A Study Of Translation Strategies Of Classics Of Traditional Chinese Medicine In Ilsa Veith’s Version Of Huangdi Neijing Su Wen Under The Framework Of The Rewriting Theory

Traditional Chinese medicine（TCM）enjoys a two-thousand-year history and is the best protected,a most influential and widely used medical system in the world.TCM classics contain a large number of traditional Chinese cultural elements.Therefore,the translation of TCM classics can be regarded as the translation of Chinese culture.For this reason,the translation the culture-loaded parts are the key of as well as a great challenge for the translation of TCM classics.Huangdi Neijing is the earliest TCM classic.It laid the foundation for the development of TCM.Its translation began in the 1920s,and there are over 20 versions now.Ilsa Veith’s version "HUANG TI NEI CHING SUWEN· The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine" is the first and published English version,which’s a milestone in the field,and was republished in 1966,1972,and 2002.Li Zhaoguo’s translation is the first one completed by a Chinese scholar and part of a government project to promote Chinese culture in the world.This paper studies the rewriting in Veith’s version under the framework of rewriting theory.Since Li Zhaoguo’s translation follows the principle of "translating the ancient text as what the ancients might read"（Li Zhaoguo 2005:27）,this thesis has selected his version as a contrast to highlight the rewriting in Veith’s translation.In this comparative study and case analysis,the thesis intends to discuss the following two questions:（a）.How do ideology,poetics and patronage influence Veith’s translation?（b）.What are the implications for the future translation of TCM classics?The study found that in the 1940s,due to changes in the relationship between China and America,the spread of Chinese medicine and its culture abroad ushered in new opportunities.Therefore,there is a demand for translated TCM classics.While Huangdi Neijing is such a classic,it contains a large number of cultural elements.And at the same time,it is almost unknown abroad.Given that situation,Veith made great adjustments to the structure of the text in the process of translation:she added a long introduction to the translation,where she systematically introduced the basic theories,core concepts and philosophical foundation of TCM.At the same time,because Veith did not receive systematic education in TCM,she contended that the first 34 chapters of Huangdi Neijing Su Wen contained all the knowledge of the book.Therefore,she decided to only translate those first 34 chapters,which is a substantial rewriting of the source text.She also chose to use western medical terminologies to directly replace those in Neijing,which is also a form of rewriting.But because of the rewriting,Veith’s Huangdi Neijing·Su Wen successfully introduced TCM to her readers and her work were reprinted several times from 1949 to 2002.Therefore,it is suggested that the three elements of rewriting theory,especially ideology and patronage,should be taken into account in the translation of TCM classics in order to make the translation more readable and better spread TCM culture to the world.