Study Guide for Week 6: Gui Zhi and the Gui Zhi Tang Formula Family
1) Explain the nutritive and protective qi.
How do they work together normally?
How do they interact when there is a disharmony between them?
What does it mean to "harmonize" the nutritive (ying) and protective (wei) qi?
2) Name the herbs in Gui Zhi Tang
Which are the primary herbs in the formula (the chief and deputy) and how do they work together?
Describe the function of the rest of the herbs in the formula?
2) What is the most important symptom you would look for when considering the appropriateness of using Gui Zhi Tang?
Explain the etiology of this symptom (how the symptom develops), and the details of how this symptom presents.
4) Give the other symptoms indicated for the use of Gui Zhi Tang and explain how they might arise.
5) Define "wind" as we use it in Chinese medicine.
How is external wind generated and what is the symptom pattern related to it?
How is external wind different from internal wind?
6) How do Gui Zhi Tang patterns differ from Ma Huang Tang?
Why would you use Gui Zhi Tang over Ma Huang Tang?
7) What does the Taiyang channel (called the greater yang warp in the Bensky text) indicate?
What are its core symptoms?
Do the symptoms of Gui Zhi Tang equal the symptoms of the Taiyang channel?
How does Gui Zhi Tang, or its core herbs, act on the Taiyang channel?
8) Compare and contrast Gui Zhi Tang, Xiao Jian Zhong Tang, and Huang Qi Jian Zhong Tang.
9) Compare the formula functions and use of Gui Zhi in the following formulas:
Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan
Wen Jing Tang`
10) What is the function of the Gui Zhi Tang formula when the dosage of Gui Zhi is increased? Compare this to the original Gui Zhi Tang formula.
What is the function of the Gui Zhi Tang formula when the dosage of Bai Shao is increased? Compare this to the original Gui Zhi Tang formula.
11) Describe the use of Gui Zhi Tang when Fu Zi is added.
Describe the use of Gui Zhi Tang when Ren Shen is added.
Describe the use of Gui Zhi Tang when Huang Qi is added.