Wen Jing Tang: A Time-Honored Remedy for Women’s Health
Health Lab- Feb 2
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 30
Wen Jing Tang, also known as Channel-Warming Decoction, is a classic formula from Traditional Chinese Medicine, found in the Golden Guide. It’s a go-to for women’s health, focusing on warming the body, improving blood flow, and nourishing blood to treat issues caused by cold and stagnation in the reproductive system. This article explains its ingredients, benefits, modern uses, and how simple dietary tweaks can enhance its effects.
What’s in Wen Jing Tang?
This formula blends several herbs, each playing a key role in restoring balance. Here’s the lineup:
Cornelian cherry (9g): Warms the body, relieves pain, and calms nausea.
Angelica root (6g): Boosts blood production, improves circulation, and eases menstrual pain.
Peony root (6g): Nourishes blood, supports the liver, and reduces pain.
Sichuan lovage root (6g): Promotes blood flow, balances energy, and relieves pain.
Ginseng (6g): Restores energy, lifts spirits, and strengthens the body.
Cinnamon twig (6g): Warms the body’s channels, dispels cold, and eases discomfort.
Donkey-hide gelatin (6g): Nourishes blood, stops bleeding, and prevents blood loss.
Tree peony bark (6g): Clears excess heat, improves circulation, and reduces blood stagnation.
Ginger (6g): Warms the stomach, reduces cold, and settles nausea.
Licorice root (6g): Balances the formula and prevents harsh effects from other herbs.
Pinellia root (6g): Clears dampness, reduces phlegm, and stops vomiting.
Dwarf lilyturf root (9g): Hydrates the body, supports lung health, and calms irritability.
How to Use It
Boil these 12 herbs in about 2 liters of water until you’re left with 600ml of liquid. Divide into three doses and drink warm. For modern use, decoct the herbs in water and mix in melted donkey-hide gelatin just before drinking.
What It Does and When to Use Wen Jing Tang
Wen Jing Tang warms the body, clears blood stagnation, and nourishes blood to address symptoms like:
Irregular periods (early, late, or absent).
Continuous or clotted menstrual bleeding.
Evening fevers, hot palms, dry lips, or thirst.
Lower abdominal pain or bloating.
Dark red tongue with a weak pulse.
Infertility due to a cold uterus.
Why Wen Jing Tang Works
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, issues arise when cold settles in the Chong and Ren meridians—key pathways tied to menstruation and fertility. Cold causes blood to stagnate, leading to pain, bloating, irregular periods, or infertility.
If blood flow is blocked, periods may come early, be heavy, or even happen twice a month. In severe cases, menstruation may stop altogether. Stagnation also dries out the body, causing dry lips or thirst, while internal heat from blood deficiency triggers evening fevers or hot palms.
Wen Jing Tang warms these meridians, clears stagnation, nourishes blood, and cools false heat to restore balance.
Modern Uses
Wen Jing Tang shines in modern medicine for a variety of conditions:
Women’s Health
Irregular periods and bleeding: It helps with functional uterine bleeding and irregular cycles.
Painful periods and pelvic issues: It eases dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic inflammation.
Infertility and menopause: It supports fertility and relieves menopausal symptoms.
Endometriosis and miscarriage: It aids in managing these conditions for better reproductive health.
Reproductive and Urinary Health
Infections and inflammation: It’s used for cervicitis, vaginitis, and oophoritis (ovarian inflammation).
Urinary issues: It helps with kidney stones, pyelonephritis, and even prostate hyperplasia in men.
Cancer support: It’s sometimes used as an adjunct therapy for cervical cancer to improve quality of life.
Other Conditions
Chronic illnesses: It supports patients with chronic renal failure or pancreatitis.
General inflammation: Its warming and blood-moving properties help with various inflammatory conditions.
Pairing with Food for Extra Relief
Combine Wen Jing Tang with these dietary boosts:
Red date and longan tea: Boil red dates and longan fruit for a blood-nourishing, warming drink.
Angelica-ginger lamb soup: Cook lamb with angelica root and ginger to warm the body and support menstruation.
Donkey-hide gelatin porridge: Add donkey-hide gelatin to rice porridge to nourish blood and ease menstrual issues.
Things to Watch Out For
Not for heat-related issues: Avoid if menstrual problems stem from excess heat or if there’s no blood stagnation.
Skip cold foods: Raw or cold foods during treatment can weaken the formula’s warming effects.
Consult a professional: Always check with a Chinese medicine practitioner to ensure it’s right for you.
Wrapping Up
Wen Jing Tang is a powerful, time-tested formula for women’s health, tackling cold, stagnation, and blood deficiency in the reproductive system. From irregular periods to infertility, its warming and nourishing herbs offer relief for a range of gynecological and even urinary conditions.
Pair it with simple, warming foods to boost its effects, but use it carefully, following its precautions. With the right guidance, Wen Jing Tang can help women feel balanced and healthy.
Chinese Name | 溫經湯 |
Phonetic | Xiao Qing Long Tang |
English Name | Channel-Warming Decoction |
Classification | Blood-regulating formulas |
Source | 《Essentials from the Golden Cabinet》Jin Gui Yao Lue《金匱要略》 |
Combination | Euodiae Fructus (Wu Zhu Yu) 3 liang (9g), Angelicae Sinensis Radix (Dang Gui) 2 liang (6g), Paeoniae Radix Alba(Shao Yao) 2 liang (6g), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (Chuan Xiong) 2 liang (6g), Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma (Ren Shen) 2 liang (6g), Cinnamomi Ramulus (Gui Zhi) 2 liang (6g), Asini Corii Colla (E Jiao) 2 liang (6g), Moutan Cortex (Mu Dan Pi) 2 liang (6g), Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens (Sheng Jiang) 2 liang (6g), Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Gan Cao) 2 liang (6g), Pinelliae Rhizoma (Ban Xia) 0.5 sheng (6g),Ophiopogonis Radix (Mai Dong) 1 sheng (9g) |
Method | Decoct all of the medicinals with one dou of water, and boil down to three sheng. Take the warm decoction three times a day. (Modern use: prepare Wen Jing Tang as a decoction, and mix in e jiao to melt into the decoction.) |
Action | Warms the channels and dissipates cold, dispels stasis and nourishes blood. |
Indication | Wen Jing Tang is indicated for deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai, obstructive blood stasis marked by menstrual spotting or purple menses with blood clots. There may be irregular menstruation such as advanced, delayed, or prolonged periods, or having a period twice a month. There may also be inhibited menses, fever at night, vexatious heat in the palms, dry lips and mouth, distention and fullness of the lower abdomen, a dark red tongue, and a thready, choppy pulse. Infertility due to deficient cold of the uterus may also manifest. |
Pathogenesis | The pattern that Wen Jing Tang treats is due to deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai, and obstructive blood stasis. Chong is the sea of blood, and ren dominates pregnancy. They originate from the uterus, travel around the lower abdomen, and are closely related to menstruation and childbirth. Therefore, deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai leads to obstructive blood stasis causing lower abdomen pain and fullness, irregular menstruation, or infertility. Obstructive blood stasis, blood leaving the vessels or chong and ren mai failing to astringe can lead to early, bimonthly, or flooding and spotting menstruation. Blood stasis due to cold accumulation can cause delayed or inhibited menses. Blood stasis blocking the generation of new blood leads to dry lips and mouth due to the lack of moisture. Fever at night and vexatious heat of the palms reflect internal heat generated from the consumption of blood. This pattern has multiple pathogenic factors including stasis, cold, deficiency, and heat; however, deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai and blood stasis are the most prominent. The treatment is to warm the channels, dissipate cold, dispel stasis, nourish blood, and clear deficiency-heat. |
Application | 1. Essential pattern differentiation Wen Jing Tang is a fundamental formula for regulating menstruation in gynecology. This clinical pattern is marked by irregular menstruation, cold pain in the lower abdomen, blood clots in the menses, occasional vexation and fever, dark red tongue, thready, choppy pulse. 2. Modern applications This formula may be used in the following biomedically defined disorders when the patient shows signs of deficiency-cold of the chong and ren mai and obstructive blood stasis: dysfunctional uterine bleeding, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, irregular menstruation, uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhea, and infertility. 3. Cautions and contraindications This formula is not appropriate for irregular menstruation due to excessive heat or without blood stasis. Avoid raw or cold foods when taking this medication. |
Additonal formulae | Wen Jing Tang (Channel-Warming Decoction 溫經湯) [Source]《The Complete Compendium of Fine Formulas for Women》Fu Ren Da Quan Liang Fang《婦人大全良方》 [Ingredients] Dang gui 5 fen (6g), chuan xiong 5 fen (6g), rou gui 5 fen (6g), e zhu (vinegar-fried) 5 fen (6g), mu dan pi 5 fen (6g), ren shen 7 fen (9g), niu xi 7 fen (9g), gan cao 7 fen (9g) [Preparation and Administration] Prepare it as a decoction. [Actions] Warms the channels and supplements deficiency, dissolves stasis, and relieves pain. [Applicable Patterns] Deficiency-cold of the sea of blood, syndrome of qi and blood stagnation. Symptoms include: menstrual irregularities, lower abdominal pain, and a deep, tight pulse. |
Remark | Ginseng (Panax ginseng) is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Its trade is allowed but subject to licensing controls. |
Comments