A history of standardization in the English translation of traditional Chinese medicine terminology

In order to facilitate and propose further international standardization of traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） terminology, this article applies methods of historiography, philology and descriptive study to divide the history of TCM into three phases, based on representative experts and social events; to illustrate different aspects of these experts and their translation principles and standards and to discuss associated factors and inherent problems. The authors find that the development of a terminology standard for TCM has generally progressed from early approaches that were ill-suited to the contemporary needs to culturally and professionally referenced approaches, from uncoordinated research to systematic studies, and from individual works to collaborative endeavors. The present international standards of TCM terminology have been attained through the work of numerous scholars and experts in the history of the field. The authors are optimistic that a more comprehensive and recognized standard will come out soon.

Translational Chinese Medicine: A Way for Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Translational Chinese medicine is one of the latest developing fields in traditional Chinese medicine. In this paper, we discuss the “3 w” namely, “what is”, “why to advance”, “how to carry out” and the significance of translational Chinese medicine. To overcome the innate drawbacks of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the basic theory of TCM had better be refreshed. The safety and efficacy of classic formulae and therapy experience of TCM should be evaluated based on strict quality control and reaffirmed with evidence based medicine. The significance of translational Chinese medicine is to transform Chinese medicine into a balanced, personalized medicine with sound safety, good efficacy and strict quality control.

Prevention and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine against angiogenesis related cardiovascular diseases based on translational medicine

As a major medical and scientific problem perplexing mankind,cardiovascular disease seriously endangers human health and life safety,which is still the primary cause of death.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)plays an irreplaceable role in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and has its own characteristics and definite advantages.However,the unclear mechanism hinders its further promotion,which is not conducive to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.Translational medicine advocates interdisciplinary integration and cooperation between academic groups,to establish effective interaction between basic research and clinical application,lead more medical research to focus on the prevention and treatment of clinical diseases,as well as to accelerate the transformation from“discovery”to“realization”,and finally to benefit patients,that is,“from clinic and serve clinic”.This provides a reference mode for the development and research direction of TCM,which comes from clinical practice originally.Based on this,considering the important role of angiogenesis in the occurrence and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases,under the guidance of the concept of translational medicine,this manuscript sorts out the overview of TCM treatment on angiogenesis related cardiovascular diseases from four aspects:theoretical basis,pathogenesis and pathology,applied prescriptions and material basis,in order to summarize the translational medicine experience of TCM prevention and treatment from clinical practice to modern research,to provide a basis for basic research and clinical diagnosis and treatment of related diseases.

A Skopos Theory-based Study of Translation Principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine Decoctions

English translations of Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)terms and prescriptions need standardizing to minimize ambiguity as the popularity of TCM spreads globally.Herein an evaluation guide for translation of TCM decoctions in English into diverse social,cultural and medical systems,is proffered which integrates Skopos theory and Li Zhaoguo’s principles of English translation(conciseness of lexical composition,information accuracy,and similarity in lexical composition).Based on a case study of the traditional herbal medicine Mahuang Xingren Gancao Shigao Tang,direct translation methods with concise lexical composition are determined to most clearly convey the sophisticated and verbose original TCM prescription.

Research and Analysis on the Origin of the Term“Xinche”in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Its Translation

Translating the terminology of traditional Chinese medicine(Thereafter referred to as TCM)is the core of translating TCM culture.By analyzing the connotation and denotation of the word“Xinche”(心掣)in Huangdi Neijing(Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Medicine),the earliest existing TCM classic,and by comparing different English translations of the term“Xinche,”we hope to provide certain reference for the standardization of TCM terminology and to share some ideas for the translation of TCM classics.

Standardization of Basic Terms Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Standardization of translation of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) terms has been the focus of TCM translation for a long time; and it is the important force to enhance the steps of TCM internationalization. The standardization of translation of TCM terms is also the key to promote the theoretical research of TCM translation and the international exchange and scientific research.

Comments on Nigel Wiseman s A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine(Ⅰ)——On the“Word-for-word”Literal Approach to Translation

Comments were made on the ＂word-for-word＂ literal translation method used by Mr. Nigel Wiseman in A Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine. He believes that only literal translation can reflect Chinese medical concepts accurately. The so-called ＂word-for-word＂ translation is actually ＂English-word-for- Chinese-character＂ translation. First, the authors of the dictionary made a list of Single Characters with English Equivalents, and then they gave each character of the medical term an English equivalent according to the list. Finally, they made some minor modifications to make the rendering grammatically smoother. Many English terms thus produced are confusing. The defect of the word-for-word literal translation stems from the erroneous idea that a single character constitutes the basic element of meaning corresponding to the notion of ＂word＂ in English, and the meaning of a disyllabic or polysyllabic Chinese word is the simple addition of the constituent characters. Another big mistake is the negligence of the polysemy of Chinese characters. One or two English equivalents can by no means cover all the various meanings of a single character which is a polysemous monosyllabic word. Various examples were cited from this dictionary to illustrate the mistakes.

Comparative study on WHO Western Pacific Region and World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies international standard terminologies on traditional medicine: Diseases in External Medicine (Part 2)

This is a continued study about how to understand and translate the names of diseases in the external medicine of TCM included in the WPRO Standard and the WFCMS Standard according to the discussion made in the book entitled International Standardization of English Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine： Study of Theory, Summarization of Practice and Exploration of Methodst, the explanation made in A Concise Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine,

Comparative study on WHO Western Pacific Region and World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies international standard terminologies on traditional medicine: Diseases in External Medicine (Part 1)

External medicine, also frequently described as surgery, has a history as long as that of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. There were important doctors in each dynasty who devoted themselves to the study and practice of external medicine. In TCM external medicine, diseases are named either according to their location （such as neck abscess and back carbuncle）, or viscera involved （such as intestinal abscess and lung abscess）, or causes （such as tetanus and chilblain, which are literally known respectively as wind damage of wound and sore caused by cold in TCM）, or shape （such as snake head boil and goose web wind）, or the color （such as erysipelas and vitiligo which are literally known respectively as red toxin and white skin wind）, etc.

Nguyen Van Nghi(阮文义1909-1999):Pioneer of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the West in the 20^th Century

Traditional Chinese medicine in the 20th century,along with acupuncture,took off in France.Nguyen Van Nghi is one of the most important carriers of Chinese medical knowledge outside of China.He is a doctor by Western training,but can read oriental texts;he contributes to the spreading of this knowledge in France and in Europe.He left a rich legacy to French acupuncturists.

Comparative study on WHO Western Pacific Region and World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies international standard terminologies on traditional medicine: Diseases in External Medicine (Part 3)

rocky mass/cancer： any malignant tumor occurring on body surface that looks and feels like rock In classical Chinese medicine, the character 岩 （literally meaning rock） means the same thing as 癌 （malignant tumor）. That is why it is now usually translated as ＂cancer＂ or ＂carcinoma＂, which is adopted in the WFCMS Standard. To translate it as ＂rocky mass＂ in the WPRO Standard appears quite unique and sounds semantically equivalent to the original term.

Comparative study on WHO Western Pacific Region and World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies international standard terminologies on traditional medicine:Diseases in External Medicine(Part 4)

The following is a continued discussion about how to understand and translate the names of diseases in external medicine included in the WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Region （abbreviated as the WPRO Standard）[1] and the standard compiled by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies （abbreviated as the WFCMSStandard）[2], according to the studies made in the book entitled International Standardization of English Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine： Study of Theory, Summariza- tion of Practice and Exploration of Methods[3].

Retrospection and Reflection on the Role of Henry C.Lu as a Traditional Chinese Medicine Writer,Educator,and Translator

This paper respectfully commemorates the life of Dr.Henry C.Lu(1936-2022),who was the founding president of International College of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Vancouver.Dr.Lu was an active educator,a prolific writer and translator of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)in the West and an influential figure during the initial stage of the international dissemination of TCM.By comprehensively searching,referencing,and cross-validating the literature,this article reviewed Dr.Lu’s major life events,bibliography,and,most importantly,his contribution to TCM education and translation.Dr.Lu should be given more credit for his achievements,and further studies are needed in future.

Reception of Translated Classics of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the Spanish-speaking World:A Survey of Seven Spanish Versions of Huangdi Neijing(The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic)

Previous studies on translations of Huangdi Neijing(The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic)have focused on English versions;little attention has been given to non-English translations.The present study is the first investigation of the reception of the seven Spanish versions of Huangdi Neijing in terms of three parameters:collection records in libraries worldwide;book reviews and citation counts in international journals;and customer reviews on Amazon.The results revealed four features of Spanish translations and communication of Huangdi Neijing in terms of reception of academia,reception of general readers,the center of translation and communication,and the role of Chinese scholars.These factors demonstrate the marginal status of Spanish translations of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)classics.The implications are summarized in hopes of promoting the translation and communication of TCM classics in the Spanish-speaking world and to provide insights into the communication of TCM culture in the non-English-speaking world.

Nominalization in the Translation of Chinese Medicine

Chinese medicine has not only made great contribution to the Chinese culture,but also generated positive influences on the world civilization.With China’s entry into WTO,Chinese medicine has been paid great attention.Nevertheless,the nature of the Chinese medicine language makes its translation very hard,particularly it is very difficult to deal with the phenomenon of nominalization when translating Chinese medicine into English.This paper explores how and why there are nominalizations in the English translation of Chinese medicine.

Exploration and Research on Translation Strategies of Terminologies in Treatise on Warm Heat Disease

Cultural Translation Theory,originated in the 20 th century,states that the study of translation is the study of cultural in-teraction.It aims to explain that translation should not merely be constrained at traditional linguistic level,but should go to a muchbroader area,that is to say,the cultural and historical frame to direct our translation.Wen Re Lun(Treatise on Warm Heat Disease)is a representative classic of Warm Disease Theory in Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM),with considerable cultural tradition.From the perspective of Cultural Translation Theory,this thesis discussed the translation strategy of terminologies in Wen Re Lun.The principle,"mainly based on foreignization and domestication as minor",could be preferable to transmit the TCM essence byits own language.

On English translation of infant Tuina points in traditional Chinese medicine

1 Introduction In recent years, several international standardized traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） nomenclatures have been published, including the major ones A Proposed Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature by World Health Organization （WHO） in 1991, International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Region by WHO in the Western Pacific Region （WPRO） in 2007 and International Standard Chinese-English Basic Nomenclature of Chinese Medicinet31 by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies （WFCMS） in 2007. However, an English translation of points applied in infant Tuina therapy is neither contained in any of these standardized nomenclatures,

An Analysis of Domestication and Foreignization from the Perspective of Originality in TCM Translation

Domestication and foreignization are two major translation methods, both of which should be adopted properly accordingto the specific TCM translation conditions. One thing that can't be ignored is that the essence of TCM translation is to retain theoriginal meaning and make it be received. This requires the translator to balance the use of domestication and foreignization intranslation. There are some examples in three situations of TCM translation respectively:clinical interpretation of TCM, TCM texttranslation and TCM terms translation.

《伤寒论》英译问题研究

基于《伤寒论》6个全译本,从语言、文化、译法三个方面探讨翻译中存在的问题,为今后的中医典籍翻译工作提供参考。研究发现,在语言方面,译本存在因译者对原文术语理解不准确、编辑排版不细致等原因导致的疏漏;在文化层面,主要表现为漏译一些术语所蕴含的中国文化;在译法方面,主要涉及音译依赖和文化过滤不足。建议今后组建跨学科翻译团队和平台克服以上问题,使中医典籍英译真正起到传播中国优秀传统文化的重要作用。