Understanding Fang-Tingyu's philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine term translation from the perspective of translator's subjectivity

Abstract

Within the framework of translator’s subjectivity, this paper explores professor Fang-Tingyu’s philosophy in translating traditional Chinese medicine terms by taking four medical terms (miaoqiao, rouci, hexifeng, qihengli) as examples and referring to previously published interviews. The terms were chosen from his book New Chinese-English Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Second Edition). We summarized his translation philosophy as follows: to put the purpose of translation first; to trace the source and understand the source text correctly; to apply translation strategies and methods in a flexible manner; to take readers’s expectations into account; to keep abreast of the progress in traditional Chinese medicine translation studies. It is conducive that traditional Chinese medicine translator’s translation philosophy is from the perspective of translator’s subjectivity to grasping the nature of translation and may shed light on both translation practices and studies of traditional Chinese medical texts. Key words: Translating; Translator’s subjectivity; Fang-Tingyu; Terminology on traditional Chinese medicine