Purge Fire / Clear Heat: Shan Zhi Zi

UPDATE: I submitted the following question to Dennis and he shared the following response:

QUESTION: I'm wondering why Shan Zhi Zi is not in the "Herbs that clear heat / Cool Blood" category.

RESPONSE: Many of the herbs wear different hats and different authors will place them in various categories. Bensky and Chen both emphasize the Fire purging abilities. Many herbalists pay much attention to its ability to treat not only Fire disorders, but its ability to treat Wood Damp-Heat such as biliary congestion, HTN and emotional symptoms since it works as a sedative.

Shan Zhi Zi is a very pretty and delicate feeling little puffbag of seeds born of the Gardenia. The Latin name is Gardenia jasminoides fruit. A lovely reddish-orange, I gazed at this herb all day long as I carried it around wherever I went, hoping to get to know it better. Funny thing is, though it's pretty--it reminds me of little paper lanterns--try as I might, I had a hard time connecting with it. Perhaps that's because, like many pretty things, it is cold and bitter.

Shan Zhi Zi is not only pretty, but very busy as well. It works primarily in the liver channel but also in the heart, lung, stomach, and san jiao channels. Since those organs aren't as photogenic (well, who knows what the san jiao looks like, but lungs, stomachs and livers aren't very appetizing) above I show only the heart.


As I said, I am having some trouble connecting with the heart (and the liver, lungs, stomach and san jiao) of this cold, bitter herb. The pressure of coming up with some clever story about Shan Zhi Zi is making me hot, irritable, and restless. I have a stifling sensation in my chest now and the stress of it all has given me horribly dribbly pee which got all over the floor. This is all quite traumatic to have to admit.

The upside of my problems--and what a coincidence--is that if I crush these pretty little lanterns--and right now, believe me, I feel like doing so--and ingest the tiny seeds within, they will rush to my aid; Shan Zhi Zi is very commonly used for such troubles. It will drain my heat, eliminate my restlessness, alleviate this stifling sensation in my chest. It will even allow me to sleep soundly and rid me of my worrisome insomnia. My painful urinary dribbling will begin to nicely flow as Shan Zhi Zi will resolve the dampness in my body. Shan Zhi Zi will cool my bubbling, reckless blood and resolve the toxicity of this post!

Shan Zhi Zi will reach my ying and xue levels and alleviate this rash I am beginning to develop.

But enough about my troubles. If you, or someone you know, is suffering from any of these same troubles, or additional problems such as blood stasis (apply topically with vinegar or egg white), or a "flooding syndrome" (fancy language for heavy periods and / or fibroids) you can use this very dynamic--and pretty--herb to help bring your body back into balance. One word of warning, if you have deficient cold of the spleen and stomach you should look for a different solution to your troubles than Shan Zhi Zi; also, if you get overly zealous about this herb and take more than 6 to 9 grams, it might make you crap your pants.

Here's a more concise and straightforward version of Zhi Zi (which it is often called):