Kidney Deficiency, Impotence, Premature Ejaculation, Aching Lower Back, Low Energy? Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan (Five-Seed Descendants Pill): Five Seeds That Slowly Rebuild the Body’s Foundation

Opening: the best-selling kidney-tonifying formula online

In recent years, one patent medicine has sold enormously well online, with astonishing annual sales reported. Why? Because it is a kidney-tonifying formula — nowadays too many people have insufficient kidney qi and unstable kidney essence, and with many couples trying for a second child, everyone thinks “I need to tonify my kidneys.”

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: This formula is very popular right now — it sells extremely well online. Why? Because it’s a kidney-tonifying formula. These days many people have insufficient kidney qi and unstable kidney essence — you can feel it yourself, and people with sufficient kidney qi are rare. Also, lately many people seem to be trying for a second child, so a lot of people think they need to tonify their kidneys.

That formula is Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan (Five-Seed Descendants Pill). What is its secret? It is well worth studying — this is a “thought-provoking” old formula.

Where does this formula come from? — Zhang Guolao’s gift to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

The origin of Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan is startling: legend has it that it already existed in the Tang dynasty.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: The formula is said to have appeared quite early — it existed in the Tang dynasty, when the famous Daoist Zhang Guo — the man we later came to know as Zhang Guolao — presented it to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. At the time it was called Wu Zi Shou Xian Wan (Five Seeds to Guard Immortality Pill), and this is recorded in Daoist scriptures. Later the name gradually changed into Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan.

And where did the name “Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan” itself first appear? In the Ming dynasty Zhang Shiche’s She Sheng Zhong Miao Fang (Wondrous Formulas for Preserving Life). Zhang Shiche was no ordinary man:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Zhang Shiche was a famous general and a political figure. Officials in ancient times had a trait: they loved the people like their own children and wanted to look after the people’s health, so virtually all of them collected formulas, and those with the means published a book. After retiring, Zhang Shiche devoted himself to calligraphy and poetry, then to collating medical books. As an official of his rank, many people presented him with formulas for keeping in good health; he gathered all these formulas, studied Chinese medicine himself, reached a respectable level, and wrote this book.

It was in this book that the name “Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan” appeared for the first time.

What does it treat? — Kidney essence deficiency: impotence, infertility, nocturnal emission, premature ejaculation, low-back soreness

Doctor Luo Dalun states the indications straight away:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: This formula treats kidney essence deficiency — the impotence and infertility, nocturnal emission and premature ejaculation, low-back pain and soreness, dribbling after urination, and even some whitish turbid urine that result from it. The core problem is deficiency of kidney essence, so its action is to tonify the kidney and replenish its essence.

So what exactly is kidney essence? And why, when it runs short, do so many problems arrive at once?

What is kidney essence? — the body’s most fundamental “One”

Chinese medicine holds that the essence sealed within the kidneys is the root of a lifetime.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Kidney essence is the foundation of the body. The state of all five organs and six bowels is closely tied to kidney essence. Kidney essence governs our growth, development and reproductive system — it is the body’s most original driving substance.

Laozi said “the Dao produces One; One produces Two; Two produces Three; Three produces all things” — kidney essence is like that “One”:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Kidney essence is like the “One” that the Dao produces — the body’s fundamental substance. Then what is “One produces Two”? The kidney essence gives rise to the two qi of yin and yang — within kidney essence there are already the sprouts of yin and yang, embraced together; it gives birth to yin and yang, which become kidney yin and kidney yang. Then, as kidney yin and kidney yang grow, the yin and yang of our five organs and six bowels begin to appear. So it is the root.

Where does kidney essence come from? — prenatal essence + postnatal essence

Kidney essence has two parts, and Doctor Luo explains it clearly:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: First there is prenatal essence (xian tian zhi jing) — what we inherit from our parents. It is close to what we call genetic material today: how tall you grow, what you look like, what your hair is like — you resemble both parents very closely. Why? Because of genetic material. Once prenatal essence enters the body, it gradually combines with postnatal essence (hou tian zhi jing). What is postnatal essence? It is formed when our spleen and stomach absorb food and drink, and we breathe in the fresh clear qi of the air — these nutrients combine to form it. Postnatal essence combines with prenatal essence to form the essence we now have, and where is it sealed? It is sealed in the kidneys.

So kidney essence is the union of prenatal and postnatal essence — the very foundation of the body.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Kidney essence determines our state of health to a large degree. People with deficient kidney essence may be in poor health — low resistance, weak organ function, prone to problems; people with sufficient kidney essence are in an excellent physiological state — eyes bright and shining, voice loud and powerful, abundant energy, a sturdy and healthy body. People deficient in kidney essence age early and develop slowly; in reproduction, impotence and premature ejaculation are all linked to insufficient kidney essence.

Here is a key realization: the prenatal essence can hardly be changed.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: There is not much we can do to change the prenatal essence — it came from your parents. If it was weak to begin with, making it very strong is difficult. So with the prenatal essence inherited from our parents, protecting it well and letting it drain as little as possible is already good enough. As for the postnatal essence — protect your spleen and stomach well and energy will keep flowing in without end. That is what really matters.

Why do modern people drain kidney essence so much?

The ancients created many kidney-tonifying formulas precisely because consumption was so heavy — but modern people consume even more than the ancients did.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Human desires far exceed those of animals. Animals reproduce in spring; humans reproduce all year round, leaving almost no time to store up energy. When the ancients saw darkness fall, they blew out the lamp and slept — there was not that much nightlife. Modern people have far too much nightlife: dancing in the club, watching pole-dancing shows, watching television, all kinds of pictorials — desire is constantly being stirred up.

And do not assume kidney essence is drained only by “lust”:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: No, it isn’t. Staying up late also drains kidney essence, and excessive brooding drains it too. I rack my brains every day, and that gives me plenty of chances to drain my kidney essence. Overwork, staying up late, desire being stirred up — modern people have so many opportunities to drain kidney essence.

The famous Jin-Yuan dynasty physician Doctor Zhu Danxi set a frighteningly high standard:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Zhu Danxi said human desire is boundless — especially desire for fine food and for sex, which are hard to control. Sometimes you have done nothing at all, but the moment a lustful thought appears it begins to stir — he said it is like a fire moving; your actual kidney essence is already consumed. So the ancients demanded a very high standard: in certain months, try not to put yourself in that kind of environment at all; you should go deep into the mountains, into a great temple, and quiet your mind. For someone like that, if illness comes, and you can still your mind for a while, the illness becomes much easier to cure.

The five seeds appear — what does “yan zong” mean?

So how do you tonify kidney essence? The ancients devised a formula: Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan. What was it originally created for? To improve reproductive capacity.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: “Yan” means to multiply and propagate; “zong” means to pass the lineage down through generations. If a man’s kidney qi is insufficient, his kidney essence weak and depleted, he may not be able to father children; if this family has only one son, then there will be no descendants below him. The ancients took this very seriously and thought: how can we let descendants multiply? So they made this formula — five Chinese herbs, every one carrying the character “zi” (seed). Take it and descendants will be many — hence the name Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan, the Five-Seed Descendants Pill.

Which five seeds? gou qi zi (goji berry), tu si zi (dodder seed), fu pen zi (raspberry), wu wei zi (schisandra) and che qian zi (plantain seed). The formula is very simple, yet “full of hidden wonders” — Doctor Luo takes them apart one by one.

Herb one: gou qi zi — tonifies kidney essence, sitting between yin and yang

Goji berry is a magical herb. Online everyone jokes: “The Black Panther Band’s drummer was so fierce when he was young — now he’s out in middle age, holding a cup with goji berries steeping in it.”

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Many people steep goji berries, but what does goji berry actually do? People used to say it tonifies kidney yin — that statement is both right and not quite right. Goji berry’s nature and flavor are sweet and neutral (gan ping). The ancients said it was slightly cold, but in practice it is not cold — many people get hot all over after eating goji berries, and if its nature were cold, it should not produce that effect.

So what does goji berry really tonify? — Kidney essence.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Herbs that tonify kidney essence sit between yin and yang. Yin-nourishing herbs are mostly cool or cold; yang-tonifying herbs are mostly warm or hot. Only kidney-essence tonics sit between the two — their nature is not necessarily cool and not necessarily hot, which is why they are sweet and neutral. Goji berry enters the liver and kidneys and tonifies the essence of both; it resembles shu di huang (prepared rehmannia) — shu di huang tonifies kidney essence with greater force, and goji berry is comparable, so the two are often used together.

What did the ancients say about goji berry? Always with the character “essence” (jing) at the front:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Tao Hongjing was a famous Daoist figure who understood Chinese medicine. He said goji berry supplements essence qi and strengthens the yin — by “yin” he meant our reproductive system. The Yao Xing Lun (Treatise on Drug Properties) says it can supplement essence. Only when kidney essence is sufficient can a person’s sinews and bones grow strong — because the kidney governs the bones and produces marrow — so it strengthens sinews and bones. When essence is sufficient, it also brightens the eyes and calms the spirit. The Ben Cao Hui Yan (Collected Words on the Materia Medica) says goji berry excels at treating the eyes — it strengthens essence and spirit; when spirit is full and essence sufficient, the eyes become well.

Essence-tonifying herbs have a special trait that Doctor Luo points out — they are like a universal base ingredient:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan, Liu Wei Di Huang Wan and many other formulas are all built on tonifying kidney essence. On that foundation, add a little yin-nourishing herb and the whole formula moves toward nourishing yin; add a yang-tonifying herb and it moves toward warming yang; add a qi-tonifying herb like ren shen and it begins to tonify qi; add a blood-nourishing herb and it immediately nourishes blood — pair goji berry with dang gui and it instantly nourishes blood. That is the subtlety of how the ancients used herbs.

Herb two: tu si zi — warm without dryness, nudging the formula toward yang

The second herb in the formula is tu si zi (dodder seed).

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Tu si zi tonifies yang — strictly speaking its nature is also neutral; some physicians say it carries a slight warmth, a slight spiciness, and that spiciness gives it a bit of yang-tonifying action. So traditionally we consider tu si zi able to tonify the liver and kidneys and benefit essence and marrow. The ancients’ summaries of drug natures are quite precise.

Tu si zi’s hallmark is gentleness:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: The Ben Cao Hui Yan says this herb “tonifies without being fierce, warms without being drying” — not violent, slightly warm, but never parching. Miao Xiyong, the famous Ming physician, wrote in the Ben Cao Jing Shu (Commentary on the Materia Medica) that the pungent flavor reaches all four qi and also connects all four directions. The Huangdi Neijing says: “The kidney suffers dryness; urgently eat pungent to moisten it” — when the kidney is tormented by dryness, use pungent herbs to moisten it; that is one way of tonifying the kidney.

Tu si zi leans toward tonifying kidney yang — while tonifying essence it carries a trend toward yang, and paired with goji berry, the formula shifts a little in the warming direction on top of the essence-tonifying base.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: So you see, the herb matching inside Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan is quite refined.

Herb three: fu pen zi — stabilizing the essence, guarding what has been tonified in

The third seed is fu pen zi (raspberry). Many friends have eaten it — it is actually a kind of raspberry, and very tasty.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Fu pen zi also tonifies the liver and kidneys — nourishing both — and can help yang and stabilize the essence, leaning toward the yang-tonifying side. But its greatest power is stabilizing the essence — holding the essence in place, treating nocturnal emission and enuresis (involuntary urination, leaking urine) and so on. It has an astringent action and a slightly sour taste. Especially when kidney essence is unstable, fu pen zi’s essence-stabilizing effect is excellent.

And the position of fu pen zi in the formula is exquisitely chosen — Doctor Luo lays out the logic of the combination:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: First goji berry tonifies, then tu si zi pushes toward yang — but do not overdo it. What if you tonify until the fire flares and the essence gate can no longer hold? Then fu pen zi’s sourness comes in to gather things up. Fu pen zi itself tonifies while carrying a mild essence-stabilizing action, and its strength is gentle. In gynecology, when a woman’s essence qi is unstable and kidney essence deficient, we also often use fu pen zi — it is a very gentle herb.

Herb four: wu wei zi — sour astringency that “holds in” the tonics

Adding fu pen zi was not enough — one more herb was added: wu wei zi (schisandra).

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Wu wei zi is purely sour, and its nature is warm. In the past, people in the Changbai Mountains often brewed schisandra wine — it tasted sweet and sour, and they had to put rock sugar in it, otherwise the sourness was unbearable. Only when you crack open the shell of the schisandra berry can its five flavors come out. What does it do? It astringes the lung, nourishes the kidney, generates fluids, checks sweating and astringes essence — it is sour and astringent, and it tonifies the five organs — Doctor Li Dongyuan once said wu wei zi tonifies the five organs.

Wu wei zi’s most magical quality is gathering — holding in the tonifying action of other herbs:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Wu wei zi also calms the spirit — if you sleep poorly, boil wu wei zi in water; the water is very sour, and drinking it can nourish the heart, calm the spirit, astringe lung qi and tonify the kidney. And when you add wu wei zi to a tonic formula, it holds in the tonifying effect: it keeps the nourishment from dispersing, keeps you from flaring into heat after taking it, and lets the tonics actually soak in. That is why you so often see old doctors add a bit of wu wei zi to their tonic prescriptions.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Miao Xiyong wrote in the Ben Cao Jing Shu that wu wei zi specifically benefits men’s essence — supplementing a man’s essence qi and kidney essence; while tonifying, it can also astringe with its sourness. It is a very special herb. Wu wei zi used to be listed among foods and medicines sharing one origin, like goji berry; later, for reasons unknown, the authorities removed it from the list — yet wu wei zi is an extremely gentle herb.

Herb five: che qian zi — the most ingenious herb in the formula, giving evil qi an exit

Goji berry, tu si zi, fu pen zi and wu wei zi are all explained — that leaves che qian zi (plantain seed). Looking at it, you wonder: why would a kidney-tonifying formula contain a herb that promotes urination?

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Che qian zi promotes urination and unblocks the urine — if there is heat evil, it drains it out. This is where the formula’s genius lies — when we tonify, we cannot only tonify; we must also give evil qi a way out. If you do not give evil qi an exit — say the kidney essence easily harbors dampness, and you fail to drain that dampness and simply tonify the kidney nonstop — the kidney may become more and more disordered the more you tonify.

This is exactly the thinking of Liu Wei Di Huang Wan’s “three tonify, three drain”:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Liu Wei Di Huang Wan — three tonify, three drain. The tonifying ones are shu di huang, shan zhu yu and shan yao; the draining ones are dan pi, fu ling and ze xie. What is that for? I tonify on one side, and on the other I give evil qi an exit. Once the evil is cleared, cleared completely, the nourishment can all soak in. So in a classic, well-considered tonic formula, the ancients almost always added a little herb that clears outward and drains.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Even in a small formula like Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan, the ancients thought to add a little che qian zi — you certainly do not want a bit of fire and damp evil inside, and the moment I start tonifying, you flare up. Originally I am tonifying kidney essence while leaning toward yang — as the tonification moves in the yang direction, your fire rises, then comes painful urination, and the tonification itself starts causing problems. So I help you clear outward, get the evil out, and only then can the tonification really take hold. Within this formula, the most ingenious herb is che qian zi.

Why must we not fiercely tonify kidney yang? — the kerosene lamp metaphor

Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan is now a ready-made medicine, and Tong Ren Tang’s version is a classic. But Doctor Luo has a special warning: kidney tonification cannot be rushed.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: With kidney-tonifying herbs in general, we tend to want quick results. For tonifying kidney yang, you take fierce herbs like deer antler and deer penis, and sometimes they do work. But if your kidney essence is insufficient and you only tonify kidney yang, the result is sometimes poor. Think of a kerosene lamp — when the kerosene in the lamp is running low, of course you can light the flame and get a little fire. But suppose I want the flame big, so I take a flame-thrower and spray it hard. My friends, that will not work — it cannot sustain itself. So some people tonify kidney yang too hard: they feel blazing hot at the moment, but soon the effect passes and they fail again. What is worse, it wastes the little kidney essence you had left, and then the person sinks into listlessness.

That is why Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan’s character is gentleness of action:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: Kidney essence should be replenished slowly, gently. Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan’s action is quite mild — with it, do not be anxious. This is a very gentle formula; take it slowly and nothing bad will happen. Do not hold some goal in mind — “I take it for virility, I will feel a reaction right away.” It is not like that. Take it a little at a time, tonify a little at a time; as long as the kidney essence is gradually filled up, kidney qi begins to grow, kidney yin and kidney yang become sufficient, and only then can kidney function truly display itself. So this is a foundation-building formula — you can use it for plain supplementation. It leans a little toward kidney yang, but it is fairly balanced, and tonifying kidney essence is its main job.

Tonifying the kidney is only a means; whole-body health is the goal

Is sufficient kidney essence only for the sake of the kidneys? No.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: When kidney essence is sufficient, every other organ in the body benefits — the circulation of qi and blood benefits, and every one of the five organs and six bowels is supplied with nutrients. This builds the foundation for the whole body; it is not only for reproduction. When the whole body is well, the reproductive system, the circulatory system, every system — each one is well. What we pursue should be the health of every system. Tonifying the kidney is only a means; the goal achieved is whole-body health — and one result of whole-body health is normal sexual function. Never rush, never eat random things just for sexual function — that is how people ruin themselves.

Doctor Luo describes a painful phenomenon he sees often:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: I have seen many people tonify recklessly and end up worse off than before. They ask: does Chinese medicine even work? Why am I worse than before? My friends, you were too eager for quick results — you pulled up the sprouts to make them grow. That is not how it works. This is a very gentle, plain-tonifying formula — the five seeds are all plant seeds. The ancients discovered that seeds contain energy, energy that can regulate and tonify our body, so they made this into a patent medicine.

How to use it? — combining, infusing, many ways to play

Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan was originally created by the ancients for having children; Doctor Luo says: modern people should use it as a health supplement.

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: The ancients created it for producing offspring. I think modern people should use it as a health supplement. It can be combined with formulas like Liu Wei Di Huang Wan: if your kidney yin is insufficient, take Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan together with Liu Wei Di Huang Wan — alternate them, and the kidney yin will become sufficient; if your kidney yang is insufficient, alternate Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan with Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan.

There are other ways to take it:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: You can boil shu di huang (prepared rehmannia) in water, then take Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan with that decoction — the kidney-tonifying effect is stronger. Someone says my eyes are not so good — check whether it is yin deficiency; if it is yin deficiency, add a little shi hu (dendrobium) and ju hua (chrysanthemum), boil them in water, and take the pill with it — that works too. With one Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan I can make many, many combinations — on the foundation of tonifying kidney essence, you can regulate the five organs, including nourishing blood and tonifying qi.

Who is it suitable for? Doctor Luo gives a very practical yardstick:

💬 Note from Doctor Luo: As long as you feel your kidney essence is insufficient — frequent low-back soreness, graying hair early, eyesight flagging lately, bones feeling a little soft, knees a little weak going upstairs, energy a little low recently — if you have these feelings of declining function, of declining kidney essence, then you can use this formula to tonify. It works very well. How do you choose? Just go to a long-established brand — the patent medicines produced by the likes of Tong Ren Tang use robust, full-strength ingredients, and you can buy them directly at any pharmacy. The ancients had to make the medicine themselves or ask a doctor to make it; today it is already made into a patent medicine, so you can simply take it to nourish yourself.

What to take away

First, kidney essence is the root of the body — it is the “One” in “the Dao produces One.” It gives rise to kidney yin and kidney yang, and from them the yin and yang of all five organs. Second, modern life drains it hard — desire, nightlife, staying up late, brooding; Doctor Zhu Danxi even advised retreating to a quiet temple for whole months. Third, the formula’s logic is five seeds doing five jobs: goji berry tonifies essence, tu si zi warms slightly, fu pen zi stabilizes the essence, wu wei zi holds the tonics in, and che qian zi — the cleverest of all — gives damp evil an exit so the tonification does not flare into fire. Fourth, do not rush: fierce yang tonics are a flame-thrower on a nearly empty lamp; gentle, steady essence tonification is the way to build the foundation. And finally, tonifying the kidney is a means, not the goal — the goal is whole-body health. If you feel the signals of declining kidney essence — aching back, early gray hair, flagging eyes, soft bones, weak knees, low energy — a gentle course of Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan from a trusted pharmacy like Tong Ren Tang is a reasonable way to start.

Compiled from Doctor Luo Dalun’s lecture series. Core formula: Wu Zi Yan Zong Wan, from the Ming dynasty Zhang Shiche’s She Sheng Zhong Miao Fang (《摄生众妙方》); legend traces it to the Tang dynasty Wu Zi Shou Xian Wan, presented to Emperor Xuanzong by Zhang Guolao.