Book excerpt: In the spring of 2007, Jason Blalack asked his mentor, Wu Bo-Ping, what was the most important Chinese medical text to translate into English. After a few moments of thought, Dr. Wu presented Jason with a tattered paperback copy of the original edition of Qin Bo- Wei's New Guidelines for Treatment (c. 1953), a manuscript that for all intents and purposes had been lost during the Cultural Revolution. That is the text that forms the framework of this exciting new book. Qin Bo-Wei (1901-1970) was among the most important physicians of the modern era. As a prominent clinician, educator, and scholar, he worked to integrate classical schools of thought and created one of the most coherent systems for understanding Chinese medicine during a critical time of intense turbulence in China's history. Wu Bo- Ping was one of Dr. Qin's students and is among the few who are still living today. Translated and presented to a Western audience for the first time, Qin's original work is enriched by Dr. Wu's extensive commentary, which transforms it into a hands-on guide on how to effectively practice herbal medicine. An excellent clinical manual, this book primarily teaches a method of thinking that serves as a foundation for a lifelong approach to herbal medicine. An understanding of how to use the core concepts presented here allows one to effectively treat the majority of diseases seen in the contemporary clinic. The text itself is unique in its presentation and differs from other clinical manuals in a number of ways: Organized by treatment method. Teaches a way of emulating the thought underlying a prescription without being tied to its specified ingredients or original indications, thereby reflecting the thinking of Chinese medicine's greatest clinicians. Ultimately, this approach opens up treatment possibilities that are often ignored in conventional textbooks. Small number of ingredients. Dr. Qin's prescriptions contain a small number of preci