A Comparative Study Of The English Translation Of The Five Elements And Related Terms

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)is the crystallization of the w:isdom of Chinese nation,and has made great contributions to the prosperity of Chinese nation.TCM theory contains Chinese traditional cultural elements such as classical Chinese philosophy,literature,astronomy and geography.Wu xing theory is an important part of Chinese ancient philosophy thought,and it is also the basic frame of the theory system of TCM.The theory of wu xing explains the structure and properties of matter and the relationship between viscera.The application of wu xing theory in TCM explains the physiological and pathological changes of human body and plays an important role in clinical diagnosis and treatment.The understanding and translation of the basic terms of the wu xing is the foundation and guarantee of basic theory of TCM and the foreign communication.Purposes:Wu xing,as one of the two foundations of basic theory of TCM,its English translation still has many problems,lack of systematic research of wu xing terminology.By analyzing the connotation of wu xing terms and using the dynamic equivalence theory as the guide,the paper compares and analyses English translation of wu xing in several authoritative dictionaries and standards,so as to explore the principles and strategies of the translation of TCM terms,with a view to reflect the English translation of the whole basic theory of TCM.Methods:1.Literature research.First of all,by searching relevant literature about English translation of wu xing terminology,the study understands the current situation and the problems of English translation of wu xing.Secondly,through the literature study,the paper reviews the development course of TCM translation,understanding the research status in following aspects:the theory of TCM translation,TCM translation from the perspective of cross-culture,principles and methods of TCM terminology translation,and the standardization of TCM terminology.Through the literature research,the study aims to understand the current situation and problems in the field of research,to find research gaps,and finally to determine the subject and content of research.2.Comparative analysis.The study chooses 34 Chinese wu xing terms in Basic Theory Nomenclature of Traditional Chinese Medicine:National Standard of People's Republic ofChina,and corresponding English translation of wu xing terms in the following versions:Basic Theory Nomenclature of Traditional Chinese Medicine:National Standard of People's Republic of China,Chinese Terms in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy,International Standard Chinese-English Basic Nomenclature of Chinese Medicine and Standard,Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Region,Practical English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine and Classified Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine.Under the guidance of dynamic equivalence theory,the study accurately analyzes and understands the connotation of terminology through the relevant Chinese dictionaries,and finally makes comparative analysis of the characteristics of English translation in each version.3.Summary.After comparing and analyzing wu xing terms in English translation,the paper summarizes the English translation of wu xing and sums up the characteristics of English translation of wu xing terms and English translation methods and strategies of TCM terminology,with a view to provide the theoretical basis and practical reference for the formulation of international standards of Chinese Medicine.Results:In Basic Theory Nomenclature of Traditional Chinese Medicine:National Standard of People's Repblic of China,the research takes wu xing terms as objects and classifies them into two categories according to the terms of Chinese speech.Under the guidance of equivalence theory and the principle of accuracy,translatability and simplicity,the study compares and analyzes English translation of the current six authoritative editions through the understanding of the connotation of wu xing terms.It is found that the English translation of wu xing terms has the following problems:there is no uniform standard in the English translation of wu xing;most of terms cannot achieve back to translation;there is bias in understanding meaning of Chinese terms,which leads to inaccurate terminology expression.Conclusions:Based on comparative analysis of English translation in six versions,the study makes a table of the recommended translations from the comparative analysis.The methods and strategies of terminology translation are discussed in the paper.First,for the English translation of wu xing terms and all the English translation of TCM terminology,accuracy is the first principle:accurate understanding of the essence of terminology and accurate selection of the corresponding language in the target language.Semantic connotation equivalence is the bridge between source language and target language.Second,in the lexical vacancy situation,that is to say the corresponding language in the target language cannot be found,literal translation is also a way of translating.Third,the English translation of TCM terminology should conform to national characteristics.In the case that the foreign language does not correspond to the expression,to realize the medical value,cultural value and philosophical value of TCM,the essential connotation of terms must be explained by definition or annotation,so that the characteristic of TCM and loaded cultural factor can be transferred to the West independently and completely.In this case,transliteration +interpretation are the ideal translation strategy.Fourth,in the English translation of noun or verb terms,translators should try to choose the special word or word with one meaning as much as possible to minimize ambiguity.Fifth,when translating four-character Chinese medical terms,it is necessary to clarify its hidden logical relationship.