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The Fong Wan Herbalist: Francisco

There is no Chinese herbalist in San Francisco whose success has been as outstanding as that of Fong Wan. Consequently, herbalists have not been attracted to San Francisco as being a place where the people have received great benefits from the use of Chinese herbs. During the past 12 years, Fong Wan has relieved more than 14,000 sufferers, many of whom have come to him, not only from San Francisco, but from distant cities and towns. Throughout this period, with the exception of a brief business trip to China, Fong Wan has been on hand day after day, year after year. He is the company's sole herbal- -(130)ist and no person is ever substituted for him and represented as Fong Wan. All sufferers are therefore assured of the opportunity of consulting Fong Wan himself. People in all walks of life are continually recommending him to their friends. The number of testimonials given him have far exceeded those received by any other herbalist. In fact, the Fong Wan Herb Company publishes more testimonials in the dailies than do any two of the other herb companies in the United States, irrespective of the number of herbalists they employ. People frequently inquire whether the Fong Wan Herb Company has branch offices in other cities. It has not, for the reason that the company prefers to have Fong Wan devote his entire time to the business in Oakland. Healing the sick is different from other lines of business. It takes a man of intelligence and experience to do good work. A good herbalist, like a good mechanic, cannot afford to waste his time in traveling from one place to another in quest of business. Should the Fong Wan Herb Company expand, it would be necessary to employ a number of herbalists, some of whom would be men of limited experience and unproven ability, while others might be mediocre. Persons living at a distance, or those too ill to come to the Fong Wan Herb Company's Office, may send somebody or they may write, describing their ailments in detail and giving all the symptoms. Herbs will be compounded to suit their individual requirements. Many cases of long-standing illness have thus been overcome without Fong Wan ever having seen the sufferer. are:

Outstanding among the factors of Fong Wan's unusual success 1. He tells the truth. He does not profess to be able to cure all diseases. While he is able to tell what is precisely the matter with a very high percentage of those who come to him and to bring about their relief, at the same time he realizes that it is beyond human intelligence to discover the exact condition of every sufferer and that no healer of any school can positively relieve all ailments. When Fong Wan finds that a person's trouble is such that it cannot be reached by the herbs, he frankly says so. 2. Fong Wan is a student; he has original ideas. He pursues no "hit and miss" policy in the dispensing of herbs. Although his wide and varied experience makes it possible for him to decide immediately in most cases what herbs are best suited to the needs of his patron, -(131)yet, in unusual cases, he burns the midnight oil and delves deep into the writings of the Ancient Chinese Sages. Thus fortified, he makes application to the case in hand. 3. The Fong Wan Herb Company imports its herbs direct from China, thus making it possible for its herbalist to dispense first quality, fresh herbs, of a wide variety, as well as to furnish its patrons with the more expensive kinds of herbs for the same money that they would pay for inferior and less effective ones elsewhere. In addition to the herbs in the drawers in the herb room, the company generally has from 45 to 65 large cases in the basement.

Some of the more intimate secrets of the success of the Fong Wan Herbalist may be gleaned from a conversation he held with an American friend, during the course of which he casually remarked that he would retire at the age of sixty. "Retire at Sixty! What's the great idea?" queried his friend in surprise. "Simply this. Being a competent herbalist is comparable to being a successful business or professional man in other lines. It requires vitality, energy, and power of concentration. A herb specialist undergoes great mental strain as he works on the individual case. At sixty, the faculties are much less acute than when one is in the prime of life, and the power of concentration is greatly abated. Furthermore, an older man is less susceptible to new ideas and later methods. I have met many herbalists of long experience, who, in their old age, lacked judgment and were therefore helpless in the face of emergency. They found it impossible to meet the exigencies of strange and unusual ailments, because they were capable of doing only the things that they had been accustomed to do; to plod along in well-worn ruts. Occasionally, aged herbalists become childish and act in a mysterious way as though they possess some occult power by means of which they are able to charm away pain. "I shall retire before I reach that stage. I do not feel that it would be honest for me, because of my reputation, to continue in my profession after I shall have reached an age when I am no longer 100 per cent efficient. It would be wronging my patrons to carry on my business at their expense and to waste their time and money. When the time comes that my services are of doubtful value, it will be my bounden duty to resign the field to younger and keener men." "Keener in what way?" inquired the interested listener. -(132)- "Keener in four ways," was the ready response. "There are four methods of examination. "First, through listening to the sufferer's voice. This necessitates keen ears. "Second, through judging from the expression of the face and eyes as well as by the condition of the skin. This necessitates keen eyes. "Third, through ability to ask pertinent questions. This necessitates keen judgment. "Fourth, through feeling the pulse. This necessitates keen perception in addition to thorough knowledge and great power of concentration." While Fong Wan has experienced the joys that accompany real success, especially when one's profession is that of alleviating suffering, yet he has not been free from trouble and anxiety. Although the herbs that he sells are legally imported from China and duties paid on them to the United States Government, and despite the fact that most of his patrons take their herbs home to cook, the Medical Board has frequently interrupted his business by causing his arrest. On these occasions, Fong Wan has always demanded trial by jury. At a trial on March 12, 1918, the jury was deeply interested in the testimony before the court of Mr. R. Lewis, a well-known Oakland Jeweler, to the effect that, having been troubled with nervous attacks for years, he had spent over $3,500 with doctors, and that finally, when an operation on his spine was suggested, he had quit them, and had taken the Fong Wan Herbs which had restored him to health in seven weeks. Fong Wan was speedily acquitted.