A compact "qu-feng san-han hua-shi huo-xue" (expel wind, scatter cold, transform dampness, invigorate blood) formula from the Song-dynasty "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine", the simpler, smaller-scale counterpart of Da Huo Luo Wan.
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) as a compact classical "channel-activating" formula. The "minor" (小) name distinguishes it from the much larger Da Huo Luo Wan: six core ingredients rather than forty. In Japan, 小活絡丸 (しょうかつらくがん / Shōkatsuraku-gan) is sold by Kracie (クラシエ) and other makers as the standard OTC formula for "wind-cold-damp bi". In Korea, it is sold as 소활락환 (Sohwalrak-hwan) by Kyungdong (경동). The formula is, in short, the most distilled classical "channel-activating" formula in the canon.
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 《局方》卷一·治诸风·活络丹（注：今本《局方》"活络丹"原方药味稍异，本数据文件按后世"小活络丸"6 味标准方回填，方论以通行《局方》引文为底）
Classical text
治风寒湿痹，筋骨疼痛，麻木不仁，肢体拘急；中风后遗症，手足不遂，筋脉挛急。
Modern Chinese rendering
本方用于风寒湿邪闭阻经络所致的筋骨疼痛、麻木不仁、肢体拘急、屈伸不利,以及中风后遗症之手足不遂、筋脉挛急。这一段方论把小活络丸定位为"祛风散寒、化痰除湿、活血止痛"思路下"风寒湿痹、痰瘀阻络"路径的代表方——以制川乌、制草乌(原方多写作"制附子")大辛大热、散寒止痛为君;制天南星燥湿化痰、祛风止痉为臣;乳香、没药活血止痛为佐;地龙通经活络、麝香辛香走窜、开窍引经为使。六味相合,温通并用、痰瘀同治,是"小而精"的"寒湿痹证"基础方,与 40 余味的"大活络丸"互为表里。
Editorial translation
This formula is used for "wind-cold-damp obstruction of the channels and collaterals": sinew-bone pain, numbness and insensitivity, limb spasm and contracture, restricted flexion and extension, and post-stroke sequelae with hand-foot non-follow-through and sinew-vessel spasmodic contraction. This preface positions Xiǎo Huó Luò Wán as the Formulary-derived "expel wind and scatter cold, transform phlegm and drain dampness, invigorate blood and stop pain" representative formula — the canonical entry for the "wind-cold-damp bi, phlegm-stasis obstructing the collaterals" register; it uses processed Chuān Wū and Cǎo Wū (the classical Fù Zǐ route) as the sovereign, strong acrid-hot to scatter cold and stop pain, processed Tiān Nán Xīng as minister to dry dampness, transform phlegm, expel wind, and stop spasm, Rǔ Xiāng / Mò Yào as assistants to invigorate blood and stop pain, and Dì Lóng to unblock the channels and collaterals, with Shè Xiāng as the messenger, aromatic, opening, and guiding. The six flavours together use warming and unblocking in combination, treat phlegm and stasis together — the small-and-precise "cold-damp bi" foundation formula, paired with the forty-plus-flavour Dà Huó Luò Wán as its larger counterpart.
In tradition
In TCM framing, traditionally used in the context of "wind-cold-damp bi", joint and limb pain that is worse in cold or damp weather, heaviness or numbness in the limbs, restricted range of motion in the affected joints, and a pale tongue with a white coating. The formula is a "minor" version of Da Huo Luo Wan: it focuses on six core ingredients rather than forty, and is the more common first-line classical choice for moderate musculoskeletal complaints with a clear "cold-damp" character. In Japan, 小活絡丸 (Shōkatsuraku-gan) is sold by Kracie (クラシエ) and other makers as the standard OTC "wind-cold-damp" formula; in Korea it is sold as 소활락환 (Sohwalrak-hwan) by Kyungdong (경동).
Formula composition
Monarch2
- Prepared Aconite (Zhì Fù Zǐ / 制附子) - principal, disperses cold, unblocks the channels
- Prepared Arisaema (Zhì Tiān Nán Xīng / 制天南星) - principal, expels wind-phlegm, unblocks collaterals
Other ingredients4
- Myrrh (Mò Yào / 没药) - invigorates blood, disperses stasis, stops pain
- Frankincense (Rǔ Xiāng / 乳香) - invigorates blood, disperses stasis, stops pain
- Earthworm (Dì Lóng / 地龙) - unblocks the channels and collaterals
- Musk (Shè Xiāng / 麝香) - opening, aromatic, guides the formula
International availability
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC小活絡丸Xiao Huo Luo Wan
Cautions & context
- Contains processed Aconite (Fù Zǐ), the pharmacy form is safe at standard doses, but overdose can cause cardiac arrhythmia. Never use unprocessed aconite.
- Contains musk (Shè Xiāng) in the classical formula, strongly contraindicated in TCM pregnancy framing.
- Not appropriate for "hot-pattern" musculoskeletal pain (red, swollen, hot joints), the formula is warming in nature.
- Persistent joint pain, swelling, or restricted range of motion should be evaluated by a clinician, TCM channel-activating formulas are not a substitute for evaluation of underlying rheumatic or orthopedic causes.
Related formulas
Other formulas from this text· "Formulary of the Bureau of Medicine"
Other formulas by this contributor· Imperial Medical Bureau (Song)
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 "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
"Dispel wind and scatter cold, resolve phlegm and drain dampness, invigorate blood and stop pain. Used for painful obstruction due to wind-cold-damp blocking the channels and phlegm-stasis obstructing the collaterals: joint pain that worsens with cold, limited flexion and extension, numbness and spasms; post-stroke hemiplegia and limb numbness."
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. 1, the "treating various wind" (治诸风) section, the entry for Huó Luò Dān (活络丹), the compact "channel-activating" foundation formula; the present-day Xiǎo Huó Luò Wán (6 flavours) is a later evolution of the Formulary original (which historically carried more ingredients), the citation above follows the editorial choice in this data file to attribute the modern 6-flavour Xiǎo Huó Luò Wán to the Formulary lineage; the discrepancy will be reconciled in a later data-consolidation pass.
- 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 Xiǎo Huó Luò Wán analysed as the representative "expel wind and scatter cold, transform phlegm and drain dampness, invigorate blood and stop pain" (祛风散寒，化痰除湿，活血止痛) formula, the canonical entry for the "wind-cold-damp bi, phlegm-stasis obstructing the collaterals" register, and the "small and precise" six-flavour counterpart of the much larger Dà Huó Luò Wán.
- 03TextbookKracie (クラシエ), Shōkatsuraku-gan (小活絡丸) product documentation, one of Japan's major Kampo manufacturers, the standard Japanese OTC formula for "wind-cold-damp bi" joint and limb pain, widely sold in Japanese drugstores, used in Japanese Kampo clinical practice for moderate musculoskeletal complaints with clear "cold-damp" character, listed in the Japanese Kampo formulary as a standard small-scale channel-activating formula.
- 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 Xiǎo Huó Luò Wán (丸 / 片 / 胶囊), "functional indication" reads "dispel wind and scatter cold, resolve phlegm and drain dampness, invigorate blood and stop pain, used for painful obstruction due to wind-cold-damp blocking the channels and phlegm-stasis obstructing the collaterals: joint pain, cold pain, stabbing pain, pain worse at night, restricted flexion and extension, numbness and contracture; also for post-stroke hemiplegia and limb numbness".