A small, iconic "bu-qi sheng-xue" (tonify qi to engender blood) formula from Li Dongyuan's "Treatise on Internal and External Injury" (1247), famous for its 5:1 Astragalus-to-Angelica ratio.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled by the Jin-Yuan dynasty physician Li Dongyuan (李东垣) in "Treatise on Internal and External Injury" (《内外伤辨惑论》, 1247), it is one of the smallest and most iconic classical formulas, just two ingredients, with a 5:1 Astragalus-to-Angelica ratio. In Japan, it is sold as 当帰補血湯 (とうきほけつとう) by Tsumura (ツムラ) and Kracie (クラシエ) for fatigue-and-pallor indications. In Korea, it is sold as 당귀보혈탕 (Dangwi-boheul-tang) in the Hanpung (한풍) hanbang line. The formula is a textbook example of Li Dongyuan's "tonify earth (spleen) to generate the middle" thinking, expressed in just two herbs.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 《内外伤辨惑论》卷中·暑伤胃气论·当归补血汤条
Classical text
据《内外伤辨惑论》暑伤胃气论载当归补血汤：治肌热、燥热，因渴引饮，目赤面红，昼夜不息，脉洪大而虚，重按全无。黄芪一两，当归二钱。
Modern Chinese rendering
本方用于"气虚血亏、阳浮于外"系列证候：劳倦内伤、气血大亏、阴不维阳所致的肌热面赤、烦渴引饮、目赤面红、昼夜不息、脉洪大而虚按之全无等"类白虎"假热证。方中黄芪五倍于当归（一两 vs 二钱），重用黄芪大补脾肺之气、固护肌表以"甘温除大热"为君；当归养血和营、引导浮阳入阴为臣。整体上，是李东垣"气能生血、阳生阴长"思路下最具代表性的小方，专治"血虚发热"而非实热。
Editorial translation
This formula is used for "qi-deficiency with blood-depletion and yang floating outward" patterns: internal damage from over-exertion, severe depletion of qi and blood, and failure of yin to anchor yang, presenting as muscle-heat, facial redness, vexation-thirst with urge to drink, red eyes, a flushing face that persists day and night, and a flooding-large pulse that is empty on heavy pressure — a "pseudo-white-tiger" fever presentation. The formula uses Huáng Qí at five times the dose of Dāng Guī (Huáng Qí 1 liǎng vs Dāng Guī 2 qián, roughly 5:1) as sovereign, greatly tonifying spleen-and-lung qi and securing the exterior under the "use sweet-warm to remove great heat" principle, while Dāng Guī nourishes blood and harmonizes construction, guiding the floating yang back into yin as minister. It is, in short, the most representative small formula of Li Dongyuan's "qi engenders blood, yang gives birth to yin" thinking, dedicated to the "blood-deficiency fever" presentation rather than to repletion heat.
In tradition
In TCM framing, traditionally used in the context of "blood deficiency" arising from "qi weakness", pallor, fatigue, occasional dizziness, shortness of breath on mild exertion, and (in the gynecological context) scanty menstruation. The formula is unique in TCM in its dramatic 5:1 ratio of Huangqi to Danggui, the high Astragalus dose is considered the key to "engendering blood through qi". In Japan, it is sold as 当帰補血湯 (Tōkihokketsu-tō) by Tsumura and Kracie, and in Korea as 당귀보혈탕 (Dangwi-boheul-tang) in the Hanpung hanbang line.
Formula composition
Monarch1
- Astragalus root (Huáng Qí / 黄芪) — tonifies qi and engenders blood (5:1 ratio)
Minister1
- Angelica sinensis root (Dāng Guī / 当归) — nourishes and moves blood
International availability
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC當歸補血丸Dang Gui Bu Xue Wan
Cautions & context
- Not appropriate during acute illness with fever, TCM tradition warns against "tonifying during an external pathogen".
- People taking immunosuppressant or interferon therapies should consult a clinician, Astragalus has documented immunomodulatory effects.
- Pregnant women should use only with qualified guidance, the formula is a tonic and is generally not appropriate in early pregnancy without a clear pattern of qi-and-blood deficiency.
- Persistent fatigue, pallor, or unusual bleeding should be evaluated by a clinician, TCM tonics are not a substitute for evaluation of underlying anemia or hematologic conditions.
Related formulas
Other formulas by this contributor· Li Dongyuan
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Related concerns
Concern · womens-health
Women's Health
The cluster of complaints that Chinese households often frame around the menstrual cycle: premenstrual mood shifts, breast tenderness, irregular cycles, and post-partum recovery.
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 "Treatise on Internal and External Injury" (1247).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 800 years · "Treatise on Internal and External Injury" (1247)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Tonify and nourish qi and blood. Used for constitutional weakness with qi-blood dual depletion."
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
- 01ClassicalLǐ Dōngyuán (李东垣), 《内外伤辨惑论》 (Nèi Wài Shāng Biàn Huò Lùn / Treatise on Internal and External Injury), late Jin dynasty, compiled ca. 1247, the "summerheat damaging stomach qi" (暑伤胃气论) section, the entry for Dāng Guī Bǔ Xuè Tāng (当归补血汤) — ancestor of the modern Dāng Guī Bǔ Xuè Wán — in its iconic 5:1 Huáng Qí to Dāng Guī dose ratio, the representative "tonify qi to engender blood" formula of the "sweet-warm to remove great heat" register; editorial adaptation, pending scholarly verification against the 1247 woodblock edition.
- 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 Dāng Guī Bǔ Xuè Tāng / Wán analysed in the "tonifying formulas" (补益剂) chapter as the representative "qi engenders blood" small formula, the canonical entry for the "qi-deficiency with blood-depletion" register.
- 03TextbookTsumura (ツムラ) and Kracie (クラシエ), 当帰補血湯 (とうきほけつとう / Tōkihokketsu-tō) product documentation, Japan's leading Kampo manufacturers, the standard Japanese Kampo "qi-and-blood tonification" small formula derived from the late-Jin 《内外伤辨惑论》 line, sold in Japanese drugstores for fatigue-and-pallor presentations; mirrored in Korean hanbang "당귀보혈탕" preparations in Hanpung (한풍) 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 Dāng Guī Bǔ Xuè Wán (丸 / 浓缩丸), "functional indication" reads "tonify and nourish qi and blood, used for constitutional weakness with qi-blood dual depletion".