On Translation Of Xiang In Huangdi Neijing From The Perspective Of Traditional Xiang Thinking

As part of Chinese wisdom,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)was once questioned for its deviation from the positivist Western medicine.Nevertheless,the unique linguistic and thinking mode of TCM is valuable in the construction of medical theories and hence is key to successful translation.Meanwhile,in light of the dominant position of Western theories in Chinese academia,translation studies within the scope of our own tradition is of great significance.It is against such a backdrop that this thesis intends to study the embodiment and translation of quxiang-bilei in medical classic Huangdi Neijing in the framework of Chinese traditional Xiang thinking.By virtue of traditional Chinese translatology,this thesis attempts to construct the analytical framework for translation studies within the scope of Xiang thinking.Based on zang-xiang theory,this thesis analyzes vivid xiang descriptions in and translation of two major basic theories of TCM: xue and zang-fu systems.Moreover,translation of Huangdi Neijing within the scope of Xiang thinking is also analyzed from the dynamic and holistic perspectives.This thesis chooses Li Zhaoguo’s and Paul Unschuld’s English versions for comparison.It is discovered in this thesis that the naming of xue and zang-fu in Huangdi Neijing is constructed on different layers of xiang descriptions,including the images of Chinese shan-shui landscape,old-style constructions,depository venues,officials’ titles,and other cultural imagery.The criterion for evaluation of translation adopted in this thesis lies in the representation of images,the delivery of TCM theory,TCM translation criteria as well as cultural and historical information.It is noticeable that Li prioritizes the introduction of TCM expertise,sometimes suffering a loss of Xiang thinking;while Unschuld preserves most of the xiang descriptions with occasional neglect of contextual meaning and medical accuracy.Considering the international standardization of TCM terminologies and the representation of Xiang thinking in translation,this thesis holds that the medical contexts shall be considered in choosing specific translation strategies.Lastly,this thesis argues that Xiang thinking offers a perspective different from Western concept-based thinking,which facilitates studies on English translation of Chinese classics from a holistic and dynamic view.