Weilingxian and Dog Bone Soup，From *Proven Tea, Decoction, and Soup Recipes for Common Ailments*,Dispels wind and cold; transforms dampness and unblocks the meridians. Suitable for rheumatoid arthritis of the wind-cold-damp bi type, characterized by severe joint pain in the limbs—whether wandering or localized—that worsens with cold and improves with warmth; stiffness in joint flexion and extension; possible distending pain; a pale-red tongue with a white, greasy coating.
the whole decoction leans warm; use with caution in those with yin deficiency and internal heat or lingering excess heat; those who are robust with internal accumulated heat are not suited to this formula
Commentary
With clematis root as the sovereign, nature warm, flavor pungent, salty, channeled into the Bladder, it dispels wind-damp, unblocks the channels and relieves pain, and this opening sets the main therapeutic direction. The ministerial layer, dog bones (of warm nature and salty flavor, entering the Liver, Kidney, dispels wind-dampness, strengthens the sinews and bones, and relieves pain), lends support that reinforces the sovereign’s main effect. Viewed as a whole, the formula addresses the wind-cold presentation, treating both root and branch.