A tablet form of the classical "qing-re xie-huo, li-niao tong-lin" (clear heat and drain fire, promote urine and unblock painful urination) formula from the Song-dynasty "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine", the most prescribed classical OTC formula for "damp-heat" urinary discomfort.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled in the Song-dynasty "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine" (《太平惠民和剂局方》, 1078), the original 八正散 is one of the most distinctive classical prescriptions in the canon. The "tablet" (片) form is a modern production form, more common in hospital pharmacy and in export product lines. In Japan, 八正散 (はっせいさん / Hassei-san) is sold by Tsumura (ツムラ) and other makers as the standard OTC formula for "damp-heat" urinary complaints. In Korea, similar preparations appear as 팔정산 in the Kyungdong (경동) hanbang line. The formula is, in short, the most prescribed classical "lin syndrome" formula in East Asia.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 卷六·治积热·八正散
Classical text
治大人、小儿心经邪热，一切蕴毒，咽干口燥，大渴引饮，心忪面热，烦躁不宁，目赤睛疼，唇焦鼻衄，口舌生疮，咽喉肿痛。又治小便赤涩，或癃闭不通，及热淋、血淋，并皆治之。
Modern Chinese rendering
本方用于大人、小儿心经邪热、一切蕴毒所致咽干口燥、大渴引饮、心悸面热、烦躁不宁、目赤睛疼、唇焦鼻衄、口舌生疮、咽喉肿痛。又治小便赤涩、癃闭不通，以及热淋、血淋。这一段方论把八正散定位为"心经邪热下移小肠、湿热淋证"的代表方,也是"清热泻火、利尿通淋"思路下"上下同治"(清上利下)路径的经典条目。
Editorial translation
This formula is used for adults and children with evil heat in the heart channel and all manner of accumulating toxins: dry throat and parched mouth, intense thirst with urge to drink, palpitation with facial heat, restlessness and unease, red eyes and painful eyeballs, parched lips and nosebleed, mouth and tongue sores, and swollen painful throat. It also addresses reddish and rough urination, or urinary blockage and retention, and heat strangury and blood strangury. This preface positions Bā Zhèng Sǎn as the Formulary's representative formula for the "heart-channel evil heat shifting downward to the small intestine, damp-heat strangury" pattern, the canonical entry for the "clear heat and drain fire, disinhibit urine and free strangury" approach in its "address above and below together" (清上利下) register.
In tradition
In TCM framing, traditionally used in the context of "damp-heat in the bladder" or "damp-heat lin syndrome", frequent, urgent, painful urination, dark or cloudy urine, occasional blood in urine, lower abdominal heaviness, and a yellow tongue coating. The formula's name "八正" (eight-rectifying) refers to the eight principal herbs and the "rectifying" (clearing) of damp-heat through the eight extraordinary vessels. The "tablet" (片) form is a modern production form, more common in hospital pharmacy and in export product lines. In Japan, 八正散 (Hassei-san) is sold by Tsumura (ツムラ) as the standard OTC formula for "damp-heat urinary" presentations. In Korea, similar preparations appear as 팔정산 in the Kyungdong (경동) hanbang line.
Formula composition
Monarch1
- Plantago seed (Chē Qián Zǐ / 车前子)
Minister5
- Akebia stem (Mù Tōng / 木通)
- Bietilla / Dianthi (Qú Mài / 瞿麦)
- Polygonum / Knotgrass (Bì Xiè / 萆薢)
- Gardenia fruit (Zhī Zǐ / 栀子)
- Talcum (Huá Shí / 滑石)
Assistant1
- Rhubarb root (Dà Huáng / 大黄)
Envoy2
- Licorice (Gān Cǎo / 甘草)
- Lampwick (Dēng Xīn Cǎo / 灯心草)
International availability
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC八正片Ba Zheng Pian
Cautions & context
- Contains Mù Tōng (Akebia), modern pharmacy preparations use non-aristolochic substitutes; the formula should not be combined with other aristolochic-acid-containing herbs.
- Contains rhubarb (Dà Huáng), a stimulant laxative. It can cause loose stools or cramping in sensitive individuals.
- Not appropriate for "kidney-yin deficiency" type urinary symptoms (frequent, scanty, no burning, with low-back soreness), the formula is "draining" and may worsen such patterns.
- Sudden, severe, or rapidly progressing urinary symptoms (high fever, severe pain, blood in urine, inability to urinate) require immediate medical evaluation, these are not within the scope of self-treatment.
Related formulas
Other formulas from this text· "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine"
Other formulas by this contributor· Imperial Medical Bureau (Song)
Browse by Pattern
Related concerns
Concern · digestion
Digestion
Upper-abdominal heaviness, bloating, sour reflux, loose stools, traveler's stomach, and the aftermath of a meal that was richer, spicier, or larger than usual.
Editorial note
Compiled from "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine" (1078).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 900 years · "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine" (1078)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Clear heat and drain fire, promote urination and unblock strangury. Used for strangury caused by accumulation of damp-heat: scanty dark urine, difficult and painful urination, dry mouth and throat; urinary tract infections presenting with the above pattern."
Modern research status
As of 2026-07-18, a PubMed search using the formula name and the Latin / Korean / Japanese transliterations together with "systematic review" and "meta-analysis" did not identify a dedicated systematic review for this formula. Any clinical evidence that does exist is fragmented across small individual trials or covered in broad herbal-medicine umbrella reviews, which do not allow a per-formula evidence assessment; the absence of a dedicated SR is itself the relevant editorial fact here.
References
References reviewed on July 18, 2026 · PubMed search on 2026-07-18
- 01ClassicalChen Shiwen (陈师文) et al. (eds.), 《太平惠民和剂局方》 (Tài Píng Huì Mín Hé Jì Jú Fāng / Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine), Song dynasty, compiled 1078, vol. 6, the "addressing accumulated heat" (治积热) section, the entry for Bā Zhèng Sǎn (八正散), the canonical Song-era formula for the "heart-channel evil heat shifting downward to the small intestine, damp-heat strangury" pattern, the canonical "clear heat and drain fire, disinhibit urine and free strangury" formula for the "address above and below together" (清上利下) approach.
- 02TextbookDuan Fuqin (段富津) et al. (eds.), 《方剂学》 (Fāngjìxué / Science of Formulas), 2nd edition, Shanghai Scientific and Technical Publishers, 2011, the standard modern university-level formula textbook in mainland China, with Bā Zhèng Sǎn analysed as the representative "clear heat and drain fire, disinhibit urine and free strangury" (清热泻火，利尿通淋) formula for the "address above and below together" (清上利下) approach, classically indicated for damp-heat strangury patterns.
- 03TextbookTsumura & Co. (ツムラ), Hassei-san (八正散) product documentation, Japan's leading Kampo manufacturer, the standard Japanese OTC adaptation of the Bā Zhèng Sǎn lineage, the canonical Japanese Kampo formula for "damp-heat urinary" presentations including dysuria, urinary frequency and urgency, and cystitis-like symptoms in the Kampo clinical tradition.
- 04PharmacopoeiaPharmacopoeia Commission of the PRC, 《中华人民共和国药典》 2020 edition, vol. 1 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Yàodiǎn, Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 ed., vol. 1), China Medical Science Press, 2020, the official national monograph for Bā Zhèng Piàn (片剂 form) and the parent Bā Zhèng Sǎn, "functional indication" reads "clear heat and drain fire, promote urination and unblock strangury, used for damp-heat pouring downward causing strangury pattern".