English Translation Of The Standardization Of Tcm Prescriptions

Chinese Medicine is the treasure of the Chinese and an unsusceptible part of themedicine of the world. Initiating and developing differently, Chinese medicine and modernmedicine form the two systems. Chinese medicine originates from Chinese traditional culture,a kind of"humanist medicine", which carries humanist factors as philosophy,ethics,andliterature besides medicine. With the further international communication, Chinese medicinehas gained more and more attention from all over the world. After China entered WTO, somecountries started to take Chinese medicine into the public health system.Therefore, theinternationalization of Chinese medicine has become a necessary trend.Chinese medicine is rooted in traditional Chinese culture. Foreign people usually find it very difficult tolearn and understand Chinese medicine well. To promote overall international cooperation and exchange ofChinese medicine, we shall first conduct correct and effective translation work to introduce knowledge,theories and clinical application of Chinese medicine to the world people.For various reasons translation of Chinese medicine into English is by no means an easy job. Thetheories are sometimes difficult to understand even in Chinese language. Good translation is based on manyrequirements such as good command of both ancient and modern Chinese languages, good command ofEnglish language, good command of translation theories, good command of knowledge of both Chinese andWestern medicine, etc. There have been found many problems in the practice of translation from Chineseinto English. Many readers have been misled and got confused and sometimes got lost in meanings oftheories of Chinese medicine. Therefore, the most important job presently is to work out a system ofstandardized translation principles to guide translation work in this area.This paper focuses on the translation of the formula, especially the formula names. Itcarefully and systematically analyzes and studies the current translating methods andproblems on the base of quantity of magazines and books of Chinese medicine publishedopen both home and abroad, and it arrives at the conclusion that when the literal translation isadopted in translating work, the culture contents should not be neglected.The feasibility to work out a system of standardized translation principles to guidetranslation work covers the factors as A Proposed Standard International AcupunctureNomenclature. World Health Organization, Geneva, 1991.6, the Latin nomenclature forherb,animal and mineral medicine, the state-level programs and the various translatingpractice, which make the establishment of the standardized translation work possible. Thispaper tends to be useful in the further study of this field.