Four Season Herbs

In terms of practical methods, Compendium of Materia Medica (《本草纲目》) offers the following guidelines for seasonal adjustments:

Spring: Use mildly warming herbs, such as mint, to align with the ascending qi of spring.

Summer: Use moderately hot herbs, such as shiitake mushrooms or ginger, to support the floating qi of summer.

Late Summer: Use herbs that are sweet, bitter, or mildly warming, such as ginseng, Atractylodes, and Phellodendron, to harmonize with the transforming qi.

Autumn: Use sour and warming herbs, such as peony or black plum, to assist the descending qi of autumn.

Winter: Use bitter and cold herbs, such as Scutellaria or Anemarrhena, to align with the sinking qi of winter.

This approach—nourishing yin and yang by following the seasonal flows of qi—cultivates harmony with natural rhythms. Since spring and summer symbolize the active emergence of yang while autumn and winter represent the conservation of yin, replenishing these energies during their periods of vulnerability safeguards against depletion. In this way, health is preserved at its foundation, preventing illness before it arises.

By Yu Ying

Edited by Andrew Miles

Editor’s Note: These are general guidelines mainly based around tonification or following the seasonal qi, to reduce it may be neccesary to do the opposite, which is why certain text appear to be contradictory and give the opposite advice. In fact the advice is conditional to the relative state of pressure, temperature, moisture, and circadian rhythm of the individual.