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Spring: Freeing the Liver — The TCM Playbook

seasonal tcm traditional chinese medicine
By the TCMHH editorial team Not medically reviewed How we work Updated 6 Oct 2026
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Seasonal living is half of TCM practice. The same body needs different things in different months, and Spring belongs to the liver, the organ of free flow; irritability and eye trouble surface now, and the herbs that smooth liver qi matter most.

The herbs of the season

The shortlist for this season: Dandelion, Green tea, Peppermint. Each covers a different corner of the seasonal picture, and you rarely need all of them at once.

Dandelion (Pu Gong Ying) is cold in nature, and in the clinic it benefits the eyes and soothes a hot, sore throat.

Green tea (Lu Cha) is cool in nature, and in the clinic it lifts the spirit and sharpens the head and eyes.

Peppermint (Bo He) is cool in nature, and in the clinic it clears head and eyes in wind-heat headache.

How to keep it simple

Pick one herb and one habit rather than rebuilding your whole routine. The seasonal logic works through consistency: small correct choices, repeated for the length of the season, is what the tradition means by prevention.

Herbs work best as part of a pattern, not as a solo act. If your symptoms keep coming back, that is the moment to get a proper TCM diagnosis rather than to keep self-prescribing.

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Sources and further reading

We cite classical materia medica and modern reference works. This article is health education, not medical advice.

  • Shennong Bencao Jing (The Divine Farmer's Materia Medica), Han dynasty.
  • Bencao Gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica), Li Shizhen, 1578.
  • Chinese Pharmacopoeia, current edition — identity, quality and safety monographs.
  • NCCIH and WHO reference material on traditional medicine safety.

Spotted an error or a better source? Tell us — corrections are logged on our editorial policy page.

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