Translation And Introduction Of Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics By Modern Missionary

Modern times is an important historical stage in cultural exchanges between China and the West,which refers to the period from 1840 to 1949 in this paper.European and American missionaries entered China with the intention of using advanced Western science and technology to usurp the seat of traditional Chinese science and technology.While they brought Western science and technology to China,they also sent a message from the East to the world.Traditional Chinese medicine gradually attracted the attention of missionaries in China as Chinese and Western cultures collided.Through their medical practice in China and their close observation of traditional Chinese medicine,some missionaries were convinced of the efficacy of Chinese medicine and turned to the value of traditional Chinese medicine for medical research and the expansion of treatment methods.As an essential carrier of Chinese medical ideas and theories,the traditional Chinese medicine classics have collected valuable medical prescriptions and practical achievements from generations of Chinese physicians,making an indelible contribution to safeguarding the health of the Chinese nation for generations.The critical role of traditional Chinese medicine classics has also attracted the attention of missionaries and western scholars.It has become one of the subjects of modern external translation by missionaries.Among the missionaries,John Dudgeon,Bernard Emms Read and Franz Hübotter carried out translation and introduction activities around traditional Chinese medicine classics such as Yilin Gaicuo(《医林改错》),Ben Cao Gang Mu(《本草纲目》),Chiu Huang Pen T’sao(《救荒本草》)and Nan Jing(《难经》).Based on the original texts of traditional Chinese medicine classics translated and introduced by missionaries in modern China,this paper adopts the method of interdisciplinary research.To explore how missionaries build a bridge of cultural exchange and translate and introduce traditional Chinese medicine knowledge and traditional Chinese medicine classics to the West when China and the West are almost isolated in modern times.At the same time,missionaries’ translation and introduction of traditional Chinese medicine classics also provided a new perspective and reference for Western medicine and Western culture and had a far-reaching impact on the ideological,cultural and even economic aspects of the East and West.The translation and interpretation of traditional Chinese medicine classics conducted by modern missionaries have played an essential role in the dissemination of modern Chinese medicine culture.It explores the context of the translation of traditional Chinese medicine classics,which provides a valuable reference for sorting out the history of modern medical translation,the development of overseas Sinology,and exploration of new ways to disseminate traditional Chinese medicine culture.