Black-Bone Chicken Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Warms the middle burner, strengthens the spleen, and tonifies qi and blood. Suitable for menstrual cramps caused by deficiency-cold.
as the formula is predominantly warm, avoid prolonged use in those with yin deficiency, dry mouth, or restlessness with heat in the palms and soles; 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
Black-boned chicken occupies the sovereign position; nature neutral, flavor sweet, channeled into the Liver, Kidney, it nourishes the liver and kidneys and supplements qi and blood and becomes the guiding principle of the whole formula. The ministerial layer, dried tangerine peel (with warm nature and pungent, bitter flavor, having Spleen, Lung tropism, regulates qi, strengthens the spleen, dries dampness and dissolves phlegm), and galangal (of hot nature and pungent flavor, entering the Spleen, Stomach, warms the middle, dissipates cold, and relieves pain), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. The formula is rounded out by black pepper and cardamom, tempering the formula’s tendency, and scallions, acting as the envoy to harmonize the various ingredients, keeping the combination balanced and well-tempered. Together the herbs converge on this action, in accord with the qi stagnation and blood stasis pattern.