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There are currently many Chinese-English dictionaries of Chinese medicine offering

different English equivalents for Chinese medical terms for translators to choose from. Of
these only the terminology presented in Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine is
exemplified in a large volume of translated literature. There are many reasons why over
recent year this terminology has increasingly become the first choice of native English
translators. First, it is based on terminological principles and has stood the test of practical
text translation in the accurate transmission of Chinese concepts; hence it is particularly
favored by Westerners who have learned Chinese. Second, it is has been devised by
native English speakers and hence does not have the shortcoming of ``exotic’’ English.
Third, being the largest English set of terms, it meets the needs of translating all kinds of
ancient and modern texts. Fourth, various actions have been taken to promote its
acceptance.

Why Does the English Terminology of Chinese Medicine Vary?

There are four basic methods of translating terms: literal translation, loan translation,
free translation, and borrowing the source-language term. In theory, any term can be
translated by any of these methods. In practice, although any set of translated terms is
inevitably a synthesis of different translation methods, certain approaches predominate
because of linguistic factors. Literal translation is commonly used, since it can be applied
wherever there are natural equivalents between languages. Borrowing is less commonly
used because borrowed terms tend to be opaque and difficult to pronounce, so that
large-scale borrowing from other languages is difficult. A classic example of a
terminology created mainly by literal translation and loan-translation is the Chinese
terminology of modern Western medicine. We believe this approach produces the most
faithful English terminology of Chinese medicine, and this is the approach on which the
terminology presented in this dictionary is based.

However, linguistic factors are not the only ones influencing translation choices.
Extralinguistic factors are also at play. These are particularly present in the field of
Chinese medicine, and explain why the English terminology of Chinese medicine has
stubbornly resisted standardization. While some, like us, support the orthodox method of
translation, there are voices opposed to this.

Basically, there are two schools opposed to faithful translation. One school of thought,
strongly influenced by the idea of modernizing Chinese medicine and integrating it with
Western medicine, believes that Westerners are incapable of understanding traditional
Chinese medicine fully and that they can only understand the more rational elements of
Chinese medicine. For this reason, they believe that that the use of modern Western
medical terms to represent traditional Chinese medical concepts can promote the
understanding of Chinese medicine in the West. According their proposed biomedicized
approach to translation, 脱证 tuō zhèng can be translated as shock, because in clinical
practice it is the same thing as shock. However, the use of the Western medical term is
impossible to use in the translation of the term 阳气外脱 yáng qì wài tuō because the
word 脱 tuō has a literal meaning quite different from that of the English ``shock’’ that
reflects a conceptual different. One cannot talk about he ``outward shock’’ of yáng qì,
because ``shock’’ does not represent a movement. Only a literal translation such as our
``outward desertion of yáng qì’’ makes sense in English. Thus the use of ``shock’’ to
represent the Chinese concept only confuses the Western readers. Another example is
when 风火眼 fēng huǒ yǎn is translated as ``acute conjunctivitis.’’ Although in clinical
terms the same condition is denoted by both these terms, the conceptual content is quite
different. If ``acute conjunctivitis’’ were to appear as the equivalent of the traditional
Chinese term in a translation of an ancient text, it would give the Western reader the
impression that the ancient Chinese had the concepts of conjunctiva and inflammation.
Just as ``desertion’’ enables us to translate compound terms likes 阳气外脱 yáng qì wài tuō,
so a literal translation of 风火眼” as ``wind-fire eye’’ has the advantage of being faithful to
original, expressing the disease as one caused by wind and fire. Of course, we agree
communication between Chinese and Western medicinal concepts is an important issue,
but this is matter to be explained by experts in the integration of the two bodies of medicine
through independent discourse. The indiscriminate use of biomedicized translation that
distort the Western reader’s understanding of Chinese medicine will only success in
destroying Chinese medical concepts and will not benefit the internationalizaiton of
Chinese medicine.

Another school opposed to faithful translation believes that Chinese medicine does not
really have any technical terms to speak of, or at least only 300 or so. Many Westerners
view Chinese medicine to be an ``alternative medicine,’’ and therefore consider it to
essentially to be based on clinical skill that can be acquired with too much book-learning.
These people are unaware of the fact that Chinese is a vast body of knowledge and has a
complex terminology, and hence they believe there is no need for set English equivalents
for Chinese terms. The authors of Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine
belive that set English equivalents of Chinese terms are necessary if concepts are not to be
obscured or lost in translation, preventing the Western reader from understanding them
properly. It is important to note in this context that as more and more Westerners learn
Chinese, they increasingly understand the need for faithful translation.

Chinese medicine is a body of medicine spanning over 2,000 years. It has is own
unique thought and methods, and strongly reflects features of Chinese culture. Because of
this, Chinese medicine has its own unqiue concepts and terminology, so that in the
westward transmission of Chinese medicine, we need to be able to convey Chinese medical
terms accurately in English for them to be be successfully understood by Western readers.
Accurate term translation is achieved by a strategy based on literal translation and
loan-translation that assures faithfulness to the original.

Applying Generally Accepted Principles of Translation

The terminology of the Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine is the product

of careful section in accordance with stringent translation principles. These principles are
fundamentally the same as those applied in other fields, such as Western medicine. Their
aim is to preserve the integrity of concepts in the process of translation.

To ensure a coherent terminology, we need integrated principles governing the class of

terms for which each translation method is suited. The principles we apply are very
simply. (1) Non-technical terms are translated with corresponding non-technical terms in
the trarge language. (2) Technical terms are mainly translated by loan-translation.
When loan-translation fails to produce a suitable term, we (3) devise a target-language term
on the basis of the definition of the source-language, (4) use Pinyin transcription, or
(5) borrow a Western medical term. The last three methods should be used sparingly.
Devising a term on the basis of the definition should be applied sparingly because such
translations are often difficult for the translator to remember. Pinyin transcription should
be used sparing because it conveys no literal meaning to the reader. Western medical
terms should only be used insofar as they do not obscure the Chinese concept or introduce
Western medical notions alien to Chinese medicine. The five methods are illustrated
below.

1. Translating nontechnical source-language terms with nontechnicl target-language terms

鼻 nose 寒 cold
口 mouth 风 wind
心 heart 咳嗽 cough
胃 stomach 腹痛 abdominal pain
膝 knee 头痛 headache
发 hair 牙痛 toothache
风 wind

2. Translating technical terms mainly by loan translation

身体部位 水肿 water swelling

命门 life gate 痰核 phlegm node
血室 blood chamber 证 候 名 称 ： 湿 热 下 注 damp-heat
精关 essence gate pouring downward
三焦 triple burner 肝风内动 liver wind stirring internally
卫 defense 命门火衰 debilitation of the life-gate
fire
症状 肾气不固 insecurity of kidney qì
骨蒸潮热 steaming bone tidal fever 心肾不交 noninteraction of the heart
恶风 aversion to wind and kidney
倦怠乏力 fatigue and lack of strength 肝 气 犯 胃 liver qì invading the
小便清长 long voidings of clear urine stomach
惊悸 fright palpitations 外感寒邪 external contraction of cold
腹痛拒按 abdominal pain that rejects evil
pressure 伤食 food damage
胎动不安 stirring fetus 宿食 abiding food
弦脉 stringlike pulse 痰浊上扰 phlegm turbidity harassing
革脉 drumskin pulse the upper body
结脉 bound pulse 热结 heat bind
五 心 烦 热 vexing heat in the five
hearts 治法
辛凉解表 resolving the exterior with
病名 coolness and acridity
头风 head wind 疏 风 泄 热 coursing wind and
鼻渊 deep-source nasal congestion discharging heat
历节风 joint-running wind 滋阴解表 enriching yīn and resolving
鹤膝风 crane’s-knee wind the exterior
梅核气 plum-pit qì 清热解毒 clearing heat and resolving
奔豚 running piglet the exterior

3. Creating a new term in the target from the defnition of the source-language term when
loan-translation fails (free translation)
 证 pattern 脘 stomach duct
穴 point 痹 impediment
饮 rheum

4. Pinyin transcription should used sparingly

阴 yīn 气 qì
阳 yáng 蛊 gǔ

5. Western medical terms should only be used insofar as they do not obscure the Chinese
concept or introduce Western medical notions alien to Chinese medicine

龟头 glans penis 遗尿 enuresis

舌苔 tongue fur 疟疾 malaria
半身不遂 hemiplegia 痢疾 dysentery
疫 epidemic

Qualified Translators

As everyone knows, three qualifications are required translators: a sound knowledge of

the field in which they are working; a sound knowledge of the source language; and
native-speaker competence in the target language. People involved in term translation
also need to be conversant with terminological theory.

The English terminology of Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese medicine is the

product of many years research by many individuals. Those who have contributed to it
have a sound knowledge of Chinese medicine, clinical experience, native speaker
competence, and training in terminological theory.

Native speaker competence is a key qualification for term translators. Those lacking it
are prone to errors of grammar and word choice, creating terms that are not easily accepted
by native-speaker readers. The terminology of the Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese
medicine is the only published terminology to have been created by native speakers.

Compehensiveness and Constand Updating

Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese medicine has been retrieved from a Chinese

medical database that was created over twenty years ago. When we start the database, we
initially input several thousand Chinese terms. Then as we studied their definitions, we
added English equivalents. At the same time, we began text translation, which enabled
use to test the accuracy of the chosen equivalents in different contexts. After translating
many texts of various kinds, we collect ever more terms, which we added to the database.
Our database now has over 30,000 terms, and as a far as we know it is the largest
Chinese-English databese of Chinese medicine in existence.

This database produced Glossary of Chinese Medical Terms and Acupuncture Points
published by Paradigm Publications in 1985, the English-Chinese Chinese-English
Dictionary of Chinese Medicine published by Húnán Science and Technology Press in
1995, and the Practical Dictionary of Chinese Medicine published by Paradigm in 1999.
The Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine—CD Version 04 is the fourth
publication from the database.

Promoting Acceptance

A given terminology can only gain wide acceptance by legal enforcement or by rational
persuasion. Because English-speaking countries have organs or institutions that can
determine which Chinese medical terminogology should be used, rational persuasion is the
only option. In order to promote the acceptance of the Chinese-English Dictionary of
Chinese Medicine terminology, we have taken the following measures:

1. Advocating our translation principles in the Chinese medical term translation

forum.
2. Creating a large volume of useful information that meets market needs so that
readers will become familiar with the terminology.
3. Creating a dictionary that explains the terminology, so that readers can easily
access the meanings of terms.
4. Promoting the study of Chinese by the creation of Chinese medical Chinese
learning materials.