Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1149 The postgraduate entrance exam begins, feedback from the first batch of candidates: Hell mode (Bonus chapter for monthly votes)

After Xu Jianqiang finished speaking, the others also went up on stage and began to speak.

Xu Zhiyuan offered his views on the cold-induced "fishnet spots" (reticulated bluish spots), citing theories from several Lingnan febrile disease treatises.

Chen Zhongping focused on Xiao Chengzhi's heat-related arthritis, mentioning several stomach-nourishing and yin-tonifying herbs commonly used in Lingnan.

Li Hui incorporated some Lingnan medicinal herbs into her analysis, which has a strong local flavor.

Combining her expertise in acupuncture, Lin Xueling provided directions for auxiliary treatments that were highly practical.

Throughout the sharing session, the people in the dialect class listened with great interest, with some frequently taking quick notes or exchanging whispers.

These information flows silently integrate into their knowledge system, broadening everyone's horizons.

Each of them truly felt that what these six people from Lingnan brought was not only specific prescriptions, medicines, and acupuncture techniques, but more importantly, unique academic perspectives rooted in the region and practice.

This has greatly filled a gap in most people's cognitive landscape, and many previously ambiguous combinations of ingredients and treatment options have now become clearer and more creative.

After the sharing session ended, another round of enthusiastic applause rang out.

Fang Yan glanced at the time on his wrist; the afternoon had passed by amidst the sharing of the six people.

I've gained a lot myself, Fang Yan said sincerely as he stepped onto the stage:

"Fantastic! Absolutely fantastic! Thank you to all six students for sharing so generously."

"Xu Jianqiang and Zhou Huiwen's surgical concept of protecting the body's resistance and eliminating pathogens, Xu Zhiyuan's accurate detection of latent heat, Chen Zhongping's emphasis on the pivotal role of the spleen and stomach, Li Hui's presentation of rare Lingnan medicines, Lin Xueling's approach of combining acupuncture and medicine... all of these have greatly broadened our horizons. Your sharing is not just a simple supplement to our viewpoints, but has opened new doors for us! We have gained so much!"

The dialect really captured the emotional value. The six of them talked for an entire afternoon, without holding back much. They said almost everything they could. As for whether the audience could understand it, and how much they could understand, that depended on their individual comprehension.

Anyway, aside from the dialect, there are quite a few people in the class who understand everything.

However, after today's exchange, everyone now knows the capabilities of these individuals.

Now that we're going to compete with them, everyone feels the pressure.

But we still want to thank them today. After they finished speaking in their dialect, everyone applauded again.

This afternoon's sharing session ended in a harmonious atmosphere.

Next, Fang Yan originally planned to invite them to his home for a meal, but Xiao Chengzhi had already arranged for them to go to the Xiao family's old residence that evening. Xiao Chengzhi would be hosting these six people who had come all the way from Guangzhou, accompanied by Deng Nanxing.

Since Xiao Chengzhi had already invited these people, Fang Yan didn't bring it up again.

From then until the postgraduate entrance examination begins, they will come here every day to invite you to meals. There will be many opportunities in the future.

Over the next few days, many more candidates for the TCM postgraduate entrance examination came from various places. It was as if they had made a pact that as long as they came to the capital, they would visit Fangyan at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

People from all over the country came, including those from Mianyang and Jiangyou in Sichuan, and Nantong in Jiangsu. People from these places even went directly to Fangyan's home.

Fang Yan had sent a telegram to Jiangyou saying that he could provide necessary assistance to anyone who came to the capital, just like Lao Fan and his group. This time, several people came, first to Lao Fan, and then to Fang Yan's house.

As for those from Nantong, Jiangsu, especially Zhu Liangchun's disciples or grand-disciples, when they came to Beijing, they first visited Meng Jimin, and then they went to visit Fangyan.

In addition, people from other places who had heard of his reputation would go to the hospital to see him.

Fang Yan discovered that his influence and fame seemed to be greater than he had imagined.

Time flies, and it's July 6th.

The first batch of postgraduate entrance examinations finally began today.

According to information obtained by Fang Yan from within the research institute, the candidates for this re-examination were mainly graduates of traditional Chinese medicine colleges who enrolled before 1966 and in 1970. In addition, there were those who taught traditional Chinese medicine to apprentices and those who studied traditional Chinese medicine on their own, as well as a few individuals who had studied traditional Chinese medicine from Western medicine.

The re-examination will be held at Xiyuan Hospital.

I didn't have a chance to see the dialect, but I already knew the general details of the interview from the school's bulletin board.

More than 100 people took a written test in a conference room at Xiyuan Hospital, divided into four groups.

This written test is different from the preliminary test. This time, the test content is based on the Four Great Classical Texts, and classical Chinese medical texts replace foreign languages.

The interviews began immediately after the written test.

These hundred-plus people will finish their exams in one morning.

The Guangming Daily reported on the matter on its front page that day, along with a short commentary.

The article emphasizes that these are the first batch of postgraduate students of traditional Chinese medicine in my country's history, and that this is an important step in creating a new Chinese medicine system.

From today until July 15th, there will be a total of ten batches of test takers.

As the exam began, the other batches of candidates, like Fang Yan and his group, were all paying close attention. Although the exam content differed for each batch, everyone wanted to know how difficult it would be.

Many people were even more nervous than those taking the exam today.

Of course, Fang Yan and his team continued their medical consultations.

However, around noon that day, they all found Fang Yan and asked him to find someone to inquire about the reactions of the candidates who took the exam that day.

There's no way around it; Fang Yan knows a lot of people, and these people basically all come to see Fang Yan when they come to the capital, like paying homage to a powerful figure.

He also treated us to good food and drink, so asking him for information was the most appropriate thing to do.

"Don't worry, everyone. They need to have lunch after their exams. It takes an hour to get here from Xiyuan Hospital by bus. Someone will come later this afternoon, and I'll ask them then. I'll definitely know then," Fang Yan reassured the anxious crowd.

These days, without cell phones, we have to wait to know the candidates' immediate reactions.

Of course, you can also call the examiner to ask about dialects.

However, I always feel that doing it this way would lose some of its original flavor.

Professor Yue Meizhong, the initiator, even asked him to help come up with exam questions. Isn't that outrageous? ... He sets his own exam questions. Nobody else does that.

The world may be a makeshift operation, but it can't be this haphazard...

Around 4 p.m., when everyone was getting impatient, the first batch of Jiangsu examinees who took the exam today finally returned by bus.

Among these people were some of Master Zhu's disciples and grand-disciples, and some were disciples of famous masters from that area. However, several of them looked rather solemn, while only a few had slightly better expressions.

Upon meeting them, he immediately addressed Fang Yan and the others:

"It's quite difficult, not just the interview, but the written test is also very challenging."

The others nodded in agreement, concurring with this conclusion.

Upon hearing this news, everyone who was waiting for an answer felt their hearts in their throats.

So he quickly asked what was going on, even though the questions that followed were definitely unrelated to today's test, but he still wanted to see just how tricky they were.

You should at least be mentally prepared.

Then the candidates started talking all at once:
"The written exam tests knowledge of the four classic texts. They seem basic, but the questions are quite convoluted. Take the question about the Treatise on Cold Damage, for example. Instead of directly asking about the treatment of 'excessive sweating in Taiyang disease,' they gave a medical case study."

"The original question was, 'The patient has chills and fever, headache and body aches. After taking Ephedra Decoction, he sweats profusely, followed by palpitations, tremors, and difficulty urinating.' You are asked to provide the original text as evidence and to distinguish whether this is 'excessive sweating damaging Yang' or 'excessive sweating damaging Yin.' Simply quoting the text is not enough; you have to break down the mechanism."

Another candidate wearing glasses chimed in:

"The Golden Chamber Prescriptions is even more amazing. When examining 'water retention disease,' it gives three case studies with different syndrome types. One is 'swelling of the body, which leaves no pit when pressed, without aversion to wind, and the abdomen is like a drum.' Another is 'swelling of the face, fever, thirst, and yellow urine.' And the third is 'swelling below the waist, which leaves a pit when pressed, with aversion to cold and cold limbs.' You are asked to match them with 'wind water,' 'skin water,' and 'true water' in the original text, and also to explain the key points of differentiation."

“After we finished the exam, during a discussion, we argued for a long time about the difference between ‘feng shui’ and ‘pi shui’.”

"I still don't know if I was right or wrong."

"..." Fang Yan and the others were all speechless.

Before they could answer, someone frowned as if in response and said:

"That annotation question in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic was practically a trap for those with a strong command of classical Chinese. The original text is 'All dizziness and vertigo belong to the liver.' You were asked to first translate it, then explain the ancient meanings of 'diao' and 'xuan,' and finally, combine it with clinical examples to discuss the three types of 'internal liver wind.' My brother translated 'diao' as 'falling down,' which completely went astray. He's probably going to get into serious trouble this time."

These two brothers came to take the exam together, and now we don't know what the result will be.

However, people weren't too concerned; instead, they immediately followed up with questions:

"What about the interview? What do they test you on?"

If the written test is this difficult, then the interview must be incredibly challenging.
Upon hearing the interview questions, everyone's expressions darkened even further.

One person summarized it as follows:
"The interview tests clinical knowledge, but it's not just about clinical knowledge. After asking all the clinical questions, they might also ask you about the processing of a certain ingredient in the prescribed medicine."

"Like the problem I encountered. I had already finished asking the clinical questions and answered them very well, but then the interviewer brought me a dried 'Guojianglongteng' (a type of vine) and asked what the differences were between the processing methods of this herb in Lingnan and the Central Plains, and I had to explain the medical principles behind the differences. I'm not from Lingnan, I've only seen it in books, how would I know the specific processing details? In the end, I stammered and only gave superficial answers."

One test taker said:

"I feel like it's all designed to keep most people out."

"Those who can meet their requirements are either all-rounders or very lucky, and happen to be the ones who know the answers."

Everyone looked at each other, realizing that this was indeed a bit tricky!
P.S.: Please come early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)