New to this? Read about the Sovereign-Minister-Assistant-Courier hierarchy

Formula清热剂· 清热泻火解毒

黄连解毒汤

Huáng Lián Jiě Dú Tāng

Coptis Decoction to Resolve Toxicity

The representative formula for fire-toxin blazing in all three burners, containing huang lian, huang qin, huang bai, and zhi zi. It treats vexation, agitation, great heat, dry throat, epistaxis, hematemesis, macules, and a forceful rapid pulse. The 'three yellows' combined with zhi zi provide bitter-cold direct suppression of fire across all three burners simultaneously.

Source《医方集解》《外台秘要》卷一引崔氏方（Waitai Miyao, Cui Shi Fang）

Treatment Principle

泻火解毒

Drain fire and resolve toxin

Formula Rhyme

黄连解毒汤四味，黄柏黄芩栀子备。躁狂大热呕不眠，吐衄发斑皆可为。

—— 方剂学 (中医药出版社)

Composition · 组成

Herb	Role	Dosage	Notes
黄连Huáng Lián	君Sovereign	9g	大苦大寒，直折心胃之火，为君
黄芩Huáng Qín	臣Minister	6g	清上焦肺火
黄柏Huáng Bǎi	佐Assistant	6g	泻下焦肾与膀胱之火
栀子Zhī Zǐ	使Courier	9g	通泻三焦之火，导热下行从小便出

Modifications · 加减

便秘、腑气不通
+ 大黄
实热内结阳明
吐衄发斑
+ 生地黄、玄参、牡丹皮
热迫血行

Treats Patterns · 主治证型

气分证

Qì Fēn Zhèng

Qi-level Pattern

Preparation · 煎服法

水煎服。

Editor-reviewed· 2026-04-17

PractitionerPatientDate

黄连解毒汤Huáng Lián Jiě Dú Tāng

Coptis Decoction to Resolve Toxicity

Herb	Pinyin	Role	Dose
黄连	Huáng Lián	Jun (Sovereign)	9g
黄芩	Huáng Qín	Chen (Minister)	6g
黄柏	Huáng Bǎi	Zuo (Assistant)	6g
栀子	Zhī Zǐ	Shi (Courier)	9g

Preparation: 水煎服。

This prescription is provided only by the dispensing TCM practitioner. Take as directed; do not modify the dose or share it. If you experience any adverse effect, stop immediately and contact your practitioner. The content of this platform is educational reference, not medical advice.
Bencao Dian · https://bencaodian.org · CC BY-SA 4.0

Permalink · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cite this entry

@misc{bencaodian-huang-lian-jie-du-tang,
  author       = {{Bencaodian Editorial}},
  title        = {Huáng Lián Jiě Dú Tāng 黄连解毒汤 (Coptis Decoction to Resolve Toxicity)},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine},
  url          = {https://bencaodian.org/en/formulas/huang-lian-jie-du-tang},
  urldate      = {2026-04-17},
  note         = {CC BY-SA 4.0}
}

Permalink is fixed

Herb

Role

Dosage

Notes

大苦大寒，直折心胃之火，为君

清上焦肺火

泻下焦肾与膀胱之火

通泻三焦之火，导热下行从小便出

Herb

Pinyin

Role

Dose

黄连

Huáng Lián

Jun (Sovereign)

黄芩

Huáng Qín

Chen (Minister)

黄柏

Huáng Bǎi

Zuo (Assistant)

栀子

Zhī Zǐ

Shi (Courier)

@misc{bencaodian-huang-lian-jie-du-tang, author = {{Bencaodian Editorial}}, title = {Huáng Lián Jiě Dú Tāng 黄连解毒汤 (Coptis Decoction to Resolve Toxicity)}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bencao Dian: A Bilingual Knowledge Graph of Traditional Chinese Medicine}, url = {https://bencaodian.org/en/formulas/huang-lian-jie-du-tang}, urldate = {2026-04-17}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }