Harmonizing Method (He Jie)

Harmonizing (he jie) is a treatment strategy that neither only purges nor only tonifies. It is used to settle a conflict between exterior and interior, to regulate liver and spleen, or to settle a stomach that is mixing cold and heat.

1. Harmonizing shaoyang

This is for a pathogen sitting in shaoyang — half-exterior, half-interior. Common signs are alternating chills and fever, chest or rib-side discomfort, irritability, a tendency to vomit, little desire to speak or eat, a bitter taste, dry throat and dizziness.

Because the pathogen is not fully exterior and not fully interior, forcing a sweat or forcing a vomit is usually the wrong move. Harmonizing is the usual approach. Typical herbs include Bupleurum (Chai Hu), sweet wormwood (Qing Hao), Pinellia (Ban Xia) and Scutellaria (Huang Qin). The representative formula is Xiao Chai Hu Tang.

2. Regulating liver and spleen

This is for liver-spleen disharmony: low mood, chest tightness, and mixed cold, heat, pain or diarrhea. Common herbs are Bupleurum (Chai Hu), white peony (Bai Shao), licorice (Gan Cao) and Atractylodes (Bai Zhu). Representative formulas are Si Ni San and Xiao Yao San.

3. Harmonizing the stomach and intestines

This is for a stomach pattern that mixes cold and heat: abdominal pain, vomiting, a sense that the middle is “at odds with itself.” Common herbs include dried ginger (Gan Jiang), Coptis (Huang Lian) and Pinellia (Ban Xia). The representative formula is Ban Xia Xie Xin Tang.

These are textbook patterns, not a self-prescription. A practitioner still has to decide whether the case is actually shaoyang, liver-spleen, or a mixed stomach pattern.