Bighead Carp and Codonopsis Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Warms and tonifies the spleen and stomach. Suitable for conditions such as chronic gastritis.
because it runs warm overall, this decoction is best avoided in yin-deficient, fire-prone constitutions; in the absence of frank deficiency, or where an excess or heat pattern prevails, indiscriminate warming tonic use is inadvisable; as a warming-tonic formula, it is not for those with excess heat, damp-heat, or unresolved exterior patterns
Commentary
The sovereign is grass carp, warm in nature and sweet in flavor, with Spleen, Stomach tropism; it warms the stomach, harmonizes the middle, and tonifies qi, anchoring the central strategy of the formula. The ministerial support — codonopsis (nature neutral, flavor sweet, channeled into the Spleen, Lung, tonifies qi, strengthens the spleen and nourishes the lung), and cardamom (with warm nature and pungent flavor, having Lung, Spleen, Stomach tropism, transforms dampness, moves qi, warms the middle, and opens the appetite) — reinforces the sovereign’s main effect and coordinates the drug strength. The formula is rounded out by dried tangerine peel and cinnamon bark, tempering the formula’s tendency, and scallions, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, keeping the combination balanced and well-tempered. The combined effect is tailored to the spleen-stomach weakness pattern.