Introduction
"Treatise on Cold Damage"
This page is cultural documentation, not medical advice.
A foundational clinical text of Chinese medicine, written by Zhang Zhongjing at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Originated the six-channel (六经) pattern-identification system still in clinical use.
The Treatise on Cold Damage is one half of Zhang Zhongjing's original Shang Han Za Bing Lun (《伤寒杂病论》), the other half surviving as the Jingui Yaolue (《金匮要略》). After the original was lost in the wars of the late Han, the Shanghan portion was reconstructed by Wang Shuhe (王叔和) of the Jin dynasty and re-edited many times since. For this encyclopedia, the relevance of the text is the formulas it preserves — Gui Zhi Tang (桂枝汤), Ma Huang Tang (麻黄汤), Xiao Chai Hu Tang (小柴胡汤), Wu Ling San (五苓散), and others — which remain among the most clinically used prescriptions in modern Chinese medicine.
Historical background
Written around 200 CE by Zhang Zhongjing (张仲景, 150–219) at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, the Shang Han Lun was originally part of a much larger work titled Shang Han Za Bing Lun (《伤寒杂病论》, "Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases"). The original was lost during the civil wars of the late Han period and only the Shanghan portion survived, reconstructed in the Western Jin (西晋) dynasty by the court physician Wang Shuhe (王叔和) around the early 3rd century. The text introduces the six-channel (六经辨证) diagnostic framework, a pattern-identification system that categorizes febrile diseases into six progressive stages: taiyang (太阳), yangming (阳明), shaoyang (少阳), taiyin (太阴), shaoyin (少阴), and jueyin (厥阴).…
Formulas recorded in this text· 6
Formula · Dà Chái Hú Kē Lì
Major Bupleurum
大柴胡颗粒
A "harmonize shaoyang and drain yangming" formula from the Han dynasty, the natural counterpart to Xiao Chaihu Tang, but with rhubarb added to address simultaneous interior heat and constipation.
Formula · Guì Zhī Kē Lì
Cinnamon Twig Granules
桂枝颗粒
A "jie-biao tiao-ying-wei" (release the exterior and harmonize ying and wei) formula from Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Cold Damage" (c. 200 CE), the canonical opening "tai-yang" stage formula.
Formula · Má Rén Wán
Hemp Seed Pills
麻仁丸
A "run-chang tong-bian" (moisten the intestines and unblock the bowels) formula from Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Cold Damage" (c. 200 CE), the canonical TCM "constipation from dryness" formula.
Formula · Wǔ Líng Sǎn
Five-Ingredient Powder with Poria
五苓散
A "water metabolism" formula from the Han dynasty, best understood as a gentle regulator of how the body handles water, used for short-term patterns of thirst, reduced urine, and mild edema.
Formula · Xiǎo Chái Hú Piàn
Minor Bupleurum
小柴胡片
A classic "half-interior, half-exterior" formula from the Han dynasty, one of the most frequently discussed shao-yang remedies in Chinese households and the ancestor of dozens of later variations.
Formula · Xiǎo Jiàn Zhōng Piàn
Minor Construct Center Tablets
小建中片
A "wen-zhong bu-xu" (warm the middle and tonify deficiency) formula from Zhang Zhongjing's "Treatise on Cold Damage" (c. 200 CE), the "minor" sibling of the larger Da Jian Zhong Tang.