The canonical "release the exterior and clear heat" formula for the early stage of "wind-heat" common cold, and one of the most consumed TCM household remedies in modern China.
Cultural reference - how this formula has been discussed in Chinese medical tradition. Not medical advice.
Background & origin
Compiled by the Qing dynasty warm-disease physician Wu Jutong in "Detailed Analysis of Epidemic Warm Diseases" (《温病条辨》), representing the "wei stage" of his warm-disease theory. In Japan, "Gingyo-san-adjacent" formulas (銀翹散系) appear in the Kracie OTC line for early-stage cold and sore throat. In Korea it is sold as Eungyo-haedok-hwan (은교해독환) by Kyungdong. The formula is the single most-produced traditional cold remedy in modern China, and arguably the one most familiar to non-TCM readers as "that Chinese cold medicine".
From the source text
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
From the source text · 卷一·上焦篇·风温·第4条
Classical text
太阴风温、温热、温疫、冬温，初起恶风寒者，桂枝汤主之；但热不恶寒而渴者，辛凉平剂银翘散主之。
Modern Chinese rendering
风温、温热、温疫、冬温起病之初，若症见怕风怕冷的，用桂枝汤；若只见发热、不怕冷而口渴的，用辛凉平剂银翘散。这是吴鞠通把"辛凉解表"立为温病初起治法的代表条文。
Editorial translation
In the initial stage of taiyin wind-warmth, warm-heat, warm-epidemic, or winter-warmth disorders: when there is aversion to wind and cold, use Cinnamon Twig Decoction; but when there is heat alone, no aversion to cold, and thirst, use the balanced pungent-cool formula Yin Qiao San. This passage is the canonical text in which Wu Jutong established the "release the exterior with pungent-cool agents" approach as the first principle for the early stage of warm-disease disorders.
In tradition
In TCM tradition, associated with the early "wind-heat" pattern of common cold and flu: sore throat, mild fever, headache, mild aversion to cold, thirst, slight yellow tongue coating, and a faster-than-normal pulse. It is the most commonly discussed OTC Chinese formula for the "I think I'm catching a cold and my throat is sore" moment, especially when there is no pronounced chills-and-aches (in which case a "wind-cold" formula would be more appropriate).
Formula composition
Monarch2
- Honeysuckle flower (Jīn Yín Huā / 金银花)
- Forsythia fruit (Lián Qiào / 连翘)
Minister2
- Burdock fruit (Niú Bàng Zǐ / 牛蒡子)
- Peppermint (Bò He / 薄荷)
Assistant4
- Platycodon root (Jié Gěng / 桔梗)
- Soybean sprout (Dàn Dòu Chǐ / 淡豆豉)
- Schizonepeta (Jīng Jiè / 荆芥)
- Lophatherum (Dàn Zhú Yè / 淡竹叶)
Envoy1
- Licorice root (Gān Cǎo / 甘草)
In modern life
In modern Chinese households, Yín Qiào Jiě dú Wán occupies a slot comparable to vitamin C or throat lozenges in a Western medicine cabinet: it is the bottle that gets pulled out at the first hint of an autumn scratchy throat. It sits on pharmacy shelves both as the classical honey pill (蜜丸) and in the more recent tablet and granule forms that dominate the OTC aisle today, and it is the Chinese formula most likely to be packed alongside paracetamol when a Chinese traveler flies abroad, a quiet example of two medical cultures coexisting in the same toiletry bag. We note, too, that the formula has become a recurring reference in Chinese cold-season journalism every autumn, in parent-to-parent advice threads on Xiaohongshu and WeChat, and in convenience-store and online-pharmacy supply chains since the formula's non-prescription status was formalized in the 1990s. Its presence in Japanese (Kracie 銀翹散) and Korean (Kyungdong 은교해독환) OTC lines is covered in the cultural-context section above; here we underline that, in mainland China itself, the formula functions less as a "traditional" object and more as ordinary cold-shelf infrastructure.
International availability
Japan (Kampo)
- KracieクラシエOTC銀翹散Gingyō-san
Korea (Hanbang)
- Kyungdong경동OTC은교해독산Eun-gyo-haedok-san
Taiwan & Hong Kong
- 順天堂OTC銀翹解毒丸Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan
Common confusions
- Sang Ju Yin (桑菊饮): also from Wu Jutong's warm-disease school, but lighter in composition and traditionally associated with a cough-dominant, milder exterior pattern; Yín Qiào Jiě dú Wán is the heavier, throat-and-fever-oriented sibling.
- Shuang Huang Lian (双黄连) oral liquid: shares honeysuckle and forsythia but drops the exterior-releasing herbs (Schizonepeta, fermented soybean, peppermint) entirely; the lineage is purely heat-clearing rather than "release the exterior and clear heat together".
- Ling Qiao Jie Du Wan (羚翘解毒丸): adds antelope horn (羚羊角) to a Yín Qiào-lineage base, pushing the formula toward the "clear-pestilence and resolve-toxins" register; the addition of a precious animal ingredient also places it at a higher price point.
- VC Yín Qiào Pian (维C银翘片): a modern (1980s) reformulation that adds Western vitamin C and analgesic/antihistamine actives (e.g. paracetamol, chlorpheniramine) to a Yín Qiào base; consumers should be aware that the OTC tablet is partly a Western-pharmaceutical combination, not a pure herbal pill.
Cautions & context
- Considered inappropriate for the "wind-cold" pattern of cold in TCM framing, that is, when the dominant symptom is chills, body aches, and clear nasal discharge, a different formula (e.g. a ma-huang family formula) would be considered more appropriate.
- Symptoms that worsen or do not improve within a few days, particularly high fever, productive cough, or shortness of breath, require medical evaluation rather than continued self-treatment.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding people should consult a qualified practitioner before use.
- Patients with severe liver or kidney disease should consult a physician, menthol (from peppermint) and other volatile components require cautious use in hepatic impairment.
Related formulas
Related concerns
Concern · immune
Immune Support
The everyday language of "wanting to stay well", a sense of being run down, the change of seasons, occasional mouth ulcers, the slow recovery after a cold.
Editorial note
We chose Yín Qiào Jiě dú Wán as our representative of the "wind-heat cold" lineage because, of all the formulas in this encyclopedia, it is the one most readers will have already encountered, quietly, in a parent's medicine cabinet or in the bottom of a carry-on bag. Our editorial challenge was to write about it without lapsing into the very "common-cold remedy" tone that makes most online coverage of this formula feel interchangeable. In the entries above we have tried to keep the focus on cultural lineage (Wu Jutong's 1798 framework, the Japanese and Korean adaptations), physical recognizability (honey pill versus tablet versus granule, the menthol aroma), and the common confusions a buyer actually faces at the pharmacy counter. As with every entry on this site, we frame this as cultural reference, not medical advice.
Compiled from "Detailed Analysis of Epidemic Warm Diseases" (1798).
Last reviewed: July 18, 2026
Three layers of evidence
Classical source
≈ 200 years · "Detailed Analysis of Epidemic Warm Diseases" (1798)
Pharmacopoeia indication
"Acrid-cool release the exterior, clear heat and resolve toxin. Used for wind-heat common cold: fever and headache, cough with dry mouth, and sore throat."
Modern research status
A 2020 PRISMA-compliant systematic review (PMID 32756141) of 4 randomized controlled trials on Eunkyosan (the Korean/Chinese name for Yin Qiao San, the decoction form of Yin Qiao Jie Du Wan) for the common cold reported that all 4 RCTs found Eunkyosan superior to comparator in clinical of note rate; the authors noted the evidence base is small and the included trials have methodological limitations, calling for larger, more rigorously designed studies before any efficacy claim can be firmly established.
References
References reviewed on July 18, 2026 · PubMed search on 2026-07-18
- 01ClassicalWu Jutong (吴鞠通), 《温病条辨》 (Wēn Bìng Tiáo Biàn / Detailed Analysis of Epidemic Warm Diseases), Qing dynasty, completed 1798, vol. 1, the section on "Upper-Burner Diseases" (上焦篇) with the entry for Yín Qiào Sǎn (银翘散) under the "wind-warmth" (风温) pattern, the canonical first appearance of the formula in the warm-disease theory "wei-stage" (卫分证) framework.
- 02TextbookDuan Fuqin (段富津) et al. (eds.), 《方剂学》 (Fāngjìxué / Textbook of Formulas), China Press of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the standard modern university-level formula textbook in mainland China, with the Yín Qiào Sǎn lineage analysed as the representative "release the exterior with acrid-cool" (辛凉解表) formula.
- 03TextbookDan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stöger, Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, 3rd edition, Eastland Press, 2004, the standard English-language reference text covering honeysuckle (Jīn Yín Huā), forsythia (Lián Qiào), and the warm-disease theory framework underpinning the Yín Qiào Sǎn family.
- 04PharmacopoeiaChinese Pharmacopoeia Commission, 《中华人民共和国药典》 2020 年版一部 (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Yàodiǎn, Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, 2020 Edition, Vol. I), China Medical Science Press, 2020, the official monograph for Yín Qiào Jiě dú Wán and its dosage-form variants (Pian / Sǎn / Kèlǐ / Kou Fu Yè), with the "functional indications" reading "辛凉解表，清热解毒" (acrid-cool release the exterior, clear heat and resolve toxin).
- 05TextbookKracie Pharmaceuticals (クラシエ薬品), Gingyo-san (銀翹散) product documentation, Japanese Kampo OTC adaptation of the Yín Qiào Sǎn lineage (originally the Kracie predecessor Isei-sangyo acquired the formula via Tsumura), useful for cross-market comparison of the modern commercialized form.