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. That's how it was.

The third book is Medical Three-Character Classic. My teacher lectured on this one. "Medicine begins with Guiguluo and Huangdi," Guiguluo and Huangdi are who? At that time I didn't know what they were like now. "Lingshu makes sense of Suwen in detail," Lingshu and Suwen are what? At that time I knew nothing about them either. "Difficulties emerge from more obscure matters," Difficulties are what unknown now knows now already understands the meaning of these sentences at that time all memorized by heart now if someone asked me to copy out would be able to do so within a night without a textbook nor any errors at all.

This is the third book.

Fourthly Pulse Decisions including two books of pulse decisions: Wang Shu He's Pulse Decisions and Bi Lake Pulse Decisions These are we talk about today diagnostic techniques This is the fourth book.

Fifthly Medical Canon Golden Mirror Heart Formula Essentials It talks about diagnostic techniques

In summary when I first used bitter copying and memorization methods for establishing middle medicine basis which fell into three categories: pharmacology medical classics diagnostics

My teacher led me into learning formulas & internal medicine

After laying down these three types of books' foundation later began studying formulas First was Locality Formulas Chen Xi Yuan's Time Formulas Two formulary songs all can memorize such as Gao Xiao Zheng Qi Tang “And harmonize Gao Xiao Zheng Qi Tang Suye Bai Zhong together with Alisma orientalis” This is Golden Mirror’s “Aliso Zhi Qing BZ SY JG CJ” This is Time Formulas’ Both can recite

Reading formulae after reading internal medical texts The first internal medical text Chen Xi Yuan’s Time Usage “Wind disease… wind refers to external evil wind invading human body Wind disease as an arrow or stone entering man” Such phrases need to be memorized thus touching upon internal medicine

After touching upon internal medicine teachers started teaching me in a jump-cut manner this was my first teacher Hu Dai Feng Master he was a scholar in Qing Dynasty his command over classical Chinese literature excellent His classical writings truly scholarly style He said you could read but cannot study alongside others must have private lessons because we were classmates letting him have private lessons meant learning Nei Jing Learning Nei Jing mainly involved memorizing original text Teacher standard being recitation

Memorizing simultaneously explaining such as asking about pig skin soup “Is pig skin equal to pig hide?” Teacher replied yes Then asked whether any pork skin could do? Teacher felt strange saying “How come you ask such questions?” Feeling strange because too many unusual questions Being so always remember because this master introduced me into right path If there hadn’t been such master wouldn’t have been able to understand classic so well

Learning done on Nie Jing next came Jin Gui Yao Lue also required recitation One year completed both Within half year finished one In particular difficult Sun Yang Chapter made people dizzy But these two books learned finishing 1958 Red Flag Campaign became doctor