唐时制作面药常用的药材有：产自齐、楚、晋三地的白芷，产自晋陕地区的川陆，产自山陕、甘肃、四川等地的川芎，由西域传入后种植于甘肃地区的白附子。此四味药材的运用，是在唐境内各州郡之间及唐同西域国家之间存在贸易往来的基础之上实现的。面药作为御寒之物，多在冬季流通于上层社会人员之间，是腊日节由皇帝给予官员的赐品。

During the tang dynasty, the commonly used medicinal materials for making surface medicine were: radix angelicae produced in qi, chu and jin, pokeberry root produced in shanxi and shaanxi, ligusticum wallichii produced in shaanxi, gansu and sichuan, rhizoma typhonii planted in gansu region after being introduced from western regions. The use of these four herbs was realized on the basis of the trade between tang states and counties and between tang states and western countries. As a kind of protection against the cold, surface medicine circulated among the upper class in winter. It was given to officials by the emperor on the twelfth lunar day.