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 fourth book.

The fifth book is 《医宗金鉴•四诊心法要诀》，talking about diagnostic science.

In summary, when I first studied Chinese medicine through hard copying and memorization of books on pharmacy and internal medicine.

After laying a solid foundation in these three areas of knowledge - pharmacology (middle), three-character phrases (right), and diagnostic science (left) - I began learning pharmaceuticals by studying “Formulae” first. Then I learned Chen Xiuyuan’s “Formulas Song Rhymes”, which includes all formulas that can be memorized such as "Aliso-Cassia-Ginger Decoction" or "Ginger-Poria-Fu-Zi-Resin Formula".

Next came studying internal medical texts starting with Chen Xiuyuan’s “Marvelous Uses of Formulas”. My mentor would teach me specific passages from classical texts by heart before we moved on to more advanced topics in our discussions about clinical cases. For instance, he'd point out key phrases like "" which means 'to treat external wind' while explaining the concept of 'internal' as if an arrow piercing into a person's body." These are examples from reading books during this period that have left lasting impressions on me because they were challenging yet valuable lessons learned under the guidance of experienced teachers who instilled discipline through their teachings at school while teaching us how to apply those principles in real-life situations without any confusion or ambiguity ever arising during our study sessions held every day after classes ended until late evening hours when dinner time arrived around 7 pm each night so long story short!