我记得二十年前，我校的彭坚教授讲过一句话，他说：“我们湖南中医应该研究熊继柏现象。”确实是学徒出身，我倒不在乎什么研究我的现象，也没有谁研究过我的现象。我一直在考虑的是中医的教育问题。我不讲规律，我就讲讲我是怎么读书的。

苦抄与背诵：打好中医基础

《医学》这本书，虽然有着师傅的指导，但是打好基础主要还是要靠自己的努力。我用的方法是苦抄与背诵。

第一本书——《雷公炮炙四大药性赋》，我四个早上把它背完。一个早晨背一个药性，寒、热、温、平，就四个早上背完了。白天我就玩，没有事干。

背完了接着就是《药性歌括四百味》，当时背了，但现在我不一定还记得。四大药性赋我还能背，要我写我还能写下来。《药性歌括四百味》I just write not down, connect not together. This is the second book.

第三本书——《医学三字经》。要说明的是，我读的书都是抄来的，不是原版的。Firstly, there was no book to buy; secondly, I couldn't afford it. All were copied from my teacher's, copied with mistakes, my teacher corrected them, and then taught me again to read. Just like that.

The fourth book is 《脉诀》，including 《王叔和脉诀》and 《濒湖脉诀》two pulse classics. This is the third book.

The fifth and final book is 《医宗金鉴•四诊心法要诀》，which teaches diagnosis.

In summary, when I first studied Chinese medicine through hard copying and memorization of books on pharmacy (such as 局方), internal medicine (such as 伤寒论 and 金匮要略), and basic theory (such as 医学三字经).

Then I started learning prescriptions under the guidance of my teacher who was a master in ancient texts. First came Chen Shouxian's "Time-Fraction Prescriptions" which includes "Soup Head Songs" such as 藿香正气汤 ("Alisma Decoction for Clearing Away Pathogenic Heat") where I could recite all the ingredients: 蘇葉白芷共藿香；陳半茯苓大腹草；厚朴桔梗引枣姜。

Next came Chen Shouxian's "Prescription Marvels", which contains internal medicine texts such as 中風論 ("Treatise on Wind Patterns"). My teacher would teach me by heart while correcting any mistakes.

After mastering these basics through bitter study over several years in medical school at Hunan College of Chinese Medicine under teachers like Hu Dafeng who was an expert in classical literature from Qing dynasty times but also knowledgeable about modern medical science concepts.

So here are five key books that laid the foundation for my understanding of traditional Chinese medicine:

Four drug natures (雷公炮炙)

400 flavors song (藥性歌括)

Medical three-character classic (醫學三字經)

Pulse classics (_脈註）

Diagnostic principles of Golden Mirror (醫宗金鑒·診斷心法要註)