Cult Load Words EN 14

Chapter 14 On Translation Strategies of Culture-loaded Words in Traditional Chinese Medical Classics: A Case Study of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold

浅谈中医典籍中文化负载词的翻译策略——以《伤寒论》为例

胡舒情 Hu Shuqing, Hunan Normal University, China

Cult_Load_Words_EN_14

Abstract

Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, written by Zhang Zhongjing in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, is one of the "Four Classics" of Traditional Chinese medicine which uses six channels as guiding principles of syndromes differentiation and treatment. The book concentrates the traditional Chinese medical wisdom, which is both scientific and literary. The writing is smooth and simple, and the language is straightforward and vivid. A large number of rhetorical devices such as reduplication of words are used to reflect the beauty of Classical Chinese. Its multiple values have led more and more scholars to devote themselves to research, study and even translation and promotion, and a number of outstanding scholars have emerged at home and abroad to devote themselves to the translation work of this book. However, it is not easy to translate this book. China has an long history and profound culture, and the book contains many culture-loaded words. The translation quality of such words directly affects the translation quality, so it is necessary to adopt appropriate translation strategies. Therefore, the author chooses the version translated by Professor Luo Xiwen as the research blueprint to study the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics, in order to promote the translation of this book to a higher level.

Key Words

cultrue-loaded words; Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold; Tranditional Chinese medicine classics; translation strategies

摘要

《伤寒论》为东汉末年的张仲景所著，是以六经作为辩证论治的纲领，荣列为中医“四大经典”之一。该书浓缩了中国传统医学智慧，兼具科学性与文学性，行文流畅朴素，语言直白形象，其中大量运用叠词等修辞手法，体现了中国文言文之美。其多重价值致使越来越多的学者致力于研究、学习、甚至是翻译推广，国内外皆涌现出一批优秀学者投身该书的翻译工作中。但翻译此书并非易事，中国历史优秀、文化精深，书中包含众多文化负载词，这类词的翻译质量直接影响译文质量，采取合适的翻译策略必不可缺。因此，笔者选择了罗希文教授所翻译的版本，作为中医典籍文化负载词翻译策略的研究蓝本，以期推进该书翻译工作更上一层楼。

关键词

文化负载词，《伤寒论》，中医典籍，翻译策略

1. Introduction

In recent years, China's international influence and national soft power have gradually improved, and the country has consciously pushed Chinese culture to all over the world. Traditional Chinese medicine culture, as an indispensable part of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, has a long history and unique theories and technical methods. Classic materials are rich and humanistic spirit of TCM is amazing, and the external dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine culture is becoming more and more important. Under this background, the translation of traditional Chinese medicine in China has been gradually carried out, and the culture-loaded words in the classics of traditional Chinese medicine are important features that reflect their rich cultural color and humanistic connotation, and the translation of culture-loaded words is the key to the translation of traditional Chinese medicine. Culture-loaded words are parts of the construction of traditional Chinese medicine culture and have basic research value. They cannot be unilaterally regarded as completely untranslatable because of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. Facing the problems of translation, it is particularly important to put forward feasible translation strategies. A large number of translators of traditional Chinese medicine classics have also emerged in China, facing difficulties and striving to show the world the classics’ cultural accumulation and research results. Among them, the translator Luo Xiwen has translated a series of traditional Chinese medicine classics such as Condensed Compendium of Materia Medica, Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, Huangdi Neijing, and Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold. As one of China's historical medical works, Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is a classic work of traditional Chinese medicine written by Zhang Zhongjing in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It plays an important role in the development of medical history in the cultural biography of traditional Chinese medicine. This article will discuss the translation strategies of culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics through Luo's translation of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold.

2. TheDefinition and Classification of Culture-loaded Words in Chinese Medical Classics

2.1 The Definition

Different scholars have different interpretations of culturally loaded words, but a widely accepted definition is that words, phrases and idioms which mark the unique things in a certain culture. These words are deeply imprinted by the region and times of a language society. They only exist in one culture but are blank in another culture.

In recent years, many scholars have begun to pay attention to culture-loaded words in traditional Chinese medicine classics. Some scholars have tried to give a definition of traditional Chinese medicine culture-loaded words, but there is no clear definition yet. However, scholars Zhang Miao and others put forward recognition steps and a selection standard for traditional Chinese medicine culture-loaded words. First of all, read through the text and divide the semantic groups. Secondly, judge whether the semantic group belongs to the shared vocabulary of all human culture, that is, to express one concept of things as a vocabulary in the context of one language and culture, and words that indicate the corresponding concept in another language and culture background. For example, the words "apple", "pear" and "fire" in Chinese express the same concept and corresponding words in English. If it does not belong to part of speech, then determine whether each semantic group belongs to the following three categories. First, the basic terminology of traditional Chinese medicine. Such terms are usually divided into basic theories of traditional Chinese medicine, diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine, diseases of traditional Chinese medicine, treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion, and prescriptions of traditional Chinese medicine. Second, words unique to Chinese material culture, such as unique characters and things. Third, the unique language phenomenon of ancient Chinese. Such as ancient and modern synonymous words, common false words, word polysemy, etc. If it belongs to, and there is no obvious English corresponding word in the above semantic group, it is a culturally loaded word(Zhang Miao, 2020:63-64). According to this method, this paper selects the culture-loaded words in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold in the following article for analysis.

2.2 The Classification

After fingding out the culture-loaded words of traditional Chinese medicine, it is often necessary to classify and discuss them. Different scholars have different classification methods. Xu Xueyuan divided the culture-loaded words in Huangdi Neijing into basic philosophical concepts of traditional Chinese medicine, place names, traditional Chinese medicine terms and organs(Xu Xueyuan, 2018:148-149). Zhang Xuan divided the culture-loaded words in Su Wen into people's names, traditional Chinese medicine terminology, traditional Chinese medicine-related philosophical concepts, and other descriptive cultural load parts of speech(Zhang Xuan, 2009:12-16). Song Conghui and others divided the words of cultural load into: symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine, symptoms of traditional Chinese medicine, etiology and pathogenesis of traditional Chinese medicine, treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, basic philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine, etc(Song Conghui, 2016:121-122). Chen Zinuo and others divide the culture-loaded words of traditional Chinese medicine into five categories: syndrome, symptom, prescription, philosophy and rhetoric(Chen Zinuo, 2021:1698-1700). The latter includes the classification mentioned in the first three, and also opens up a rhetorical class to make the classification more detailed and clear. Therefore, this paper adopts Chen's classification method.

3. Translation Strategies Used for Culture-loaded Words in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold

3.1 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Syndrome

The translation of the syndrome affects the readability of the whole translation. Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold has been written for a long time, and the simple structure of syndrome name carries a lot of information, so there are few modern terms that can be matched with ancient syndrome names. According to the methods mentioned above, most of the terms of traditional syndrome names belong to culture-loaded words. The author selected the syndrome -type culture-loaded words in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold translated by Professor Luo Xiwen to study the translation strategies of these words.

There are several syndromes mentioned in translation of Professor Luo: “太阳病” “阳明病” “少阳病” “太阴病” “少阴病” “厥阴病” “霍乱病” “阴阳易差后劳复病”. Sheng Jie believes that the translation of the syndrome name should be accurate first, then concise, and there is no need to overemphasize formal equivalence(Sheng Jie, 2013:15). When the meaning of the syndrome name has the corresponding words of Western medicine, the literal translation method should be directly used, and when there is no word to use, the method of additional translation can be selected.

Luo mainly adopts transliteration and free translation for syndrome names, first transliteration, followed by free translation, extending the cultural connotation and giving readers a way to deepen understanding. The following analysis can be seen.

“太阳病” appeares in chapter I, and Luo translates it into The Taiyang (Initial Yang) Syndromes. “太阳” does not refer to the celestial body “sun”, but to the Bladder of Foot-Taiyang. The bladder is located in the lower jiao, that is, below the belly button and above the bladder, which contains body fluid, which evaporizes to form "Qi of Taiyang", which is obvious on the body surface. This Qi has the function of protecting the body, also known as "Wei-qi". Because “Wei” meaning defensive, it is also reputed as “defensive Qi”. Because the Qi of Taiyang travels on the surface of human body, when exogenous pathogenic factors invade the human body, Taiyang must bear the brunt, and the syndromes presented as 太阳病. Professor Luo first gives the transliteration form of 太阳病, and then in view of Taiyang syndromes being the first from the law of transmission, Luo also adds “Initial Yang” as an expression of this kind of law of transmission.

“阳明病” appears in Chapter 4, Luo translates it as: The Yangming (Greater Yang) Syndrome. “阳明病” is related to the stomach channel of Foot-Yangming and the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, which means that Yang Qi is so strong that can be observed. Luo uses "Greater" to indicate the prosperity of yang qi to help readers understand the degree of yang.

“少阳病” appears in Chapter 5. Luo translates it as: The Shaoyang (Lesser Yang) Syndrome. Shaoyang is related to Sanjiao Meridian of Shaoyang and Shaoyang Gallbladder Meridian of Foot. It is one of the three Yang, but its ability to stand up to evil is not as good as Tiyang and Yangming, so "Lesser" is used to correspond to "少" in the name.

“太阴病” and “少阴病”, which have similar names with the “太阳病” “少阳病”, just different from Yin and Yang, have similar translations, so there is no need to go into detail. It is worth mentioning that “厥阴病”, Luo translates it as: The Jueyin (Greater Yin) Syndrome. “厥” has the meaning of “extreme”. When the disease or syndrome reaches Jueyin, Yin is extremely cold. Therefore, the degree of Yin embodied with "Greater" is similar to that of Yangming.

“霍乱” appears in Chapter 9, Luo translates it as: Huoluan (Cholera). “霍”, has the meaning of “suddenly” and “haste”, “乱” has the meaning of chaos. “霍乱” is an explosive gastrointestinal disease with vomiting and diarrhea as the main clinical manifestations. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is mostly caused by the combination of the six pathogenic factors and unhealthy diets. In Western medicine, Cholera is more likely to be an acute diarrheal infectious disease caused by the intake of food and water which is contaminated by Vibrio cholerae. It is not appropriate to have Cholera's literal translation of “霍乱” in Chinese medicine.

“阴阳易差后劳复病” appears in Chapter 10, Luo translated it as: The Recurrence of Disease and Yin Yang Yi Syndrome. This chapter introduces two parts: one is related to Yin Yang Yi, that is, the differentiation and treatment of Yin Yang Yi syndrome caused by patients with typhoid fever when they are not healed or just recovering, giving way to their carnal desires; the other refers to the differentiation and treatment of recurring diseases resulted from that, at the beginning of recovering from an illness or no recovery, patients start to work. In this chapter, Luo does not add interpretations, but directly arranges the free translation and transliteration in a phrase. The language is concise, easy to be accepted and understood by readers, and achieve the purpose of communication between Chinese and Western medicine. As a matter of fact, observations show that Luo's translation is relatively accurate in grasping the prosperities of syndromes, and tends to use free translation to reflect the characteristics of the progress of syndromes. However, Luo still mainly uses transliteration to convey cultural information about Yin and Yang and other Chinese-specific philosophical characters. This method also has drawbacks, that is, the transmission of cultural connotation depends on the degree of such characters’ propagation and the reader’s cultural level. For some readers who are first exposed to Chinese medicine culture, the transliteration is not friendly, which is not conducive to their reception of Chinese specific cultural information.

3.2 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Symptom

When describing various syndromes in the book, it also points out the symptoms of the patient who is attacked by those disease. Most of the symptoms are described in detail at the beginning, and Chinese medical books are quite different from Western medical books in terms of the degree of language rigor. About Chinese medicine books, they make good use of rhetoric and pay attention to flowery characters and rhyme beauty, which adds a literary flavor to Chinese medicine, while it also causes the ambiguity and non-standardization of the concept of Chinese medicine, which increases the difficulty of translation as well. Examples are as follows.

Example 1：阳浮者，热自发；阴弱者，汗自出。

Translation：Floating at the surface signifies Heat weak in depth signifies spontaneous perspiration.

This sentence is neatly formed and catchy to read. Luo's translation is roughly the same as the original in form. It is worth noting that Luo translates most of the character "热" which refers to heat symptoms caused by an exopathgen as "Heat" or "pathogenic Heat", and capitalized H to distinguish the "heat" from common heat.

Example 2：鼻鸣干呕

Translation：nauseous and with a tendency to snore

In response to “干呕”, Luo uses the adjective “nauseous” to express "disgusting". In fact, the original text “干呕” is closer to “retching”, which refers to only the sound and action of vomiting, but no food or only salivation. This is not the same as complete nausea. “Nauseous” the word chosen by Luo here does not fit the context of Chinese medicine. “鼻鸣” are sounds made when the breath enters and exits due to suffocation in the nasal passages. It is manifested as thick breathing like a squeak, and snoring is the sound of thick breathing after falling asleep. Luo use the translation of “snore” is rather accurate.

Example 3：不下利，但呕者

Translation：……not cause diarrhea, but rather cause nausea and vomiting

“下利” refers to having the trots in Chinese medicine. The literal translation of "diarrhea" here fits the context. Compared with using the previous term nauseous to indicate “干呕”, Luo treats the character “呕” more carefully, using two words nausea and vomit to expresse together. At the same time, ancient Chinese medical writings in classical style tend to use omissions and emphasize parataxis, while English paying more attention to hypotaxis, Luo uses the word “cause” to make sentences more coherent and clearer.

In summary, it can be seen that the translation of symptoms extremely tests the translator's Chinese and English levels and medical understandings, and a slight difference will lead to deviations in meaning. For such culture loaded words, translators also use more literal translation and omission methods, and less transliteration. But there is also a problem, that is, most of the symptom names in Chinese and Western medicine can not completely point to the same content, and this subtle difference may cause doctors to make mistakes in judgment and cause major accidents. Therefore, the translation of symptoms should be more careful, and comments can be added when necessary to help understand.

3.3 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Prescription

Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is the "ancestor of all prescriptions", which contains many culture loaded words related to prescriptions. Chai Hui has carried out research on the English translation of the prescriptions of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, using the transliteration + literal translation + Latin notation of the "three insurances" translation method for prescription names to ensure that the translation is accurate and comprehensive(Chai Hui, 2010:703-704). Luo's translation mainly uses literal translation for such culturally loaded words. Examples are as follows.

Example 1：芍药

Translation：Radix Paeoniae

The translation of medicinal materials needs to pay attention to the phenomenon of different medicines with the same name. For example, in Zhang Zhongjing's book, there is no distinction between white peony and red peony, but in modern times, white peony and red peony are clearly classified as two kinds of medicinal materials. At present, clinical physicians generally believe that white peony’s function is rather tonic and restorative, while that of red peony refers to ejecting or diarrhea, and two medicinal materials need to be used flexibly according to the condition of the disease. Professor Luo uses Radix Paeoniae to translate it in general, without any distinction or explanation.

Example 2：潦水

Translation：rain water

In Chinese medicine, “潦水” refers to rain water. Luo Zhi literally translated it. “潦水” can be used to decoct herbal medicines whose functions are to nourish spleen and stomach and remove the dampness-heat. In fact, the translator can also explain the reasons for the use of rain water in Chinese medicine after the text, which is more conducive for readers to understand the connotation of Chinese medicine.

Example 3：苦酒汤

Translation：decoction of Bitter Wine (Ku Jiu Tang)

"苦酒汤" in Chinese medicine is actually rice vinegar. Luo translates it as "bitter wine", which means wine with a bitter taste, which is not in line with the original meaning and can be misleading.

Through the above analysis, we can find that the names of the prescriptions and the materials used in the book all have specific cultural connotations of traditional Chinese medicine. There are few corresponding words in Western languages, and even if they do, they are different from the original cultural connotations of the word in the West. We need to adopt appropriate methods in translation, which not only preserves the cultural characteristics of Chinese medicine, but also facilitates the understanding of target readers.

3.4 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Philosophy

The philosophy of Chinese medicine is the ideological basis and theoretical guidance of Chinese medicine, covering Qi, Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements and so on. Among them, the theory of Yin and Yang is the main line of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, which is expressed as two opposite sides of the same thing or two opposite things in a unified way. Jiang Mingde and others have analyzed the polysemous nature of the term "Yin and Yang" in Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold, and pointed out that Yin and Yang can represent multiple meanings such as pulse location, pulse condition, disease attributes, pathological characteristics, etc(Jiang Mingde, 1992:7-8). The specific meanings in terms vary according to the environment and the translators different. Some examples are analyzed as follows.

Example 1：阴阳自和

Translation：if yin and yang are still in harmony

"阴阳自和" means that after sweating, vomiting, and using the purgation method, the human body achieves Yin-yang harmony and heals through self-regulation. This is an important content of Chinese philosophy. This tends to be a kind of dynamic balance, while Luo Yi's translation of “in harmony” is more inclined to a kind of static stability, which is somewhat different from the original meaning.

Example 2：脉阴阳俱浮

Translation：floating pulse at Yin and Yang

The translations of “阴阳” here are still transliterated as Yin and Yang. As a matter of fact, the two terms here refer to “Cun” and “Chi” (the transliteration of “寸部” “尺部”) appearing as floating features. Cun pulse pertains to Yang, and Chi pulse is to Yin. Professor Luo only uses transliteration, without supplementing background knowledge and relevant contextual information, so that readers in the target language may not understand what exactly they refer to.

Example 3：伤寒阴阳易之为病

Translation：Febrile disease caused by Cold with Yin Yang Yi syndrome

Luo adopts transliteration and free translation. In regard to Yin Yang Yi, Yin and Yang here refer to sexes of male and female, among which Yin Yi is the disease transmitted from female to male; Yang Yi is the diseases transmitted from male to female. After analysis, it can be found that most of philosophical characters such as Yin and Yang are transliterated by Luo, who does not provide additional explanations or supplementary background information. Without pre-connotations, this kind of translation would make the target language readers and feel confused and think that the translated work is obscure.

3.5 Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words of Rhetoric

The language of Chinese medicine has its unique features, which are mainly manifested in its literariness, rich philosophical thoughts, and good at comparing images and analogies. Various rhetoric techniques can be seen everywhere in the book. While deepening people’s understanding of the original text, it also increases the difficulty of literary translation into English. The correct transmission and translation of the true meaning requires a solid foundation in Chinese medicine and linguistics.

Example 1四肢烦疼：

Translation：the patient feels heavy and painful in the extremities

The "烦" in this phrase, Explanation of Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold and other books explain it as an annoyance, a kind of feeling for people. The Chinese sentence here is a non-spirited sentence to replace people with limbs. Luo’s version of the translation emphasizes people's feelings. It rather focuses on people's feelings of heavy pain in their limbs, than translates people's feelings of boredom.

Example 2：啬啬恶寒，渐渐恶风，翕翕发热

Translation：The patient feels chill and fears wind, uneasy because of a fever.

Among them, “啬啬” “渐渐” and “翕翕” manifest various kinds of rhetoric techniques. “啬啬” reflects the howling shudder look, expressing that the degree of people’s aversion to cold is severe. And “渐渐” describes the onomatopoeia of mild wind and rain, while “翕翕” describes the appearance of mild fever, but these characters are not translated in Luo's translation, and Luo adopts the omission method.

4. Conclusion

Treatise on Febrile Caused by Cold is a classic work of Chinese medicine and a treasure of Chinese medicine culture. The translation and dissemination of this book has extraordinary significance for the promotion of Chinese culture and the connotation of Chinese medicine. The culture loaded words are the condensed form of the unique national culture, and their translation is related to the readability of the entire book. The English translation of culture loaded words in Chinese medical classics is an extremely complex cross-cultural translation activity. It not only takes cultural characteristics into account, but also reflects the characteristics of scientific and technological styles, which is a great test for the level of translators. Professor Luo’s translation of this book is the world's first fully translated English translation of TCM classics. Th