Chinese Herbalism
Chinese clematis
Clematis chinensis
Also known as clematis root, wei ling xian, wēi líng xiān.
Wei ling xian is the dried root and rhizome of Clematis chinensis, a climbing woody vine of hillsides and thickets across southern and central China, Taiwan, Japan and northern Vietnam; the closely related Clematis hexapetala and Clematis mandshurica are also official sources. The name suggests a powerful, almost magical efficacy, and the herb has a long reputation for moving through the twelve channels to relieve stubborn wind-damp pain. It is warm, acrid and rapidly dispersing, best used for a defined course rather than as a daily tonic.
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Indications what the tradition reached for it in
- Wandering joint pain that moves from place to place
- Rheumatoid and osteoarthritic joint pain worse in cold, damp weather
- Numbness and heaviness of the limbs
- Stiff neck and shoulder from wind-damp
- Low back and leg pain with restricted movement
- Sciatica of a cold-damp type
- Fish bone or small bone stuck in the throat
- Hiccup and esophageal spasm (traditional, small doses)
- Chronic phlegm-fluid accumulation with heaviness (secondary)
- Heel spur and plantar pain (topical and internal, folk use)
Specific indications
Pain that shifts between joints, with stiffness and difficulty moving, in a patient who feels worse in cold, wet weather and better with warmth
A fish bone caught in the throat, where a strong decoction of wei ling xian with vinegar and brown sugar is sipped slowly
Safety
The record lists 7 contraindications; open the plate in the library to read them in full.
In practice
This is a mover, not a nourisher. Choose it for bi syndrome where the pain migrates, the joints are stiff and the patient is chilled and worse in damp weather, and combine it with warming, blood-moving companions: qiang huo and du huo for upper and lower body wind-damp, dang gui and chuan xiong to move blood, sang zhi for the arms and niu xi to lead the effect to the knees and lower back.
In Chinese medicine
Temperature: warm. Taste: acrid, salty. Channels: Bladder. Actions: Dispels wind-dampness from the channels and joints; Unblocks the channels and collaterals to stop pain; Softens and dislodges fish bones lodged in the throat; Disperses phlegm and water accumulation (secondary).
Dosing as the sources wrote it
| Preparation | As written | Metric |
|---|---|---|
| Decoction | 6-10 g dried root daily in decoction | 6000-10000 mg |
| Decoction for fish bone in throat | 15-30 g dried root decocted in 300 mL water with vinegar, sipped slowly once | 15000-30000 mg |
| Tincture (1:5, 45%) | 1-3 mL three times daily | 1-3 mL |
| Topical liniment | 1:5 tincture applied to painful joints twice daily |
Doses are reproduced from the sources for practitioners and are not a recommendation for any person.
From the sources
Overview. Wei ling xian is the dried root and rhizome of Clematis chinensis, a climbing woody vine of hillsides and thickets across southern and central China, Taiwan, Japan and northern Vietnam; the closely related Clematis hexapetala and Clematis mandshurica are also official sources. The name suggests a powerful, almost magical efficacy, and the herb has a long reputation for moving through the twelve channels to relieve stubborn wind-damp pain. It is warm, acrid and rapidly dispersing, best used for a defined course rather than as a daily tonic.
Clinical Notes. This is a mover, not a nourisher. Choose it for bi syndrome where the pain migrates, the joints are stiff and the patient is chilled and worse in damp weather, and combine it with warming, blood-moving companions: qiang huo and du huo for upper and lower body wind-damp, dang gui and chuan xiong to move blood, sang zhi for the arms and niu xi to lead the effect to the knees and lower back.
In formulas
Chinese clematis stands in 6 documented formulas in the library, among them shũ jing huo xuè tàng, shù fêng huo xuè tàng, èr zhú tǎng.
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