Chinese Books

This is an easy to read with information and instructions on use, appearance, when to plant, and how to plant Chinese greens, beans, melons, cabbages, herbs, peas, and even water plants.

If you're interested in growing Chinese vegetables, this is a great one for the library. Also includes English and Chinese names, planting table, and instructions for container gardening.

This book is filled with useful information. Search for the author and notice that it is now available in a 1984 Garden Way edition.

In the highly competitive appliance industry, Haier has had remarkable results over the past 20 years starting from the position of a small and almost bankrupt firm.

To achieve these results, Haier has successfully employed a mixture of leading edge manufacturing and management schools any Western company would be proud of and combined them with a set of "Confucian" and other deeply rooted values unique to Chinese culture.

The story of Haier is well presented and easy as well as compelling to read. It should be required reading for any student of management. Unlike many difficult books to follow dealing with improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, the authors of The Haier Way do an outstanding job discussing all of the factors including the "invisible" cultural evolution that have allowed this company to become a leading world brand with over US $8 billion in revenues. This is all the more remarkable given the capital market limitations faced by Chinese companies.

As an appliance industry executive that was sent to China to help teach the Chinese how to manufacture high-quality goods, I have now learned a great deal from Haier and the Chinese authors of this book.

Charles L. Green

In the highly competitive appliance industry, Haier has had remarkable results over the past 20 years starting from the position of a small and almost bankrupt firm.

To achieve these results, Haier has successfully employed a mixture of leading edge manufacturing and management schools any Western company would be proud of and combined them with a set of "Confucian" and other deeply rooted values unique to Chinese culture.

The story of Haier is well presented and easy as well as compelling to read. It should be required reading for any student of management. Unlike many difficult books to follow dealing with improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma, the authors of The Haier Way do an outstanding job discussing all of the factors including the "invisible" cultural evolution that have allowed this company to become a leading world brand with over US $8 billion in revenues. This is all the more remarkable given the capital market limitations faced by Chinese companies.

As an appliance industry executive who was sent to China to help teach the Chinese how to manufacture high-quality goods, I have now learned a great deal from Haier and the Chinese authors of this book.

Charles L. Green

I found the story to be much more than friendship, the illustrations were just spectacular as my little nieces and I delighted in all the hidden objects in all the scenes. Brian Lies is masterful as he intertwines his story with his artwork. Brilliant!

This story of friendship speaks to all of us, child and parent alike. Here are two critters who are wonderful friends but opposite personalities. Hamlet, the pig, is the daredevil -- completely fearless and he doesn't seem to learn from experience. Then, there's Quince, the porcupine, who serves as both a friend and a very cautious parental type, who wants only for Hamlet to look for nice, quiet, safe activities. Of course, Quince is always there, ready to pick up the pieces and provide comfort after the inevitable disaster.

The illustrations are both intricate and delightful. It takes a kid to notice many of the details. The first time we read the book my daughter said, "Look, Mom, the shopkeeper has to stand on phone books to see over the counter."

With so many phony TCM practitioners going around cheating uninitiated Westerners with their exotic claims and theories, it's good to have books like this which only provides the facts.

This small book manages not only to list but even provide some details on each commonly used Chinese herb. The herb's energy, taste and organs affected are all mentioned. It's definitely a good buy for anyone interested in learning more about one aspect of TCM as it is.

Don't let the small size of this book (328 pages in a paperback format) fool you; this book is absolutely packed with information on the healing herbs used in TCM --traditional Chinese medicine.

Author Reid has written a number of books on TCM. This herbal reference is well-written because it includes: the common Western name of the herb, the Latin name, the romanized Chinese name and the name in Chinese characters.

Packages of Chinese herbs may be labeled with any of the above, so this is really helpful. There is also a wonderful section on the principles of Chinese medicine and how the traditional herbal preparations are made. Some of the common combinations of Chinese herbs are included along with how to prepare them. There is a resource reference in the back. Highly recommended to anyone wanting to learn more about traditional Chinese medicine.

This book has given me information as to better help me to help myself. I have gone to the local China town and bought some of the chinese patent medicine and it has helped me. The book has recipes of soups that help each organ system. It talks about remedies for ailments, understanding what causes disease, how emotion can cause disease, forms and uses of chinese herbs, the properties of herbs and determining which herbs to use. It is a wonderful guide to learn to how help yourself. It gives you Chinese Herbal fundamentals. I recommend this book highly.

I would recommend this book highly to anyone who has a serious interest in the beneficial aspects of Chinese medicine on their health. A curiousity of Chinese herbology will be satisfied by the easy to understand explanations of the properties of herbs, their uses, & Simple Remedies. The descriptions of Chinese Herbal Patent Medicines and Chinese Herbal Diet, and explanation of the causes of Disease round out the whole picture, serving to educate the reader in a manner not witnessed in most Western health/diet literature. Lastly, this is a good resource guide & organized well to take along shopping. Lesley's "The Herbs of Life" is a great companion to this. I purchased it several years ago & refer to it over & over again. Enjoy!

Unlike many impractical and esoteric feng shui tomes, this book is practical and understandable. The exquisite photos help make the concepts clear

A haven and a source--we ask so much of the spaces we call our own! But how can one place be both? I found the answer in Robin Sacolick's book, "The Heart of Feng Shui."
Subtitled "9 Essentials to Practice," the book offers just that. Thankfully it did not lambaste me for all that's wrong with my environment but reassured me, instead, about those aspects I could easily improve. And, for a wonder, without radical surgery.
I learned that Feng Shui, translated as the play between wind and water, is a way of interacting with the environment so as to enhance life. And indeed, Sacolick's book has helped me aspire to serenity and joy in my spaces and thus in my life. The book offers no rigid dogmas or specious mumbo jumbo, just heartfelt wisdom. Key concepts include balance, contentment, kindness, moderation, and abundance in simplicity, all of it augmented by Bryan Butler's magical, mystical photographs.

Alvin Lu has written a first novel that inextricably combines a rich and unnerving spirit world with the very real actions of an elusive serial murderer. The result is the kind of labyrinthine story telling which never fails to entrance.

Set in modern Taipei, the story is ostensibly the tale of Cheng-Ming, a Chinese-American researcher who is drawn into and seduced by the superstitions and myths of the city. We are treated to an ever darker study of of the Oriental spirit world, as we move through layers of myth and malevolence. This world intrudes upon and is intruded on by modern Taipei. We see ceremonies in sneakers and sacred comic books. Signs and portents appear everywhere.

The novel is tremendously atmospheric, gaining momentum as the world he moves thru gradually overwhelms Cheng-Ming's westernized sensibilities. At some point Cheng-Ming ceases to be an academic in search of signs and clues and becomes an obsessive seeker after knowledge which is always just beyond his reach.

The Hell Screens is far more than the typical serial killer horror story, combining the raw action and realities of murderous violence with a refined psychological study of a wanderer in the mist. Prepare for a truly unusual, enjoyable experience.

When we in the western world think of China and Chinese spritiual beliefs, we tend to think of the lone sage meditating on the fog-entrenched mountains with lush pine greenery supplying the mist for his mysterious knowledge. Such an image is, of course, more two-dimensional than the brush-paintings we have seen this sage inhabit.

In the noise and chaos and odors of the city--and not just any city, this is the simultaneously more modernly western and traditionally eastern Taipei, Taiwan--and see what "spirit" means to the authentic characters in Alvin Lu's novel "Hell Screens". By the end of the novel, if you've paid attention, you notice that everything has come together in a hodge-podge of past & present, colonialism and nativism, body and spirit, and, yes, life and death.

This is no simple novel. Many times I found myself scratching my head, or my chin, wondering if this book were taking me anywhere I could afford to go. If I had not ever lived in Taipei myself, I probably wouldn't have picked up this novel. But now that I have, and have been forced to read it with both my eyes open & still not know if my contact lenses have been cursed or blessed, I can only recommend this book to anyone who doesn't balk at letting the head swim while the world (oh, but which world?) explodes.

I can't prove it, but I think the narrator's name Cheng-ming is a reference to the Confucian concept of the Rectification of Names. If yours is a world where such alleged rectification has long-ago shattered, leaving you to sweep up the pieces, then buy a plane-ticket to Taipei and bring this book along with you.

This book is a collection of centuries-old herbal secrets. Some of these secrets my mother has only heard whispered but never learned. I am sure that my own tight-lipped doctor uses them, because he is in his seventies, yet his skin has the texture of a thirty-year-old.
These formulae work. They restore health, youth, and vigor - the qualities that the Chinese doctors call "beautiful." The speed at which the restoration takes place is only inhibited by the initial state at which the user begins.

I'm amazed that these ancient formulas are so useful and work so well even today. Maybe it's because they have been used for so many generations. The ancient stories and backgrounds behind these formulas are very interesting, e.g., how some recipes were used by Emperor Guangxu and Empress Cixi. I recommended some hair rinse formulas to my friends and they really liked those recipes! Those mouthwash recipes are very helpful too. The recipes are easy to follow, with detailed ingredients, amounts, and preparation methods described. The explanations in Chinese medicine and scientific research are easy to understand. The book gives detailed references that are very convincing. It's a good resource about traditional Chinese culture too, such as those aromatics bags that were very popular in ancient China. It's almost unbelievable that ancient Chinese had developed so many comprehensive methods for beauty.

As both a teacher and an aunt of three children who were adopted from China (one of who spoke no English upon his arrival here), I can say that this book is a great multipurpose resource. Adults can use it to communicate with children and children can use it to communicate with adults. The pictures are the key to its usefulness. You can use it to teach young kids who speak English common Chinese words. You can use it to teach English to children who are Chinese. If you "google" it, you can find it, new, for 11.95 on another shopping website.

Not only does this book have the photos and the English translation but it has the Chinese pronunciation in "pygn-english". It's easy as pie to read and follow. Though there are not to many phrases, it's a good book for the learning of nouns.

This book is comprehensive and clear for both the Chinese Medical practitioner, and for the HIV patient.
Misha Cohen has done amazing work and research with HIV and Chinese Medicine, and we are fortunate to have this information neatly organized and at our fingertips.

This book provides such a great wealth of information concerning Eastern views of medicine and health. It is written in plain language, in order for the reader to understand the different aspects of Chinese medicine and how it relates to the HIV/AIDS virus.

A person who is not sold on Western views of treating HIV/AIDS will definitely like the alternative therapies and ideas presented in this book.

Chinese philosophies of healing fit so much better into "balancing" the body. So many Western doctors feel that prescribing pills is the only effective way to combat HIV and AIDS. Chinese medicine teaches a person to examine the "systems" of their body, and how to keep them in check. By modifying your lifestlye, and practicing "body balancing" you can empower yourself and your body for the battle against the HIV virus.

People with HIV and AIDS should start listening to their bodies, and not to Western medicine dogma!