* 2025 Golden Tripod Award

The array of herbal medicines on display in traditional Chinese medicine pharmacies is a feast for the eyes. Author Tân Tshian-Iông has created drawings of her childhood memories from a traditional pharmacy, telling a story redolent with aromatic medicines and the neighborly warmth of times past.

Angelica sinensis, red dates, deer antlers…the Magical Chinese Medicine Pharmacy was filled with hundreds of unusual herbal medicines. While growing up, A-Mei spent every day watching her mother make up prescriptions and slice, shred, and dice ingredients for customers. She also learned to help her mother assist the people who came to the shop: Mrs. Chen, who came to buy bone-strengthening prescriptions that would help her child grow taller; Mr. Chang, who bought medicinal wine for replenishing qi and blood; chain store owners who bought large quantities of tea egg spice packets; and neighbors who sometimes stopped by for tea and a chat. On busy days, A-Mei would sneak in a nap by the medicine cabinet. Although the Magical Chinese Medicine Pharmacy closed after she became an adult, these precious memories will always be with her.


The little girl A-Mei in the story is the author herself. Tân Tshian-Iông's mother inherited her grandfather's traditional Chinese medicine business, which later closed due to major cultural and social changes and her mother's death. The author has infused this picture book with her experiences at the pharmacy, including her personal ties to it, memories of her mother's hard work, and casual conversations with customers, as well as her thoughts and feelings about the mother she greatly misses.


Written in Taiwanese with Chinese translations, this is the first picture book in Taiwan to have the Chinese medicine pharmacy as its theme. Tân Tshian-Iông's heartfelt prose is paired with innocent, childlike illustrations that take readers back into the past, where they will smell the fragrant aroma of medicinal herbs and feel the warmth of human connection.