Ten Key Formula Families in Chinese Medicine

This book is an excellent resource for the Chinese medicine herbalist. I study every week for hours at a time to keep growing my acumen in prescribing herbal formulae. As an acupuncturist and herbalist with her own business, I rely on books like this to help me expand my skills and understanding of writing prescriptions for patients.This book goes through groups of herbal formulae based on chief ingredient, for example huang qi, and gui zhi form the basis for 2 of the 10 families. It provides a description of constitution most suited for each family of herbs, and clinical research and case examples for each. It also compares formula families to better elucidate differences.I highly recommend this book as one that will really help any herbalist using Chinese herbs. Unlike some other books I own and also really like, this one is fun to read because of the descriptions of patients and comparisons. It's not dry and technical, just enough though...

The best book. It's a funny read full of great information. It's a little different than most formula books because it groups the formulas into 10 unique groups. But this is what makes it unique and really help you understand the formulas at a different level. It's like they all have personalities ...

Makes studying TCM herbs / formulas conceptual and much easier. The only problem is there are only 10 formula families and the books seems to be pretty limited in clinical scope/applications. (Especially considering that one of the Formula Families is based on Ma Huang which is banned in the United States!)I'd love to see part II and III of this book.

This book is making it much easier to learn the applications of Chinese medicinal formulas and how to fine tune them for a patient, depending on the patient’s constitution.

The concept of categorizing things by 'Families' (Jia) is a strong cultural theme in China, with a history that has lasted thousands of years. Traditional Chinese Medicine has likewise used this concept abundantly, also in the grouping of formulas into 'families'.This book, with its 'family-oriented' approach, teaches us the use of formulas as the Chinese themselves understand them. Rather, than by the often-convoluted curricula of modern-day Western colleges. This makes the study of formulas more natural, intuitive and memorable.The translation by Doctor Michael Max is beautifully and seamlessly done, and the book reads and feels as if it had originally been written by an English speaker. Quite a feat if you ask me! Doctor Max is an esteemed scholar of TCM, and his translations reveals both the breadth of his knowledge, and his love for the subject-matter.The majority of TCM books are dry, boring and tiresome. This book however, is not only easy to read, but also fun and interesting. Its analysis and pointers on herbs and formulas include up-to-date modern ideas and clinical uses. It even has amusing illustrations that assist readers in conceptualizing how formulas work, and what types of patients are most suitable for them.I personally consider this a decent candidate for being one of the 10 best book in English on TCM, and that is quite an achievement. Surely, it would still be read and appreciated for many more decades to come.

This book had been recommende to me over a year ago. I'm so glad that I finally purchased it. The logic behind the fromula families is straighforward, and shedding light on formula preparation.

good book, pretty dense. recommended if you're very into formulas and want another way of looking at things

Excellent book. Very informative and understandable for the English reader. Also a great way to consider categorizing formulas.

Genial todo.

Je recommande cet ouvrage à tous les etudiants ou personnes intéressées par la pharmacopée chinoise.

Great book that gives a different perspective very nice to read and useful. Some concepts need to be studied deeper

Dieses Buch ist einfach und sehr gut verständlich geschrieben, auch der Anfänger liest sich schnell ein und versteht die Prinzipien. Chinesische Phytotherapie nicht einfach nach Symptomen, sondern zunächst erst einmal nach der Konstitution des Patienten und dessen generellen Merkmalen. Erst dann wird die spezielle Rezeptur der jeweiligen Familie gesucht, das heißt ein Gui zhi Typus bekommt bei vergleichbaren Symptomen ein anderes Rezept als ein Huang qi Typus usw. Wichtige Aussagen werden desöfteren wiederholt, so dass sie im Gedächtnis bleiben. Kontraindikationen gut dargestellt. Zitate der alten Schriften (vor allem Shang han lun) vertiefen das Verständnis und zeigen die lange Tradition. Sehr empfehlenswert!