Credit: Kamwo
I think we practitioners can all agree that Fu Zi is a very important herb in Chinese medicine. It is commonly recognized as “chief of the hundred herbs” and “the foremost essential herb in reviving Yang”. If you did not fall asleep in Shang Han Lun class, your instructor probably raved about its role in many of the formulas in that ancient text. For full disclosure, I did not fall asleep in my SHL class, although I came close a couple of times. What I did not realize at the time was not all Fu Zi are the same.
It turns out that Huo Shen Pai (Fire Spirit School) Fu Zi has been grown and processed the correct way in communities within Sichuan province for many generations. And it is conventional wisdom where, when, and how herbs are grown can make a big difference. This principle does not apply to all herbs, but certainly a great number of them. There is even a term in Chinese medicine for this, 道地 Dao Di or 地道 Di Dao. With Fu Zi, not only are they grown in specific regions but also the specific topography within, e.g. harvested high in the mountains, where they endure great cold; and they have to be grown at the proper time of year. Further, another important aspect to Dao Di is how the Fu Zi is processed. This is not trivial. Proper methods are developed over generations. It is done thoroughly and properly, the traditional way, with several detoxification procedures involving steaming, soaking in brine, and repeated rinsing in flowing, clean water. Something that is NOT done outside of this region.
The first time I heard about the Fire Spirit School Fu Zi was from the esteemed Heiner Fruehauf. He gave a talk at Kamwo some years ago and it literally blew my mind. My family is from Southern China where it is hot and humid. Our relationship with Fu Zi differs greatly from other regions of China. I was taught at a young age not to exceed 15 grams of Fu Zi or your patient may drop dead. I am not exaggerating, "drop dead" sounds even scarier in Cantonese. After Heiner's talk, I did a little reading on my own and that was when I had my "Sixth Sense" moment, Bruce Willis realizing that he was actually dead, and looking back, everything made sense to him. For me, Fu Zi made sense from that moment on. I realized we Southerners were using the wrong type of Fu Zi all along! All the crazy formulas that came into our pharmacy with "lethal doses" of 30-60g now seem rational. An immediate reevaluation of my relationship with Fu Zi had to be made, clinically and professionally.
So what is my point of this blog? We learn new things all the time, it is truly humbling. I encourage you to reevaluate your relationship with Fu Zi, beyond the Bensky text. Learn about Huo Shen Pai Fu Zi (Fire Spirit School), how versatile and powerful but yet safe Sichuan Fu Zi can be when properly grown and processed. It is never too late. If you wish to learn more about this, just Google "Heiner Fruehauf Fu Zi" and a door to a whole other world will open for you.
Available on Escript as a raw herb ingredient for custom prescriptions under the name: Fu Zi (Zhi) (Processed) (Fire Spirit School)
Available on Escript as a granule ingredient for custom prescriptions under the name of: Fu Zi (Zhi) (Processed) (Classical Pearl)