Sovereign, minister, assistant, and courier

Also medicinal roles. The four roles performed by medicinals within a formula. The sovereign performs the principal action of the formula, addressing the principal sign pattern. The sovereign may be one or more medicinals. The minister provides direct assistance to the sovereign. The assistant addresses secondary patterns or reduces the toxicity or harshness of the sovereign. The courier makes other medicinals act on the desired part of the body or harmonizes the other medicinals.

NB: Socialist fervor in the early years of the People’s Republic of China led to efforts to rename the four medicinal roles have been as chief, support, assistant, and conductor, to avoid the feudal connotations of the traditional terms. With the liberalization over the past few years, the new terms have slipped into oblivion.