Yu Gong San

Chinese: 禹功散

Pinyin: Yú Gōng Sǎn

Other names: Yu's Achievement Powder

Yu Gong San

Chinese: 禹功散

Pinyin: Yú Gōng Sǎn

Other names: Yu's Achievement Powder

Number of ingredients: 3 herbs

Formula category: Formulas that drive out excess water

Conditions for which it may be prescribed: Hydrocele Nephritis with Edema

Main actions:

Expels water and
Reduces edema
Unblocks the bowels
Moves Qi

Contraindications: It should be taken with caution during pregnancy and in old or disabled... It should be taken with caution during pregnancy and in old or disabled patients due to its purgative effects. This is a formula for Excess disorders. see more

Source date: 1228 AD

Source book: Confucians' Duties to Their Parents

The information provided here is not a replacement for a doctor. You shouldn't use it for the purpose of self-diagnosing or self-medicating but rather so you can have a more informed discussion with a professional TCM practitioner.

Yu Gong San is a 3-ingredient Chinese Medicine formula with Morning Glory Seeds (Qian Niu Zi) as a principal ingredient.

Invented in 1228 AD, it belongs to the category of formulas that drive out excess water. Its main actions are: 1) expels water and and 2) reduces edema.

In Chinese Medicine health conditions are thought to arise due to "disharmonies" in the body as a system. These disharmonies are called "patterns" and the very purpose of herbal formulas is to fight them in order to restore the body's harmony.

From a Western Medicine standpoint, such patterns can give rise to a range of conditions such as nephritis with edema or hydrocele for instance.

On this page, after a detailed description of each of the three ingredients in Yu Gong San, we review the patterns and conditions that Yu Gong San helps treat.

The three ingredients in Yu Gong San

Qian Niu Zi is a king ingredient in Yu Gong San. Like the name indicates, it means it has more power than other ingredients in the formula.

1. Morning Glory Seeds (Qian Niu Zi)

Part used: Seeds

Nature: Cold

Taste(s): Bitter Pungent

Meridian affinity: Kidney Large intestine Lung

Category: Cathartic herbs that drain downward

Qian Niu Zi directs downward. It reduces Edema by promoting urination and driving out water by means of purgation.

Learn more about Morning Glory Seeds (Qian Niu Zi)

Xiao Hui Xiang is a deputy ingredient in Yu Gong San. This means it helps the king ingredient(s) treat the main pattern or it serves to treat a coexisting pattern.

2. Fennel Seeds (Xiao Hui Xiang)

Part used: Dried ripe fruits

Nature: Warm

Taste(s): Pungent

Meridian affinity: Kidney Liver Spleen Stomach

Category: Herbs that warm the Interior and/or expel Cold

Xiao Hui Xiang moves Qi and stops pain. Its warmth moderates the Cold nature of the key herb. Meanwhile, its acrid nature aids restoration of the normal Qi dynamic. Hence, it considerably strengthens the power of the formula to drive out Water.

Learn more about Fennel Seeds (Xiao Hui Xiang)

Sheng Jiang is an assistant ingredient in Yu Gong San. This means that it either serves to reinforces the effect of other ingredients or it moderates their toxicity.