Qianlong was the emperor for 60 years and lived to be 89 years old, which is undoubtedly a miracle in the history of China. This was closely related to his attention to health preservation. Drinking various kinds of longevity medicinal wines was one of his main methods of health preservation. According to the "Qianlong Medical Records", the Emperor Qianlong's favorite health-preserving medicinal wine were Guilin Wine and Songling Taipingchun Wine. The former could cure diseases, strengthen yang and replenish the kidneys, nourish qi, and keep fit, while the latter was an effective medicine for promoting blood circulation, regulating qi, strengthening the spleen, and soothing the nerves. Although the two wines seemed to have different medical uses, coincidentally, both contained rehmannia and angelica among dozens of Chinese herbal ingredients. Source: http://www.lige8.com/
The reason why both wines that Qianlong loved to drink contain rehmannia and angelica is because traditional Chinese medicine believes that yin and blood have the same source, and nourishing blood and tonifying yin should be carried out simultaneously. When paired with rehmannia, angelica has two benefits: one is to achieve the purpose of nourishing yin through blood replenishment, and tonifying yin is also an effective method of blood replenishment. The second is that angelica itself has a very good function of promoting blood circulation, it can replenish without stagnation, and the combination of rehmannia and angelica is far superior to using one medicine alone. Although angelica is also known as a woman's essential drug due to its blood replenishment effect, promoting blood circulation and replenishing blood are equally important for men. Especially for the elderly, as they age, their kidney yin and essence become depleted, and their qi and blood are consumed, so timely replenishment is needed.
So, are there any particularities about the pairing of rehmannia and angelica? Rehmannia, sweet and slightly warm, can nourish yin, replenish the kidneys, and replenish essence. It mainly treats sallow complexion and dizziness caused by blood deficiency, weakness and dizziness of the waist and knees caused by insufficient kidney essence, and premature graying of hair. Angelica uses its root as medicine, its function lies in replenishing blood and harmonizing blood, mainly treating irregular menstruation, dizziness caused by blood deficiency, ulcers, etc. Angelica is divided into three parts: Gui Tou, Gui Shen, and Gui Wei. Due to the different chemical components contained in each part, their pharmacological effects are also different. Gui Tou can stop bleeding, Gui Shen can replenish blood, and Gui Wei can promote blood circulation. They can be used separately or all together. iddy0002