, the spleen thrives in dryness but struggles with dampness, like a kitchen flooded with water.
Excess dampness—caused by diet, weather, or lifestyle—impairs the spleen’s ability to digest food, leading to bloating, poor appetite, and fatigue. It also clogs energy flow, causing nausea, burping, or diarrhea. Ping Wei San acts like a dehumidifier, clearing this “flood” to restore balance.
How It Works
Ping Wei San targets dampness and digestion through:
Drying Dampness: Atractylodes removes excess moisture, freeing the spleen.
Boosting the Spleen: It supports healthy digestion and nutrient absorption.
Moving Energy: Magnolia bark and tangerine peel ease bloating and regulate energy flow.
Soothing the Stomach: Licorice calms nausea and harmonizes the formula.
Think of the spleen and stomach as a kitchen. Dampness is like spilled water slowing everything down. Ping Wei San mops it up, getting the kitchen running smoothly again.
Modern Uses
Today, Ping Wei San is widely used for:
Chronic Gastritis and Ulcers: It promotes gut motility, improves stomach emptying, and relieves bloating and indigestion.
Eczema and Skin Issues: Its dampness-clearing action helps reduce inflammation and itching.
Other Conditions: It treats fatty liver, food poisoning, dysentery, chronic renal failure, viral hepatitis, chronic enteritis, and even pediatric anorexia or diarrhea.
Research shows Ping Wei San has anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting effects, aiding tissue repair in skin and digestive disorders. It also protects the gut barrier, regulates water balance, and prevents intestinal damage, making it valuable for modern medicine.
Variations and Evolution
Ping Wei San has inspired many variations:
Chaiping Tang: Combines Ping Wei San with Xiao Chaihu Tang for broader effects.
Weiling Tang: Pairs it with Wuling San to enhance dampness removal.
Flavored Versions: Additions like ginseng, poria, cyperus, or coptis target specific symptoms while maintaining the core goal of clearing spleen dampness.
These adaptations keep the formula’s focus on balancing the spleen and stomach for natural, orderly function.
Important Notes
Contraindications: Avoid in cases of yin deficiency, weak spleen, qi stagnation, or pregnancy, as its warm, drying nature may harm these conditions.
Use with Care: Its bitter, drying herbs are best for dampness-related issues and should be used under a practitioner’s guidance.
Conclusion
Ping Wei San is a powerful Chinese herbal remedy for clearing dampness, boosting digestion, and relieving discomfort from bloating, nausea, and fatigue. Its time-tested formula shines in treating digestive disorders, skin issues, and more, backed by modern research. For anyone struggling with dampness-related symptoms, Ping Wei San is a reliable choice when used with professional guidance.
Chinese Name | 平胃散 |
Phonetic | Ping Wei San |
English Name | Stomach-Calming Powder |
Classification | Dampclearing formulas |
Source | 《Concise Formulas to Aid Majorities》Jian Yao Ji Zhong Fang《簡要濟眾方》 |
Combination | Atractylodis Rhizoma (Cang Zhu) 4 liang (120g), Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex (Hou Po processed with ginger juice) 3 liang (90g), Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (Chen Pi) 2 liang (60g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma Praeparata cum Melle (Zhi Gan Cao) 1 liang (30g) |
Method | Grind the medicinals into powder. One dose is approximately 4-6g. The powder is to be taken with a decoction of sheng jiang and da zao. It can also be prepared as a decoction. |
Action | Dries dampness and activates the spleen, moves qi and harmonizes the stomach. |
Indication | This is a pattern caused by dampness accumulation in the spleen and stomach. Spleen pertains to the earth of taiyin, is localized in middle jiao, and governs transportation and transformation. It is adverse to humidity and prefers dryness. When dampness accumulation blocks the middle jiao, the result is failure of transportation and transformation marked by abdominal distension and fullness, poor appetite and tastelessness. Additionally, the stomach qi might fail to descend. Counterflow of the stomach qi leads to nausea, vomiting, belching, and acid swallowing. Dampness is a yin pathogen that is heavy and lingering by its nature. Therefore, dampness accumulation in the body leads to heavy sensation in the limbs, lassitude, and somnolence. Dampness entering the intestine results in diarrhea. The therapeutic principles are to dry dampness and to activate the spleen as the primary function and move qi and harmonize the stomach as the secondary function. The ability to remove dampness is increased when qi moves smoothly. |
Pathogenesis | This pattern is due to externally contracted wind-cold causing the lung qi to fail to diffuse. The invasion of the exterior by external wind-cold obstructs the wei yang, blocks and congests the striae and interstices, constrains ying yin, and obstructs the channels. The result is aversion to cold, fever, absence of sweating, headache, and generalized pain. The lung governs the qi and belongs to wei, which is connected with the skin and body hair at the body’s exterior. The regular diffusion and descent of lung qi is affected when the exterior of the body is restrained by wind-cold. The body’s exterior is linked internally with the lung. Therefore, the tension of the body’s exterior constrains the lung qi within. The constrained lung qi ascends counter-flow to induce labored breathing. Thin and white tongue coating and a superficial, tight pulse are indications of an exterior fettered by wind-cold. The treatment is to induce sweating to release the exterior and diffuse the lung to calm labored breathing. |
Application | 1. Essential pattern differentiation Ping Wei San is a basic formula applicable to the pattern of dampness stagnation in the spleen and stomach. This clinical pattern is marked by abdominal distension and fullness, thick and greasy tongue coating. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of dampness stagnation in spleen and stomach: chronic gastritis, functional disorders of gastrointestinal tract, gastric and duodenal ulcer. 3. Cautions and contraindications This formula is not applicable for patients with yin deficiency, qi stagnation, or deficiency of the spleen and stomach because it is acrid, bitter, warm, and dry. |
Additonal formulae | 1. Bu Huan Jin Zheng Qi San (Precious Than Gold Qi-Correcting Powder 不換金正氣散) [Source]《Simple Formulas》Yi Jian Fang《易簡方》 [Ingredients] Ping Wei San with addition of huo xiang and ban xia [Preparation and Administration] Cut the medicinals into pieces. One doge is 4 qian (12g). Add 1 zhan of water and decoct it with 3 pieces of sheng jiang until 60% water remain, remove the dregs and take it warm. [Actions] Releases the exterior and removes dampness, harmonizes the stomach to arrest vomiting. [Applicable Patterns] Dampness accumulation with an exterior-cold pattern. Symptoms include: vomiting and abdominal distention, aversion to cold with fever, cholera, severe vomiting and diarrhea, inability to acclimate, and a white and greasy tongue coating. 2. Chai Ping Tang (Bupleurum Stomach-Calming Decoction 柴平湯) [Source]《The Complete Works of [Zhang] Jing-yue》Jing Yue Quan Shu《景嶽全書》 [Ingredients] Xiao Chai Hu Tang plus Ping Wei San [Preparation and Administration] Add 2 zhong of water and decoct it with sheng jiang and da zao. [Actions] Harmonizes shaoyang, dispels dampness and harmonizes the stomach. [Applicable Patterns] Dampness malaria. Symptoms include: general pain, heavy limbs, more chills than fever, and a soggy pulse. |
Remark | Officinal Magnolia (Magnolia officinalis) is listed as "Endangered" in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. |
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