Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine: Gains vs. Losses

Pinfan Zhu

doi:10.32996/ijllt.2021.4.8.1

Abstract

Translation criteria have always been a controversial topic in contemporary discourse. Depending on the preference for valuing the cultural messages of the source language or valuing the acceptability of the target language, translation theorists mainly fall within two schools: the adaptation school and the alienation school. However, whatever criterion is used, gains and losses are inevitable in the process of translation. In this article, the author, through textual analyses, proves this argument by providing specific findings from the case study of Traditional Chinese Medicine translation. He also argues that the best result of translation lies in choosing the right criterion that best accommodates the translation goal, which offers some help to translators who feel unsure about what translation criteria to abide by in their translation work.

Highlights

1 With the globalization process and economic integration gaining a great momentum, countries of the world have become increasingly interdependent in many fields
Findings of the Gains and Losses in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Translation As mentioned above, the first characteristic of TCM is its abundant use of concise sentences with rich meanings
The saying: Impaired by cold in winter cold, one must get a pyretic disease in spring; impaired by wind in spring, one must get diarrhea containing undigested foods in summer; spoiled by summer heat in summer, one must be afflicted with malaria in autumn; spoiled by dampness in autumn, one must be afflicted with cough in winter (Zhu 2001)

Summary

Introduction

1 With the globalization process and economic integration gaining a great momentum, countries of the world have become increasingly interdependent in many fields. This trend means countless cross-cultural exchanges in many fields. Understanding a country’s culture and translating it appropriately play a critical role. There would be no exchanges in any field. The peace of the world and the development of all the countries both need translation as a communication tool. Mutual understanding and help across the world would be impossible

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion