National Medical Master Zhang Lei on how to read Chinese medicine books

We should read more, but not all, how to read to better effect? My personal experience, there should be selective reading. It can be roughly divided into books of intensive reading and books of rough reading. For the intensive reading of the book, to read repeatedly, more effort; for the rough reading of the book, as the name suggests, to read more coarse, at a glance and pass. However, we should not ignore the fact that there is also a precise part of the book of rough reading, and this part should also be read carefully. This part should also be read carefully.

Recitation

Study must be diligent, but it is also advisable to seek methods. In terms of reading, recitation is the most fundamental way to lay the foundation of Chinese medicine, and the earlier the recitation, the better. Like building a house, a brick by brick, then you can paint it. Recitation is also for later comprehension, understanding and application of the foundation, after the strength of more.

When first studying medicine, recite the “Lei Gong Medicine Fugue”, “Tang Tou Ge Zhi”, “Zhanghu Pulse”, etc., as initiation reading. After that, recite the classic works such as “Nei Jing”, “Difficult Classic”, “Treatise on Typhoid” and “Jin Kui Yao”. When reciting, you do not need to recite silently, but can recite aloud in a quiet place, so that the sound comes out of the mouth, heard in the ear, and will be in the heart.

Content of more chapters, take the segmented rolling recitation method, recite the back, review the front, such as building a foundation, pad a layer of tamped layer, so, in order to strong memory is not forgotten. Recitation to start with less, from less and more, set the armpit into fur, accumulate sand into a hill.

Emphasis on the classics

I think, for the doctor, especially for the top doctor, the four classics must not be read. Throughout the generations of great doctors and outstanding achievements, they all started from reading the classics. The root is deep, the leaf is strong, the root is solid, the branch is glorious. How can we ignore them? The Nei Jing is the fountainhead of Chinese medical theory. If you do not read the Nei Jing, you will not learn the fundamentals and the foundation will not be solid. Although later generations of doctors have created their own theories, they all started from the Nei Jing in terms of the inheritance of their academic ideas. When reading the classical works, it is important to refer to the relevant works, which have already been mentioned, so I will not talk about them here.

Extensiveness

In addition to the classical works, it is important to read the works of many later generations of physicians. I always say that a doctor should read a wide range of books and get the benefit of them. For the study of the etiology of diseases, in addition to reciting the “19 articles on the etiology of diseases”, one should also read the “Treatise on the origin of diseases”, which can clarify the theory of etiology and etiology; for the diagnosis of Chinese medicine, one should read the “Jinjian of Medicine – Four Diagnostic Techniques”, which is a book of subtleties, easy to learn and understand, and practical; for the knowledge of prescriptions, one should read the “Collection of Medical Prescriptions”, which identifies the evidence and discusses the prescriptions In Chinese herbal medicine, we can refer to “The Compendium of Materia Medica”, which is rich in content and detailed in reasoning and meaning.

I have a great respect for the Treatise on the Spleen and Stomach, and I make good use of Li Dong Yuan’s Tonic Chinese and Beneficial Qi Soup to treat diseases such as fever and headache due to Qi deficiency. In the spirit of truth-seeking, Wang Qingren’s Correcting Errors in Medicine dares to innovate and correct the mistakes of the ancients, discussing the diseases caused by blood stasis and enriching the development of the doctrine of blood stasis. I advocate reading more medical cases of famous doctors, such as “Clinical evidence guide medical cases”, “Ming and Qing dynasty Liu selected four medical cases”, “Xie Yinglu medical cases”, “experimental records of the prescription”, “Qin Bowei medical words medical cases”, “Shi Jinmo clinical experience collection”, etc..

I believe that the medical case is the embodiment of the doctor’s clinical experience, is a very valuable medical books, read it can get a lot of inspiration. Medical cases are broadly divided into two categories: one is a monograph of one family and the other is a collection of many. The former is the experience of one person, its systematic, academic, such as the great tree, look at the azure; the latter is the collection of medical forest, such as the honey brewed by the bees, sweet and continuous. Both have their own characteristics and merits, and should be read.

Some of the medical cases are wonderful, clever in the clever, some medical cases are unique, some medical cases are a high game, people are dazzled. Its formula is also, such as heavy artillery shells, such as light boats traveling in the water, such as the Wei Wei to save Zhao. According to different content, or take its theory, or take its side, or take its method, or take its ingenuity, or take its subtlety, the most important part of which, more carefully read, repeatedly read, understand its reasoning, will be its meaning. Only by opening up the path of learning can we rapidly improve the medical level.

The importance of getting

Reading not only to “bo”, but also to return to the “about” from the bo, to be able to understand or master a book, a paragraph of the essence of the article, the important chapter or paragraph, to read carefully, repeatedly read, the key statements also Zhu pen circle, to get the essence.

For example, according to the theory of “Su Wen – Yin Yang Ying Xiang Da Lun”, “Therefore, because of its lightness, it is raised” and “Wenzhi Zhuan Dian”, “treating the upper jiao like a feather is not light but not lifted”, I established the “light and clear method”. This method is mainly used for headache, dizziness, dizziness, tinnitus, eye swelling, runny nose, nasal congestion and other diseases caused by wind-heat. The formula consists of Guxingcao, Celosia argentea, cassia seeds, peppermint, chrysanthemum, cicada molasses, scutellaria, bramble seeds, and raw licorice (Editor’s note: Click on the link to see the Guxingcao combination used by Professor Li Fazhi in Henan Province and Zhang Lao’s formula, which appears to be from the same source). That is, the use of light, clear, floating and cooling drugs, easy to quickly reach the disease, in order to get rid of the evil.

In accordance with the “Su Wen – Tang Liquid and Mash Li Theory”, “remove the stagnant straw …… and cleanse the five organs”, the “method of cleaning turbidity” was established. According to the different locations of the upper, middle and lower jiao where the turbidity is located, as well as the different hostages of the disease, the formula is divided into the formula for turbidity obstructing the lung and the lung losing its purification, the formula for turbidity obstructing the spleen and the spleen losing its transportation, the formula for liver heat and spleen dampness and the formula for turbidity in the lower jiao and the bladder losing its circulation.

After reading “The Heart of Medicine”, I realized that doctors should have “five knowledge”.

The first is to know the theory. I understand the profound and sophisticated theories of Chinese medicine. Jing Yue Quanshu – Chuanzhong Lu – Mingli” said: “everything can not be outside the reason, and the doctor of the reason is particularly cut …… so the doctor of the evidence, must be expected to one of my heart, one of the cave patients, to one of my, to one of his, both a true, all doubts are released, is not very easy? One is also, the reason is.”

The second is to know the disease. The most important thing is to seek the cause of the disease, the nature of the disease and the origin of the disease body. Su Wen – to the true essence of the great treatise says: “must ambush its master, and the cause of its first.”

Third is to know the movement. People are a constantly moving organism, disease is a dynamic pathological changes, especially after treatment with drugs, its changes are more obvious, so the doctor should not only know the disease of the disease, but also know the movement of the movement.

Fourth, know the degree. To grasp the scale of treatment and the scale of medication for patients. “Be careful to observe where the yin and yang are and adjust them for a period of peace.”

Fifth is to know the error. Both to know the mistakes of other doctors, but also to know their own mistakes, mistakes must be corrected, that is, “look at their pulse evidence, know what is wrong, with the evidence of treatment. The most fear is not to know the mistakes, ” a rebellion still leads to the day, and then rebellion to promote the life”. Zhang Xichen’s “Medicine in the heart of the West” is very worthy of careful study. Many books I am “blue pen point to red pen circle”, feeling this, I have made a poem, called “reading with a feeling”: ” the medical way is profound learning never rest, learning like swimming against the water swinging boat. The book should be circled since the words, dotted circles on the heart to stay.” I would like to share this with my colleagues.

Focus on understanding

To study Chinese medical texts, not only “knowledge” “about”, but also “understanding”. Reading books can not only stay in the literal sense, especially for the classical works, its theory is deep, its meaning is mysterious, not dive into the study, thinking about the essence of understanding, not to get it. For example, in the “Yin and Yang Theory”, “Yin and Yang is the way of heaven and earth. …… The treatment of disease must be sought at the root”, the clinical treatment should seek the root of the cause of the disease, seek the root of the disease mechanism, seek the root of the disease. In clinical treatment, we should seek the root of the cause of the disease, the root of the disease mechanism, the root of the disease nature, the root of the disease location, and the root of the disease body.

In the Su Wen – The Great Treatise on the Supreme Truth, it is said that “We should be careful to observe the disease mechanism, and each of them should be in its own division. Those who have seek, those who do not seek; those who are strong are to blame, those who are weak are to blame. The passage “The one who has seeks, the one who has not seeks; the one who is strong is to blame, the one who is deficient is to blame.” is the first of five victories, and the blood and qi are drained, so that they can be organized and brought to peace.

Identify the evidence in the evidence and the evidence outside the evidence, and pay attention to their miscellaneous.

Identify static and dynamic evidence, and pay attention to its changes.

Identify symptomatic and asymptomatic evidence, and pay attention to their concealment.

Identify macroscopic and microscopic evidence and pay attention to their causes.

Identify the evidence of obedience and danger, and pay attention to their reversal.

Identify the evidence of correct treatment and the evidence of mis-treatment, and pay attention to the injuries.

From “dredging the qi and blood, making it reach and bring peace”, we understand the “dredge and benefit method”. The “sparse” is to de-conduct, with the meaning of dividing and governing; the “beneficial” is to facilitate, with the meaning of running and discharging. It is often used in the case of the loss of distribution of water and dampness, resulting in generalized depression (stasis) and swelling, which seems to be swelling but not swelling. For water, dampness, phlegm, stasis and qi stagnation in different internal organs and meridians, the formula is subdivided into combining sparing and tonifying formula, moving qi and clearing meridians, removing phlegm and clearing meridians, removing liver and dampness and clearing meridians, and removing stasis and clearing meridians.

The academic thought of “moving, harmonizing and pacifying” has been refined from “making it reach and bring peace”. By “movement”, we mean that under normal conditions, the human body is an organic whole that is constantly moving in a state of “harmony”; secondly, the pathology of the human body is an organism that is moving in a state of “loss of harmony”. Secondly, the pathology of the human body is the organism in a state of “loss of harmony”; again, for the organism, disease and illness in motion, its theory, method, prescription and medicine should move with it; finally, the purpose of treatment is to correct the organism that has lost its “harmony state” and re-establish a new peaceful dynamic, so as to achieve “yin and yang secret”. Finally, the purpose of treatment is to make the organism that has lost its “harmonious state” to be corrected and to re-establish a new peaceful dynamic, so as to achieve “yinping and yang secret”. All these are the embodiment of the emphasis on reading to the point of no words.

Persistence

Since studying medicine, I have never stopped reading and studying, and I have been persistent. During the period of receiving the profession, reading was the main focus, and when teaching at the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, reading was still the main focus in preparing classes. Now I am retired from my position because of my age, but I can’t retire from reading and learning, there is no end to learning, and I can work until I am old and learn until I am old. Even if the clinic is busy, I still have to squeeze out a little time to read books, so that the volume will be useful.

For example, the formation of the “Daju method” is firstly based on the “five yu” in Suwen – Six Elements of Zhengji Da Lun, which means “wood yu da, fire yu fa, earth yu seize, gold yu drain, water yu fold. The “five depressions” in the “Six Elements of Zhengji Dazhi” are “wood depression, fire depression, earth depression, earth depression, gold depression, and water depression. This formula is based on the “Four Reversals” from the Treatise on Typhoid Fever and the “Six Reversals” from the Danxi Xinfa, and is composed of “Da Yu Tang”, which consists of Chai Hu, Hovenia, Bai Shao, Cang Zhu and Chuan Xiong. The medicine consists of Chai Hu, Hovenia, Bai Shao, Atractylodes, Chuanxiong, Xiang Shen, Gardenia, Shen Qu, and Licorice.

With the deepening of clinical practice and the accumulation of theoretical knowledge, he combined the meaning of Dajuan Drink in Wu Youke’s Treatise on Plague, and added betel nut, cao Guo, and scutellaria to the original formula to make it more powerful and effective in treating the depression of the five viscera and six internal organs. Another example is in reading medical cases, read “clinical evidence guide medical cases” “Wu’s medical words two”, these books cover a wide range of diseases, incisive, insightful, clinical treatment is very inspiring, to improve clinical evidence thinking is very helpful.

Cheng Menxue’s Medical Cases”, “Pu Fu Zhou’s Academic Experience”, “Yue Mei’s Collection of Chinese Medical Writings”, etc., are all medical books with fine evidence identification, rich in theory and experience, and unique insights. In recent years, the number of medical cases of Chinese medicine has increased rapidly, and the number of readings has also increased significantly. The deeper feelings are the “Zhu Liangchun medicine experience collection” and “Li Ke old Chinese medicine experience album of acute and serious diseases”, etc. These doctors are unique in their use of medicine and have courage and knowledge. I always say that it is not easy to be a good TCM doctor, especially when a high level TCM doctor, it is even more difficult. I am well aware of my own shortcomings, and in the vast and profound ocean of our country’s medicine, I can only advance by fighting hard!

Re-writing

As the saying goes, “A good memory is better than a bad penmanship.” While it is important to read and recite, it is impossible to remember all the Chinese medical texts, profound Chinese medical theories and colorful clinical experiences, so it is very important to make good notes on important passages and ideas. Systematic study of Chinese medicine theory is necessary, this is a gradual, from shallow to deep, the process of entering the room, but also can not ignore the usual accumulation of sporadic knowledge, each reading do not seek more than fine, the important part of the excerpt card, day by day, the accumulation of less into more, gradually enrich themselves, strengthen themselves, for clinical, teaching level to play an important role in the improvement. With the source of learning can not be broken, the starting point for zero, seeking realistic not imaginary, thinking near and far as the guiding ideology of learning, firmly believe that as long as learning is not tired, happy, over time, from a thousand silk into brocade, a hundred flowers into honey.