The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs
Ron Teeguarden
(Warner Books, First Published 1998)


A Selection of Quality Paperback Book Club and an Alternate Selection of One Spirit™ Book Club

Reader Reviews

“Simple, easy-to-understand language…a practical guide to enlivening our inner healer.”
- David Simon, M.D., medical director, the Chopra Center for Well Being, and author of The Wisdom of Healing

“The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs is by far the clearest book on Chinese herbology that I have ever seen. Mr. Teeguarden logically presents the fundamentals of the traditional Chinese medicine philosophy: 1. Yin and Yang 2. The three treasures: Jing, Qi (chi) and Shen 3. The five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Metal, and Wood. Then he presents the important tonic herbs in three traditional classes: superior herbs, supportive herbs and inferior herbs. The second half of the book is devoted to herbal combinations and which herbs to use for specific health concerns. I cannot say enough about this book except to buy it. If you read it two or three times, it seems to me that the intelligent reader will have a good working knowledge of the basics of the more important Chinese tonic herbs.”
- Michael Laughrin, publisher and author, Michael Laughrin's North American Jyotish Newsletter (February 27, 2009)
“Expands our health options…makes foreign ideas easy to grasp and fun to learn. Read it, taste the wonder of Chinese tonic herbs and radiant health.
- Harriet Beinfield, Lic.Ac., coauthor of Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine

“A fantastic resource…for anyone who wants to live life to the fullest. After reading The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs, I really understand why and how the Chinese tonic herbs have helped me and my family so much.”
- Danny Glover, actor, public policy activist

“Terrific…explains the problems that I have, the reasons, and the answers to how I can solve many of them. It’s fantastic!”
- Melvin Simon, co-chairman Simon-DeBartolo Group

“Excellent and very timely…Ron’s knowledge of herbs helped me through my recovery and to get on with my life.”
- Ben Vereen, dancer/actor

“Recommended reading…important…simply and elegantly sheds new light on age-old Chinese herbal wisdom….Clearly showing it will guide our path to the future.”
- Margo Jordan Parker, OMD, Lic.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCA)


Academic Reviews

“User friendly, informative, and timely…Kudos to Ron Teeguarden, who has produced an indispensable resource that is vital and beneficial.”
- Cranford L. Scott, M.D., FACP, Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, and clinical professor of medicine, University of Southern California School of Medicine

Foreword to the Book
By Xu Guo-Jun, Ph.D., Wang Zhen-Tao, Ph.D., and Zhou Zhen-He, Ph.D.

Health is everything. Health is all. Health is the most precious treasure anyone can possess. Without health, our life would be dull – no happiness, no success, a great loss. “Health and longevity?” is the most sincere and pleasing greeting presented by Chinese people. This book, The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs, written by Ron Teeguarden, will help you to discover a marvelous field of healthcare. Hopefully, it will help you use some of the tonics and achieve radiant health.
The art of radiant health has been widely practiced for thousands of years by the people of the East. In China, you will find that this healthcare art has permeated into almost every corner of life. Tonic teas, foods, and wine are familiar to and appreciated by all the people of the East. But Westerners may find them mysterious, inconceivable and somehow ridiculous. Now Ron Teeguarden’s book provides a powerful glass through which you in the West can easily spy on the secrets of the Chinese healthcare arts.
The classical Chinese philosophies and theories on nature and the human body may be the biggest obstacle for the Westerners to learning and practicing a program for radiant health. With his profound knowledge about Chinese civilization, the author of this book has successfully kicked the big stone away and can therefore lead the readers smoothly into the great palace of Chinese radiant health. Readers will find Chapters 1 through 3 of this book that the principles of the Chinese art of radiant health have become simple and understandable due to the author’s clear and accurate interpretations and descriptions. We really appreciate it very much.
The author’s brief introduction to Chinese herbalism and tonic herbs is also just to the point. Through it, readers can easily learn and grasp how Chinese tonic herbs are classified, selected, and used. All the tonics and herbal formulations listed and introduced in this book are the classical ones or their derivatives. These herbs have been proven to be safe and efficacious by long histories of practice, as well as by laboratory research done in China, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere. Now herbal tonics and preparations have been commonly accepted and widely used almost everywhere in the world. It is not difficult to find monographs describing Chinese herbal medicines in book stores, but in our opinion, this book may be the best one. Reading this book, you may become interested in the art of radiant health and begin to consume some Chinese tonic herbs or herbal preparations, which are of no harm to you and will soon benefit you if you select and use the herbs properly, as described in this book.
The art of radiant health was created and developed by the Chinese people. But it belongs to all human beings. We wish that these classical Chinese arts will be better recognized and used by all the people for the world, so as to improve both our health and our life.

- Wang Zhen-Tao, Ph.D., Director, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai, China; Professor of Pharmacognosy, Head, Shanghai R&D Center for Standardization of Traditional Chinese Medicines, Shanghai, China; Director, Department of Pharmacognosical Research, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing China; Member of The Pharmacopoeia Commission of People’s Republic of China; Vice Editor-in-Chief, The Pharmacopoeia of P.R.China (English Edition); Member of New Drug Evaluation Committee, State Food and Drug Administration China; Vice Chairman, Association of TCM and Natural Products, Pharmaceutical Association of China; Vice Chairman, Association of Natural Products Resources, Natural Resources Association of China; Director of Association for GAP Research and Promotion of Chinese Medicinal Materials, China; Member of Evaluation Committee, Award of China Medical Sciences & Young Medical Scientists; Member of Science Committee, National Engineering Research Centre for Modernization of TCM; Member of Editorial Boards: Chinese Pharmaceutical Journal, Journal of Chinese Materia Medica, Journal of Chinese Medicinal Materials; Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Materia Medica; World Science and Technology; Journal of China Pharmaceutical University; Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines; Traditional Chinese Drug Research & Clinical Pharmacology; Research and Practice of Chinese Medicines; Publisher of 10 books & monographs and more than 200 papers
- Xu Guo-Jun, Ph.D., Professor emeritus at China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China, a member of the Advisory Panel on Medicine, Academic Degree Committee, China; member of the Consulting Specialist Committee (Pharmacy), Chinese Ministry of Health; director of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association; member of the Chinese Pharmacopeia Commission; member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Zhou Zhen-He, Ph.D., President of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine at China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China

[Dragon Herbs Note: It was these three professors who first dubbed Ron Teeguarden “Master Herbalist” in 1994]

Ron Teeguarden is the King of Herbs. His work awakens the divine within each person that encounters it. Everyone must read his book!- Romio Shrestha, modern master of the Indo-Nepali-Tibetan Buddhist traditions of enlightenment art; he directs a school of artist-craftsmen in the Katmandu valley of Nepal; his works are represented in The British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, American Museum of Natural History, and Tibet House in New York City. He has two very well known books: The Tibetan Art of Healing and Celestial Gallery (the best selling picture book of mandalas). The central art of enlightened beings is the art of the mandala. His mandalas adorn the residences of his Holiness the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Donovan Leitch, and others.



Amazon Customer Reviews
The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs
By Ron Teeguarden [First published as Radiant Health – The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs]

All 9 reviews currently on Amazon are here presented (complete and unedited) for your edification:

9 Amazon Reviews
5 star: (8)
4 star: (0)
3 star: (0)
2 star: (1)
1 star: (0)

Average Customer Review
 (9 customer reviews)
 

 
All encompassing - great for someone seeking real knowledge, September 22, 1999
By emeraldrba@aol.com (North Carolina)
This review is from: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs
This is the third book by Ron Teeguarden that I've read and he just keeps getting better. It is laid out in a logical categorical order, which makes it very easy to compare different herbs. Ron has rated the herbs with a star rating that indicates how many treasures each herb will affect. Then he goes on to rate actual patent tonic formulas. It is a wonderful reference book, something you will refer to again and again for information and reinforcement, but it is written in very down to earth layman's language. It has an incredible amount of information, even down to some chemical descriptions and cellular activity, but if you aren't interested in going that deep, the descriptions are arranged so that you can skip whatever you don't want to read and go straight to the pertinent parts. Of all the books on Chinese herbology that I have, this one is quickly becoming my favorite. It's one of those rare books that is good to start with, and it is good to finish out a collection with also.


This is my favorite book on herbalism, September 4, 1999
By cegriffin@hotmail.com (Boston, MA)
This review is from: Radiant Health The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs (Hardcover)
Whatever your interests in life are, Ron Teeguarden shows how the Tonic Herbs can support you. There is a lot of information in this book and it is delightfully presented. It is also a very practical exposition of the basics of Traditional Chinese Medicine. But Ron's approach is not about medicine and treating diseases as much as it is about choosing power superfoods to enhance health. I love it!

 
Very readable and informative presentation of Chinese herbs, September 5, 1998
By monson@fda.net (San Diego, Calif.)
This review is from: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs
Ron Teeguarden is clearly an expert on Chinese herbal remedies. He presents clearly the philosophy and benefits of using various ancient herbal tonics. It makes you want to begin using them right away. The problem, it seems, is it's not easy to find reputable suppliers with dependable high quality herbs.But that's key as the author points out which makes one suspect that one of the author's purposes in writing the book was to promote his own products. Well even if that's so, it's a blessing from my standpoint to have these magical tonics available from a reputable supplier.I'm stocking up!!!


Solution filled ..., January 23, 2003
By Arthur Spooner
Western medicine is failing people at an alarming rate. The solutions can come from our neighbors to the east. This books answers alot of my questions. I had allways envied the health of the Chinese and Japanese people and wondered what their secrets were. After having tried the herbs and some of the teas , I now know. We can only hope this country will embrace these solutions to make this a better, more disciplined place to live. Thanks Ron...!

 
East finally meets West!, October 10, 2002
By Frederick E. Kline (Detroit, Mi USA)
This book is a continuation on Mr. Teeguarden’s initial book "Chinese Tonic Herbs". Here again he manages to simplify the complex world of herbs for the layman. Passing on information rare at best within the herbalist communities. "Tonic Formula's" are common but not quite yet here in the west. I hope that with time, they will be as common place in American homes as aspirin is today. If you are interested in learning a alternative to "post-medicine" care, and would actually like to prevent things from happening, this is your book. I have never read any book that has had such a profound effect upon my life. I can honestly say, without this book and the wisdom within, I would have been on the way out rather then finding life again!!!

 
Excellent!, July 10, 2002
By Emma (CA USA)
Ron Teeguarden is a master herbalist with over 20 years of experience. In his easy-to-read book, Ron offers an introduction to the ancient philosophy of radiant health and provides an in-depth information about Chinese tonic herbs, many of which have been in use for over 5 000 years. Ron first covers the theory - principles of Yin and Yang, the Three Treasures of life, and the five main organ systems. Then he describes the individual herbs, complete with pictures and detailed descriptions of their properties, and includes herb combinations and formulas with their specific benefits. The book also includes mail-order resources. Overall, it is a very user-friendly reference, highly recommended to anyone interested in learning how to improve your overall health, increase energy and promote longevity.
I have a personal experience with Ron's herbs - I visited his store in Santa Monica, and based on an advice from his herbalists started using some of his adaptogenic herbs that are described in the book. I was very impressed how quickly I noticed significant improvement in my overall energy and mood! I can't recommend it enough!

Incomplete information, February 17, 2004
By Rick Johnson Washington, DC
This review is from: Radiant Health: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs (Hardcover)
This book is a great description of what could be done, but the tools to do it are not herein. I was hoping this book was going to have more than just herb descriptions, alas it does not.
Some things that the Author forgot and which seem important: dosage for individual herbs (this is pretty important), chinese name of herbs (neither the pin-yin nor the symbol are given). And, in the formulas section (which was the main reason I bought the book) the formulas just list the herbs and not their proportions! WHAT!?! How unhelpful.
To know that herbs are in a formula is great, but it is not a formula without the proporation of ingredients. Although this book has great descriptions of the herbs and their uses, it lacks the implementational aspects which are critical to using the herbs! The truth is: this book is a marketing tool for the Author's herbal supplement line. Be careful...

[Dragon Herbs Comment: This book was written prior to the creation of Dragon Herbs and very few of the formulations described in this book are actually sold at Dragon Herbs, contrary to the reviewers assertion. All formulations described in the book are for educational and illustrative purposes only. Also, dosages were deleted from the original manuscript at the request of the publisher, Time-Warner Publications.]

 
Amazing, February 20, 2006
By Sean C. Kennedy (Northwood, NH USA)
This book is absolutely amazing. Very easy to read and covers the Chinese tonic herbs with great detail. This book is perfect for those who want to know anything about healing herbs.

 
Premier source for Chinese Tonic Herbalism, November 11, 2008
By organicisbetter (USA)
This is an excellent resource for Chinese Tonic Herbalism. Very informative w/ detailed information on safety and efficacy on various tonic herbs. This book also provides as great reference for certain conditions and their corresponding treatments. Ron Teeguarden has done a wonderful job sharing his knowledge.