Xiang Ru Yin
Classical TCM Formula Profile
Part of the HJMEDICAL TCM Discovery Center
香薷饮 · Xiāng Rú Yǐn
A classical summer formula for exterior cold contracted in hot weather with damp, presenting with chills, fever, heavy head, abdominal pain and loose stools after exposure to cold drinks or air-conditioning in summer.
Read the complete guide →Quick Facts
- Formula Category
- Exterior-Releasing Formulas
- Primary Pattern
- Summer Heat
- Primary Function
- Release exterior, dispel summer-damp, harmonise the Middle
- Primary Therapeutic Principle
- Disperse summer-heat with cold exterior and resolve damp in the Middle
- Classical Source
- Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang (Song dynasty)
- Available as Granules
- Yes
Formula Overview
A classical summer formula for exterior cold contracted in hot weather with damp, presenting with chills, fever, heavy head, abdominal pain and loose stools after exposure to cold drinks or air-conditioning in summer.
Therapeutic Principle
Traditionally selected for “yin summer-heat” — cold exterior contracted in hot weather with damp — rather than pure heat summer patterns or Qi-deficiency summer fatigue.
Composition: Sovereign, Minister, Assistant, Envoy
Every herb in the formula, grouped by the job it does in the classical hierarchy.
君SovereignTreats the main pattern
臣MinisterReinforces the sovereign
佐/使Assistant & EnvoyTreats accompanying patterns, harmonises the whole
Classical Composition
- Herba Moslae (Xiang Ru) 9g
- Semen Lablab Album (Bai Bian Dou) 9g
- Cortex Magnoliae Officinalis (Hou Po) 6g
Dosages follow the classical source and are shown for study, not as a prescription.
Related Conditions
Related Health Topics
Actions
- Releases summerheat with exterior cold and transforms dampness.
Indications
- This formula is indicated for summerheat with additional cold fettering the exterior.
- Signs and symptoms include chills and fever in hot weather, heavy body, absence of sweating, and epigastric fullness.
- The coating is white and greasy.
Traditional Pathogenesis
Cause & mechanism
- This pattern is caused by summerheat damaging qi and fluids, often with accompanying dampness.
- Summerheat is yang and dispersing; it produces fever, thirst, heavy body and scanty urine.
- Summerheat with additional cold fettering the exterior produces chills, fever, heavy body and absence of sweating in hot weather.
Treatment strategy
- The correct method is to clear summerheat, drain dampness, and generate fluids.
- In this formula the emphasis is to disperse summer-heat with cold exterior and resolve damp in the Middle.
How does this formula compare?
Clinical Perspective
Xiang Ru Yin releases exterior summer-damp with cold signs. Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San more broadly resolves damp turbidity for gastrointestinal summer disorders. Liu Yi San clears summer-heat and drains damp without exterior release. Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang tonifies Qi while clearing summer-heat for deficiency presentations.
Clinical Differentiation
- Xiang Ru Yin is used for summerheat with additional cold fettering the exterior: chills, fever and absence of sweating in hot weather, with a heavy body.
- It is distinguished from Liu Yi San or Qing Shu Yi Qi Tang, which clear summerheat without the same exterior-cold layer, and from Huo Xiang Zheng Qi San, which treats damp-turmoil more than summer-cold.
Safety notes: This formula is acrid and warm. It is not appropriate for summerheat with already profuse sweating and fluid injury, without an exterior-cold layer.
For educational reference only, based on traditional pattern differentiation — not a substitute for professional advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the actions of Xiang Ru Yin?
Xiang Ru Yin (also known as Xiang Ru San or San Wu Xiang Ru Yin) has the actions of dispelling Summerheat, releasing the exterior, transforming Dampness, and harmonizing the Middle Burner. It is the classic formula for “Yin Summerheat” caused by exposure to Cold in hot weather combined with internal Dampness.
Which modern diseases is Xiang Ru Yin suited to?
Modern TCM clinical practice commonly applies it to individuals whose pattern differentiation falls within Yin Summerheat (exterior Cold with internal Damp in summer), including summer colds especially from air-conditioning or cold drinks, gastrointestinal-type colds with nausea or diarrhea, acute gastroenteritis of Cold-Damp type, and mild summer-related digestive upset with chills and no sweating.
Is Xiang Ru Yin suitable for improving chills, fever without sweating, and nausea in summer?
For presentations of aversion to cold with fever, absence of sweating, headache or heavy head, body heaviness, chest fullness, nausea, abdominal discomfort, possible vomiting or diarrhea, a white greasy tongue coating, and a floating pulse — in those whose pattern differentiation confirms exterior Cold with internal Damp from summer exposure — TCM commonly applies Xiang Ru Yin as an adjunct. It cannot replace standard medical treatment.
Related Products
Nong's Xiang Ru Yin (Elsholtzia Beverage) 5:1 Concentrated Granules
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Xiang Ru Yin: Classic TCM Formula for Summer-Heat with Exterior Cold & Dampness
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Medical Disclaimer
For general TCM education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified TCM practitioner or licensed healthcare provider before use, especially if pregnant, nursing, on medication, or managing a chronic condition.