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The impoverished life in his early years spurred him to study hard, and this habit of diligent study lasted until he went blind in his old age. He told me more than once: "In my youth, whenever I had free time, I would read. Even when I had a break from practicing medicine, I would seize the opportunity to read. I studied late into the night for decades." In those days, buying books was not as easy as it is now, so I had to borrow them from others and return them on schedule. I dared not break my promise; if I did, it would be difficult to borrow again. Once, I heard that someone possessed a copy of *Huanghan Yixue* (Imperial Han Medicine), which the owner treasured. After much trouble, I finally borrowed it with an agreement to return it within a month. Thus, I diagnosed patients by day and studied by night, reading until the fourth watch every evening. Although I hadn't finished it by the deadline, I returned it on time, becoming emaciated in the process. After a short interval, I shamelessly borrowed it again.

For good books that could not be bought, he would copy them out by hand. Day by day and month by month, these copies filled boxes and baskets. My home originally preserved many of his early handwritten manuscripts, but unfortunately, less than one-tenth remain today. Fortunately retained works include *Yijing Liaoji* (Collection of Treatments for Epidemic Spasms), *Baihuzi Zhi* (Self-Treatment of Diphtheria), and *Yanfang Xuanbian* (Selected Verified Prescriptions). The handwriting was neat, clear, and meticulous. Whenever I saw these thick manuscripts, I thought of how much hard work they required!

After reaching seventy, my father still started his day by washing up, drinking a few sips of tea, resting briefly, and then beginning to read. At work, whenever he had a moment of leisure, he never put down his book. Even at the advanced age of eighty, with his body clearly aging, as long as his spirit was slightly better, he would pick up a book. Apart from study materials issued by the organization, our home contained only medical books; I never saw any other types of books. I once asked my father about this, and he said: "Academic pursuits value specialization. Human energy is limited, and my intelligence is merely average. If one switches between learning this and that, scattering one's energy, one will ultimately achieve nothing. Therefore, for decades, I have never paid attention to elegant hobbies like playing the qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Throughout my life, I have loved medicine, specialized in medicine, and mastered medicine."

In 1968, my junior brother He Shaoqi returned from Beijing and told me: "Brother Pu's spirit of learning is truly deeply moving. When his left eye suffered from cataracts, he used his right eye to read, keeping the distance between his eye and the book only about one inch. It wasn't just reading; it was almost like eating the book! Compared to him, we are too ashamed!"

Thorough reading and profound reflection were my father's methods of study. He believed that studying Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) should focus primarily on *Neijing* (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), *Nanjing* (The Classic of Difficult Issues), *Shanghan Lun* (Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases), *Jingui Yaolue* (Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet), *Wenbing Tiaobian* (Systematic Differentiation of Warm Diseases), and *Wenre Jingwei* (Compendium of Warm and Heat Diseases). He said: "*Neijing* and *Nanjing* are the foundation of TCM theory. Without a solid theoretical foundation, there is no talk of mastering clinical practice. If one only reads about herbal formulas and properties to treat diseases, it is like a tree without roots." He also stated: "*Shanghan* and *Wenbing* are specialized texts for treating exogenous febrile diseases; one details cold patterns, the other details heat patterns. Warm diseases are a development based on cold damage."

*Jingui* is a specialized text for treating internal miscellaneous diseases. Although some chapters, such as those on spasms, dampness, and sunstroke, deal with exogenous diseases, the primary focus remains on internal miscellaneous diseases. Later generations all developed their theories upon this foundation. When studying *Shanghan* and *Jingui*, one should first read the original text and avoid consulting commentaries too early, lest one become confused and lose the essence.

My father held *Shanghan* and *Jingui* in extremely high regard. He recalled that when he first began seeing patients, due to family tradition, many sought his consultation. While some treatments were effective, others were not. Consequently, he resolved to stop seeing patients and close his door to study for three years. He thoroughly read, reflected upon, and repeatedly pondered *Neijing*, *Nanjing*, *Shanghan*, *Jingui*, *Wenbing Tiaobian*, and *Wenre Jingwei*, gaining deep insights. Thereafter, his clinical practice became more proficient and effortless. He said: "Many people at that time did not understand my intentions, thinking that closing my clinic was a way to raise my status. In reality, they did not understand the value of the classics." He also believed that *Wenbing Tiaobian* had great practical value and was a comprehensive work integrating the achievements of various warm disease experts, making it a must-read for TCM practitioners. After thoroughly studying these books, one should then study various schools of thought, understanding their strengths and applying them to oneself. Since each school has its own perspective, it is inevitable that some views may be extreme; this is not surprising. One should simply select the good aspects and follow them. My father often said that reading must be done seriously, not superficially, otherwise one eats without tasting the flavor. When reading, one must first look at the preface and general rules, and then the content. This allows one to grasp the author's intent, structure, and historical background, facilitating comprehensive understanding and achieving twice the result with half the effort. He particularly emphasized that when reading others' books, one must have one's own mind. One must not, when reading from Hejian (Liu Wansu), only know how to clear fire; nor when reading from Dongyuan (Li Dongyuan), think all diseases belong to the spleen and stomach; nor when reading from Danxi (Zhu Zhenheng), only engage in nourishing yin; nor when reading from Zihe (Zhang Congzheng), only know how to purge. One must take the strengths of each school and make them one's own. Hejian indeed had innovative views on acute febrile diseases, and Zihe had ingenious conceptions and unique approaches, though they are the hardest to learn. Did Dongyuan never use bitter-cold herbs? Did Danxi never use warm-tonifying herbs? In short, one must have independent judgment, not echo others, but rather excel in assimilating knowledge.

My father greatly respected ancient experience but opposed rigid adherence to antiquity and mechanical copying. He used *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Divine Farmer's Materia Medica) as an example, saying: "The book lists over one hundred twenty top-grade herbs, claiming that taking them in large doses for a long time does not harm the body, lightens the physique, prolongs life, and prevents aging. Many emperors of successive dynasties consumed elixirs, yet how many actually lived long lives? Who dares to take mineral drugs like cinnabar, mica, or mirabilite for a long time? Such metallic and stone substances have the most potent nature and heaviest quality; when toxicity manifests, the harm is severe. Even without poisoning, their heavy and sinking quality is sufficient to damage the spleen and stomach. These are the dregs of *Shennong Bencao Jing*. Materia medica becomes more refined and detailed in later generations."

My father liked adding marginal notes to books he had read and added annotations to books he gave to me. Some of these contents were truly like adding eyes to a painted dragon. For example, the photocopied edition of *Youyou Jicheng* (Complete Collection for Infants and Children) published by Shanghai Jinzhang Book Bureau had dark paper, small print, and no punctuation marks, making reading quite arduous. My father added punctuation to every chapter, corrected errors, and added comments to important parts based on his practice. His comment on *Shenqi Waizhifa* (Miraculous External Treatment Methods) was: "All nine external treatment methods are excellent." His comment on *Zhibing Duanchen Chengyuan Zhiyao Koujue* (Essential Mantra for Treating Disease by Addressing the Root) was: "The examples are very good." His comment on *Luoli Zhengzhi* (Treatment of Scrofula) was: "The various prescriptions are wonderful and usable." On the book *Yilin Gaicuo* (Correction of Errors in Medical Forests), he wrote: "Mr. Wang Qingren devoted himself to medicine with painstaking effort and gained insights; it is worthy of our study and respect. However, determining that all ancients were wrong based on the observation of only a dozen incomplete corpses is excessive. Using diagrams to argue against modern anatomy is also inconsistent. Moreover, completely dismissing the seven emotions and six excesses and discussing only blood stasis and qi stagnation is overly simplistic. Although the theory throughout the book is a personal ideal, it has valuable aspects. The methods created deeply embody the meaning of the ancients and have clinical reference value and research significance. Regarding the various prescriptions he formulated, I have adopted them for many years; some are effective, others are not, falling short of the miraculous claims made."

These book reviews are worth our attention. Because they not only involve evaluating certain ancient figures and their works but also greatly help us accept previous academic thoughts and clinical experiences with a more correct attitude.

Valuing Basic Skills, Emphasizing Practice, and Strictly Mastering the Principles of Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment

My father believed that syndrome differentiation and treatment (Bianzheng Lunzhi) is the characteristic of TCM and the crystallization of precious experience summarized by predecessors from practice. He often emphasized to me and his students: "To master the skills of syndrome differentiation and treatment proficiently, one must first practice basic skills rigorously." He believed that from the perspective of basic theory, one must thoroughly understand the basic content of *Neijing*, such as the holistic view of heaven-human correspondence, the Five Movements and Six Qi, Yin-Yang and Five Elements, zang-fu organs and meridians, etiology and pathogenesis, etc. From a clinical perspective, one must firmly master the Four Diagnostic Methods, Eight Principles, Eight Methods, drugs, and formulas. On this basis, one must seriously study the works of Zhang Zhongjing and the theories of various schools, returning from the broad to the concise, integrating and comprehending them, to be grounded and proficient.

He also emphasized the importance of practice and opposed theory for theory's sake. His student, Dr. Gao Huiyuan, once said with deep feeling: "Old Pu pays great attention to guiding students to combine learned knowledge with practice. He values students engaging in more clinical practice. His method of teaching is: after students have a certain TCM foundation, initially arrange for them to copy prescriptions with him, then have students conduct preliminary diagnoses, and he reviews and corrects the prescriptions. In this way, students can easily grasp the teacher's academic thoughts and medical experience, and further verify these thoughts and experiences through practice." My father believed that the basic characteristic of syndrome differentiation and treatment lies in varying according to the person, time, and place, i.e., making specific handling corresponding to specific objects and situations. He once told student He Shaoqi: "To be a good doctor, there is a secret: one person, one prescription. Prescriptions are fixed, but people are alive; one cannot generally use fixed prescriptions to treat living people."

I keep a report from the *Health Daily* dated September 4, 1956: In August of that year, the number of Japanese encephalitis patients in the Beijing area suddenly increased. Some people in Beijing ignored the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment, mechanically copying the three principles of clearing heat, detoxifying, and nourishing yin from Shijiazhuang, resulting in poor efficacy. Some patients not only had persistent high fever but even worsened, leaving them helpless. The Encephalitis Treatment Group of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (including my father) studied the situation and believed that using warm disease treatment principles to treat Japanese encephalitis was correct, and the Shijiazhuang experience was also precious. The problem was that warm diseases have different types, patients have different constitutions, and climate and seasons affect patients differently. Due to abundant rainfall around the Start of Autumn that year and warm weather, most patients had dampness bias. If not differentiated and cool-bitter-cold methods were applied too early, dampness would suppress and heat would lie hidden. The correct method should be to first use aromatic orifices-opening and damp-heat resolving methods (such as fresh Huoxiang, Yujin, Peilan, Xiangru, Chuanlian, Helaye, etc.), resulting in significant efficacy, with many critically ill patients turning danger into safety. Some patients who initially took large doses of Shigao (Gypsum), Xijiao (Rhinoceros Horn), and Lingyangjiao (Antelope Horn) without reducing high fever improved promptly after switching to the aforementioned prescriptions.

Such insights from my father were not accidental. As early as 1945, heavy rains flooded every household in Chengdu, and measles epidemics broke out in autumn. When children fell ill, measles often remained latent, and standard cooling-releasing methods were ineffective. My father carefully analyzed the situation and switched to warming transformation, leading to immediate eruption. This is one example. Although the diseases and treatments differed, the fundamental spirit was strictly mastering the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment, starting from specific situations, flexibly considering problems, not sticking to old ways, and not mechanically copying predecessors' experiences.

Centering Treatment on Protecting Stomach Qi

Emphasizing the protection of Stomach Qi (Wei Qi) is a very important feature of my father's academic thought. He believed: "At the beginning of illness, when the body is still robust, emphasizing expelling pathogens is equivalent to protecting Stomach Qi. Once pathogens are expelled, Stomach Qi naturally flows smoothly." This point is quite prominent in his acute disease cases. For example, in the case of a severely ill measles patient surnamed Wang recorded in *Pu Fuzhou Yi An* (Medical Cases of Pu Fuzhou), he consistently used cool-releasing methods with Gypsum in every dose. For a young girl surnamed Shi whose measles toxin sank inward, he consistently used cool-releasing methods assisted by bitter-cold purgatives, fully reflecting this point. My father also advocated using small doses to expel pathogens, like a light boat moving quickly, striving to expel pathogens without damaging Stomach Qi, thereby preventing pathogens from re-entering due to deficiency and lingering unresolved.

For chronic illnesses with righteous qi decline, he advocated stopping treatment when the pathogen is reduced by more than half. In disease regulation, he especially valued dietary therapy, believing that drugs are mostly plant and mineral substances with inherent biases; slight misuse harms either yang or yin, and Stomach Qi bears the brunt. Once Stomach Qi is exhausted, danger ensues immediately. He once cited an example of using only tea leaves to treat an elderly patient with yin injury from a febrile disease. The patient was a family member of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. After a febrile disease, she developed sores and took medicine for a long time. Her heat symptoms subsided slightly, but she suffered from irritability, insomnia, loss of appetite, constipation for seven days, and eventually vomiting, rejecting food, water, and medicine. Being an elderly person with a prolonged course, her children lost hope and asked my father if she could be saved. After inquiring about the condition, my father specifically asked what the patient wanted to eat. Upon learning she only wanted tea, he took 6 grams of Longjing tea, instructed to add the tea leaves two minutes after the water boiled, boil twice, and give small sips to the patient. He particularly emphasized the word "small sips" (shaoshao). The next day, the family joyfully reported: "As soon as the tea was brewed, my mother smelled the aroma and asked for it. She slowly drank a few mouthfuls without vomiting, felt comfortable in her heart, then her abdomen gurgled, she passed gas twice, and defecated two dry stools. She slept well that night and woke up hungry asking for food." Asked what else to prescribe, my father said: "For an elderly person with a chronic illness who has taken too much medicine, Stomach Qi is greatly damaged. Now that Stomach Qi has just revived, one must absolutely not administer more drugs. A slight deviation in medication could exhaust Stomach Qi, with disastrous consequences." He advised giving very thin rice porridge in small sips to nourish Stomach yin and Qi. With such dietary regulation for over a month, the critically ill person recovered. My father recalled: "After recovery, colleagues found it strange, wondering how a single herb like tea could cure such a serious ailment. But what is strange about it? At that time, the patient's Stomach Qi existed only by a thread. Although there was deficient heat internally, bitter-cold purgatives could not be used, otherwise Stomach Qi would collapse immediately. Therefore, using tea's slightly bitter, slightly sweet, and slightly cold nature, its aromatic and pungent opening does not injure yin, its bitter descending does not injure yang, and its bitterness combined with sweetness awakens the stomach and pleases the spleen. Passing gas and defecating dry stool after tea indicates that the pivot mechanism of spleen-stomach ascending and descending has turned. Sleeping well and waking up hungry are clear proofs of yin-yang harmony. And giving it in small sips is the key to administration. If one seeks quick success and advances rashly, everything will be destroyed in an instant."

I once treated a patient in the late stage of Summerheat-Warmth with righteous deficiency and lingering pathogen. The patient delirious when closing eyes, had a dirty complexion, persistent fever, thirst without desire to drink, spontaneous sweating, vomiting, and deep-thin pulses. The course was about half a month. Due to excessive medication, the patient vomited at the smell of medicine, making administration very difficult. Inspired by my father's dietary therapy ideas, I gave small sips of watermelon, and the patient's fever subsided and body harmonized within one night. Afterwards, my father wrote: "Those who understand this can be doctors. Grains, fruits, and vegetables, as stated in *Neijing*, are for nourishment, filling, and assistance. What makes them most suitable is that they do not damage the spleen and stomach, which is most precious."

He also opposed overconsumption of nutritious products after illness. He once treated a Japanese encephalitis patient who, during the recovery period, mechanically applied the principle of strengthening nutrition, consuming milk and soy milk five times a day, leading to frequent regurgitation and diarrhea. Seeing the patient's thick, greasy, and turbid tongue coating, he advised gradually reducing meals to three times a day. Not only did regurgitation and diarrhea improve, but health recovery accelerated.

My father often said not to believe that drugs can cure all diseases. Taking too much medicine not only fails to remove the disease but disrupts the harmony of one's own qi and blood, forming drug-induced illness. He cited an example of treating a responsible comrade of the former State Science and Technology Commission while recuperating in Guangdong in 1959. The patient asked my father: "In recent years, I have been taking Chinese and Western medicines daily, but I feel mentally listless, have poor appetite, and sweat spontaneously. What is the reason, and please provide a miraculous prescription." After detailed inquiry into the condition and medication history, my father believed that excessive medication had disrupted the balance of yin and yang, and advised stopping medication and regulating. The patient said: "Taking medicine every day causes discomfort; if I stop, I fear other changes!" After repeated persuasion by my father, he stopped for half a day, then one day, then two days... After stopping for half a month, he initially felt uncomfortable, but later improved day by day. After recovery, this comrade told everyone everywhere: "Old Pu pulled me out of the pile of medicine."

My father often said: "The survival or death of Stomach Qi is the key to a patient's life and death, and whether one can protect Stomach Qi during treatment is the standard for measuring a doctor's excellence."

Adapting to Changes from Constants, Valuing Much Reflection

My father emphasized many times that a doctor must know constants and changes. To know constants and changes, one must clarify theory, have confidence, strictly observe pathogenesis, and thus avoid confusing yin and yang, exterior and interior, cold and heat, deficiency and excess, and acting hastily in clinical practice. For example, hypertension is generally treated with clearing, moistening, subduing, and descending methods, fearing the use of Guizhi (Cinnamon Twig), Fuzi (Aconite), Renshen (Ginseng), and Huangqi (Astragalus) for aiding yang and stirring wind, raising blood pressure. My father once treated a female patient, forty-eight years old, with blood pressure 190-150/120-100 mmHg, dizziness, palpitations, chest tightness, obesity with pale face, preference for sleep, heavy body and weak legs, excessive leukorrhea, greasy coating, and deep-slow pulse. Based on this, he diagnosed yang deficiency with abundant dampness and used Fuzi Tang (Aconite Decoction) to warm yang and benefit qi, and her blood pressure gradually returned to normal. From this, we know that hypertension is not necessarily always yin deficiency with yang hyperactivity; there are also cases of yang deficiency. This is individual difference. Pulse and symptoms must be combined for comprehensive analysis to hit the target accurately. Luo Tianyi said: "The disease of a doctor lies in lack of reflection." My father often used this sentence to admonish me during his lifetime.