Hong Kong Apothecary: A Visual History of Chinese Medicine Packaging [Paperback]

Simon Go (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

Hong Kong Apothecary transports us to the exotic world of Eastern medicine, a world of oils, powders, pills, and cures for every known ailment from impotency to opium addiction. As peculiar as pink pills for pale people are the packages containing these medicaments. Author Simon Go has combed manufacturers , shops, and home medicine cabinets for years collecting the most compelling examples. the result is a visual cabinet of curiosities, a graphical pharmacopoeia.
Divided by type such as ointments, herbal teas, infused oils Hong Kong Apothecary presents the fascinating graphics and tantalizing descriptions of hundreds of medicines and gives us an insight into Chinese customs afforded only by examining the artifacts and customs of everyday life. many of these medicines are no longer produced, making Hong Kong Apothecary a memoir of a quickly disappearing culture.
This lavishly illustrated book is of interest as much for designers seeking inspiration in the unknown vernacular of commercial graphics as for anyone interested in Eastern medicine.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Designers and artists who are both nostalgic and fascinated with contemporary oriental design elements in packaging design; Creative practitioners and marketers seeking for marketing and design inspirations between design and our daily life; Socio-cultural historians having special interest in the changes of Chinese medicine tradition. --Reviewer --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Simon Go is a photojournalist whose work has been shown in Hong Kong, Paris, and the United States. He lives in Hong Kong.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568983905
• ISBN-13: 978-1568983905
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,583,985 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT & BEAUTIFUL BOOK!, September 25, 2003

By 

Andy French "Crotchety Music Fan" (Mission Hill) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hong Kong Apothecary: A Visual History of Chinese Medicine Packaging (Paperback)

As a history buff with an interest in packaging and pharmaceutical history, I was enthralled by this book. With a beautiful layout and interesting text, this book taught me a ton about Chinese medicine and provided hours of entertaining reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very original book on a common household item, January 5, 2005

By 

Dan Lam (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hong Kong Apothecary: A Visual History of Chinese Medicine Packaging (Paperback)

Hong Kong Apothecary is a very entertaining read. As a Chinese-American, I grew up around different Chinese medicines and remedies all my life. But I didn't know that there was so much history, success, and scandal behind them until I found this book. Until I saw all the different designs together in one book, I didn't appreciate the intricate designs of medicine packaging either. I get nostalgic looking at some of these photographs. I say to myself, 'Hey! I've used this medicine before!' It's a fun book to read through and the designs make for very inspirational reference material.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A master class in practical packaging, August 26, 2006

By 

R. J. Corrigan Jr. "acknak.blogspot.com" (chicago, usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hong Kong Apothecary: A Visual History of Chinese Medicine Packaging (Paperback)

I was drawn to this book originally for all of the fascinating stories it told about traditional Chinese medicine, but I became increasingly interested in what it had to say about different ways of packaging.

Packaging, in its simplest expression, is little more than a wrapper. As shown throughout Hong Kong Apothecary, good packaging can deliver so much more - a brand promise, a visual guide to the product, a sense of the genuine.

Regardless whether or not you "believe" in Chinese medicine or not, this book will reveal new ideas for how to deliver products of all sorts, and will give you a sense of how much more interesting packaging can be when its primary job is to tell a story.

(It doesn't hurt that the book itself is beautifully designed!)

For anyone who has wondered "what's in all of those little drawers" in the apothecaries featured in classic kung fu flicks, this should also be a big help.