A large, multi-action "qu-feng hua-tan huo-xue" (expel wind, transform phlegm, invigorate blood) formula from the Qing-dynasty "Standards of the Lantai", one of the most compound classical prescriptions in the TCM canon, with over forty ingredients.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled in the Qing-dynasty "Standards of the Lantai" (《兰台轨范》, 1764) by Xu Dachun (徐大椿), it is one of the largest compound classical prescriptions in the canon. Modern Chinese pharmacy versions typically include over forty ingredients, wind-expelling, phlegm-transforming, blood-invigorating, and qi-tonifying herbs are all represented. In Japan, 大活絡丸 (だいかつらくがん / Daikatsuraku-gan) is sold by Kracie (クラシエ) and other makers as the standard OTC formula for chronic musculoskeletal complaints. In Korea, it is sold as 대활락환 (Daehwalrak-hwan) by Kyungdong (경동). The formula is, in short, the "kitchen-sink" classical channel-activating formula.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 《兰台轨范》内·风门·大活络丹条
Classical text
据《兰台轨范》：大活络丹，治中风瘫痪，痿痹痰厥，阴疽流注，跌扑损伤。集祛风、化痰、活血、补益之品，五十余味合一方，乃治"久治不愈之风痰痹证"之大方。
Modern Chinese rendering
本方用于"中风瘫痪、风痰瘀阻经络"系列证候：中风后遗症之半身不遂、口眼歪斜、言语不清、风湿痹痛、关节肿胀、屈伸不利，或阴疽流注、跌扑损伤。方以羌活、独活、防风、秦艽祛风除湿为君；乳香、没药、红花、当归、川芎活血祛瘀为臣；人参、黄芪、白术、茯苓补气健脾；熟地、白芍养血和血；胆南星、附子、乌头化痰祛风、温阳通络；冰片、麝香开窍醒神、引药入络；佐以水蛭、地龙、全蝎、蜈蚣等虫类搜风通络。整体上，是清代"祛风 + 化痰 + 活血 + 补益"集合思路下"大方复治"代表方，临床用于"风痰瘀阻 + 正气已虚"之慢性痹证、中风后遗症。
Editorial translation
This formula is used for "wind-stroke hemiplegia, wind-phlegm stasis obstructing the channels and collaterals" patterns: stroke sequelae of hemiplegia, deviated eyes and mouth, slurred speech, wind-damp painful obstruction (bì zhèng), swollen joints, limited flexion and extension, as well as yin-abscess streaming sores (yīn jū liú zhù) and traumatic injuries. The Dà Huó Luò Dān uses Qiāng Huó, Dú Huó, Fáng Fēng, and Qín Jiāo to expel wind and drain dampness as sovereign; Rǔ Xiāng, Mò Yào, Hóng Huā, Dāng Guī, and Chuān Xiōng to invigorate blood and dispel stasis as minister; Rén Shēn, Huáng Qí, Bái Zhú, and Fú Líng to tonify qi and fortify the spleen; Shú Dì and Bái Sháo to nourish and harmonize blood; Dǎn Nán Xīng, Fù Zǐ, and Wū Tóu to transform phlegm, expel wind, warm yang, and unblock the collaterals; Bīng Piàn and Shè Xiāng to open the orifices, arouse the spirit, and guide the medicine into the collaterals; assisted by leech, earthworm, scorpion, and centipede to search out wind and unblock the collaterals. It is, in short, the Qing-dynasty representative formula for "large prescription combined treatment" of the "wind-phlegm stasis with already-depleted righteous qi" register.
In tradition
In TCM framing, traditionally used in the context of "wind-stroke" sequelae, chronic joint pain with "wind-damp-cold" obstruction, and pronounced stiffness or pain in the limbs and lower back. The formula combines wind-expelling, phlegm-transforming, blood-invigorating, and qi-and-blood-tonifying ingredients into a single "all-in-one" prescription, and is described in the source text as appropriate for "stubborn chronic wind-strike" presentations. In Japan, 大活絡丸 (Daikatsuraku-gan) is sold by Kracie (クラシエ) and other makers as the standard OTC "channel-activating" formula for chronic musculoskeletal complaints; in Korea it is sold as 대활락환 (Daehwalrak-hwan) by Kyungdong (경동).
Formula composition
Monarch6
- Agkistrodon (Qí Shé / 蕲蛇) - principal, searches wind and unblocks collaterals
- Black snake (Wū Shāo Shé / 乌梢蛇) - principal, searches wind and unblocks collaterals
- Scorpion (Quán Xiē / 全蝎) - principal, unblocks collaterals, stops spasms
- Earthworm (Dì Lóng / 地龙) - principal, unblocks collaterals
- Gastrodia tuber (Tiān Má / 天麻) - principal, calms wind, stops spasms
- Clematis root (Wēi Líng Xiān / 威灵仙) - principal, unblocks collaterals, stops pain
Minister26
- Prepared aconite (Zhì Cǎo Wū / 制草乌) - minister, warms channels, disperses cold
- Cinnamon bark (Ròu Guì / 肉桂) - minister, warms channels, disperses cold
- Asarum root (Xì Xīn / 细辛) - minister, disperses cold, stops pain
- Ephedra (Má Huáng / 麻黄) - minister, disperses wind, frees the exterior
- Notopterygium (Qiāng Huó / 羌活) - minister, disperses wind-damp
- Saposhnikovia (Fáng Fēng / 防风) - minister, disperses wind
- Pine resin (Sōng Xiāng / 松香) - minister, disperses wind, dries damp
- Agastache (Guǎng Huò Xiāng / 广藿香) - minister, transforms damp, harmonizes middle
- Cardamom (Dòu Kòu / 豆蔻) - minister, transforms damp, moves qi
- Silkworm, stir-baked (Jiāng Cán / 僵蚕) - minister, transforms phlegm, stops spasms
- Arisaema, prepared (Tiān Nán Xīng / 天南星) - minister, transforms phlegm, stops spasms
- Bezoar (Niú Huáng / 牛黄) - minister, clears heat, transforms phlegm
- Lindera root (Wū Yào / 乌药) - minister, moves qi, stops pain
- Costus root (Mù Xiāng / 木香) - minister, moves qi, stops pain
- Aquilaria wood (Chén Xiāng / 沉香) - minister, moves qi, descends
- Clove (Dīng Xiāng / 丁香) - minister, warms middle, moves qi
- Green tangerine peel (Qīng Pí / 青皮) - minister, moves qi, disperses stagnation
- Cyperus, vinegar-processed (Xiāng Fù / 香附) - minister, moves qi, smooths menstruation
- Musk (Shè Xiāng / 麝香) - minister, opens orifices, unblocks collaterals
- Benzoin (Ān Xī Xiāng / 安息香) - minister, opens orifices, moves qi
- Borneol (Bīng Piàn / 冰片) - minister, opens orifices, clears heat
- Two-headed bulb (Liǎng Tóu Jiān / 两头尖) - minister, invigorates blood, stops pain
- Red peony root (Chì Sháo / 赤芍) - minister, cools blood, invigorates blood
- Myrrh, processed (Mò Yào / 没药) - minister, invigorates blood, stops pain
- Frankincense, processed (Rǔ Xiāng / 乳香) - minister, invigorates blood, stops pain
- Dragon's blood (Xuè Jié / 血竭) - minister, invigorates blood, stops bleeding
Assistant16
- Coptis root (Huáng Lián / 黄连) - assistant, clears heat, dries damp
- Scutellaria root (Huáng Qín / 黄芩) - assistant, clears heat, dries damp
- Dryopteris (Mián Mǎ Guàn Zhòng / 绵马贯众) - assistant, clears heat, resolves toxicity
- Pueraria root (Gě Gēn / 葛根) - assistant, clears heat, generates fluids
- Water buffalo horn concentrate (Shuǐ Niú Jiǎo / 水牛角) - assistant, clears heat, cools blood
- Rhubarb root (Dà Huáng / 大黄) - assistant, drains heat, purges
- Figwort root (Xuán Shēn / 玄参) - assistant, nourishes yin, clears heat
- Red ginseng (Hóng Shēn / 红参) - assistant, tonifies qi
- Atractylodes, bran-fried (Bái Zhú / 白术) - assistant, tonifies spleen, dries damp
- Licorice root (Gān Cǎo / 甘草) - assistant, harmonizes formula
- Rehmannia, cooked (Shú Dì Huáng / 熟地黄) - assistant, nourishes blood, tonifies yin
- Angelica root (Dāng Guī / 当归) - assistant, nourishes blood, invigorates blood
- He shou wu (Hé Shǒu Wū / 何首乌) - assistant, nourishes blood, tonifies essence
- Drynaria, scalded (Gǔ Suì Bǔ / 骨碎补) - assistant, tonifies liver-kidney, strengthens bones
- Turtle shell, vinegar-processed (Guī Jiǎ / 龟甲) - assistant, nourishes yin, strengthens bones
- Leopard bone, oil-fried (Bào Gǔ / 豹骨) - assistant, strengthens bones, unblocks collaterals
International availability
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC大活絡丸Da Huo Luo Wan
Cautions & context
- Contains multiple strong-acting herbs including frankincense, myrrh, borneol, and (in the classical version) musk, considered inappropriate for "deficiency-type" presentations in TCM framing.
- People with what TCM describes as "yin deficiency with fire" (night sweats, dry mouth, heat in the palms) or "blood-deficiency" (pale complexion, dizziness) are typically advised to avoid it, the formula is dispersing and draining.
- Not appropriate during pregnancy, multiple ingredients (moschus, leech, frankincense, myrrh) are contraindicated in TCM pregnancy framing.
- Persistent musculoskeletal pain, numbness, or weakness should be evaluated by a clinician, TCM channel-activating formulas are not a substitute for evaluation of neurological or orthopedic causes.
Related formulas
Related concerns
Concern · stress
Stress & Mood
Everyday tension, low mood, irritability, the sense of being "wound up but tired". The cluster of complaints that brings many Chinese adults to the family 中成药 drawer before they ever see a doctor.
Editorial note
Compiled from "Standards of the Lantai" (1764).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 300 years · "Standards of the Lantai" (1764)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Dispel wind and stop pain, drain dampness and resolve phlegm, relax the sinews and quicken the collaterals. Used for stroke due to wind-phlegm stasis: hemiplegia, deviated mouth and tongue, slurred speech; or wind-damp painful obstruction with swollen and painful joints and limited flexion and extension."
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
- 01ClassicalXú Dàchūn (徐大椿), 《兰台轨范》 (Lán Tái Guǐ Fàn / Standards of the Lantai), Qing-dynasty physician, compiled ca. 1764 (Qianlong 29th year), the "wind" (风) section, the entry for Dà Huó Luò Dān (大活络丹), the representative "expel wind + transform phlegm + invigorate blood + tonify" compound formula of the "wind-phlegm stasis with depleted righteous qi" register; editorial adaptation from the 1764 edition, pending scholarly verification of exact textual wording.
- 02TextbookDuān Fùjīn (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 Dà Huó Luò Wán analysed in the "wind-expelling formulas" (治风剂) chapter as a representative "channel-activating + wind-phlegm-damp complex" formula, the canonical entry for the "stubborn chronic wind-strike" register.
- 03TextbookKracie (クラシエ) and other Japanese manufacturers, Daikatsuraku-gan (大活絡丸) prescription family product documentation, Japan's OTC Kampo "channel-activating" product family derived from the Qing-dynasty 《兰台轨范》 line, sold in Japanese drugstores for chronic musculoskeletal complaints; mirrored in Korean hanbang 대활락환 (Daehwalrak-hwan) preparations in Kyungdong (경동) product line.
- 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 Dà Huó Luò Wán (丸), "functional indication" reads "dispel wind and stop pain, drain dampness and resolve phlegm, relax the sinews and quicken the collaterals, used for stroke due to wind-phlegm stasis: hemiplegia, deviated mouth and tongue, slurred speech; or wind-damp painful obstruction with swollen and painful joints and limited flexion and extension".