A Report On The C-E Translation Of The Record Of Wang Guobin’s Prescriptions(Excerpts)

The source text is taken from the first chapter of The Record of Wang Guobin’s Prescriptions.After integrating fundamentals of TCM with years of clinical practice,Professor Wang Guobin has put forward Correlation of Five Zang Organs.The selected chapter elaborates his Correlation of Five Zang Organs and its application in pattern differentiation of qi,blood and body fluids.According to information theory proposed by Claude Elwood Shannon,translation can be classified as information transmission.It ineluctably appears redundancies and noises since the target audience differs from the source language author in language habits,thinking logic and professional knowledge.Noises must be minimized while redundancies should be differentiated.To transmit Correlation of Five Zang Organs to the Western audience,the translator valued the resolution of noises and redundancies and the effect of information transmission.Through redundancy addition,the translator manifested implicit meanings of the source text,explained concepts of TCM and added logical words.Through redundancy omission,the translator omitted repetitive elements and category words.Through structure conversion,the translator employed passive voice and noun structures to reduce noises led by different language habits.Through logic reorganization,the translator combed the inherent logic of the source text and adapted it to the thinking logic of the target audience to reduce noises.Illuminated by the translation task,the translator regards the translation of TCM as information transmission.If excessive redundancies in the source text are translated literally,the source text may be lengthy and increasing noises may disturb the transmission.With core information diluted,the target audience may fail to grasp core information quickly.If scarce redundancies in the source text are translated without adding necessary explanations,noises may be accumulated due to insufficient background information and the target audience may have difficulty comprehending information.Therefore,translators should take responsibility to avoid noises and differentiate redundancies in the translation.Professional translation skills,including knowledge system,competence system and professional quality,should also be consolidated for an accurate presentation of the essence of TCM.