20230630 final exam 03

202270081681 张玉燕 Zhang Yuyan 英语笔译(English translation)

On the Dissemination and Translation of Compendium of Materia Medica in Europe

< c e n t e r > Zhang Yuyan 202270081681 < / c e n t e r >

Abstract

This paper is on the dissemination and translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica( Ben Cao Gang Mu) in Europe. In the wave of globalization, the earth is increasingly becoming a small village. Pandemics such as cholera, the black death, SARS and COVID-19 has made us realize that the promotion of human health depends on the combination of multiple medical systems. In this context, it is necessary to trace back the history of the translation and dissemination of traditional Chinese medicine books, which will undoubtedly further enhance their influence abroad and show the world the splendid traditional culture of China in a more comprehensive way.

The Compendium of Materia Medica was written by Li Shizhen,an outstanding medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty. He himself not only attached great importance to the achievements of previous medical works, inherited and carried forward former experience, but also had original research achievements. As one of the most comprehensive, abundant, and systematic books on traditional Chinese medicine in ancient China, the Compendium of Materia Medica has already had a history of over 400 years. It was at the end of the 17th century that it spread to Europe. In the 18th century, there were abridged and complete translations of French, English, German, Russian, and other languages. Later, it attracted in-depth research and received high praise from overseas scholars, and it has been a hot topic to this today.

Taking the dissemination and translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica in Europe as the starting point, the paper will review, analyze, and summarize its major French and English versions from the 18th century to the 20th century. Besides, it briefly divides its dissemination history into three stages-from 17th to the 18th century, the 19th century, and the 20th to the 21st century(Fu Lu 2020), aiming to sort out the context and provide some historical references for medical exchanges in this era of globalization(Gao Xi 2015).

Key Words

the Compendium of Materia Medica; translation;cultural dissemination; historical references

= = 《本草纲目》在欧洲的译介和传播 = =

< c e n t e r >张玉燕 202270081681 < / c e n t e r >

= = 摘要 = =

在全球化的浪潮下，地球日益成为一个小小的村落。霍乱、黑死病、SARS、新冠等大流行的出现，使我们意识到人类健康需要依靠多种医学体系的相互交融和发展。在此背景下，回溯中医书籍翻译和传播的历史，无疑将进一步增强其在国外的影响力，更全面地向世界展示中华民族灿烂悠久的传统文化。

《本草纲目》为明代杰出医药学家李时珍所著，他既高度重视历史医药著作的成果、继承发扬前人的医药经验，又有李时珍本人原创性的研究成就，《本草纲目》是我国古代著作中论述中药最全面、最丰富、最系统的典籍，成书已有400多年的历史，早在17世纪末就流传到欧洲，18世纪陆续出现了法、英、德、俄等语言的节选或完整译本。随后引起了海外学者的深入研究和高度评价，至今仍是热点。

本文以《本草纲目》在欧洲的译介和传播为切入点，对其18世纪-20世纪的法文、英文译本进行回顾、分析和总结(付璐 2020），并将《本草纲目》在欧洲的传播史按时间跨度大致分为三个阶段：17-18世纪、19世纪、20世纪-21世纪，旨在梳理脉络，为当今全球化时代的医学交流提供某些历史借鉴(高晞 2015)。

= = 关键词 = =

《本草纲目》;译介;文化传播;历史借鉴

= = 1.Introduction = =

Li Shizhen was a famous medical scientist of the Ming Dynasty. After several years of medicine practice, he found that there were many mistakes in ancient Chinese herbal books and decided to recompile one. In the 31st year of Jiajing (1552), Li Shizhen began to compile the Compendium of Materia Medica, which was based on Classified Materia Medica . To ensure the accuracy of the information, he referred to more than 800 books, and investigated many places on the spot. Since the 44th year Jiajing(1565), Li Shizhen had been to Wudang Mountain, Lushan Mountain, Maoshan Mountain, Niushoushan Mountain, Hunan province, Hubei province, Jiangxi province and other places to collect drug samples and prescriptions, figuring out many difficult issues. After 27 years of unswerving efforts and three revisions,the Compendium of Materia Medica， the giant work of 1.92 million words, was completed.

What is the Compendium of Materia Medica( Ben Cao Gang Mu)? Chinese people seem to be familiar with "Ben Cao Gang Mu". However, once they are asked, few can explain them clearly. Since ancient times, there have been many drugs used to treat diseases, including plants, animals, and minerals,among which there is a big difference in quantity. Herb(cao), a plant, accounts for the largest proportion. Therefore, the ancients had been using the phrase "materia medica"(ben cao) to represent medicine. As for "compendium"(gang mu), the rope used by fishermen to pull up the fishing net is "gang", and the mesh on the fishing net is "mu".When the fishing net is opened, it is called "gang ju mu zhang", which is the original of the word "gang mu"(Wang Qiuling&Si Qintu 2022). When the concept of "compendium"(gang mu) is applied to book writing, it becomes a traditional form of Chinese chronicle compilation.

The Compendium of Materia Medica consists of 52 volumes, which is essentially a dictionary of ancient medicines（Huang Zhijie 2000）. Based on the theoretical content in the Shennong’s Herbal Classic(Yang Shujia 2021),the first and second volumes are preface examples, in which the viewpoints of scholars from different eras and of Li Shizhen himself are added. It aims to understand the performance, usage principles, and methods of drugs in traditional Chinese medicine. In the third and fourth volumes, the drugs are classified according to their performance and indications, reflecting the spirit of syndrome differentiation and treatment. The remaining 48 volumes are all about drugs, totaling 1892 types.

2. The Translation of Compendium of Materia Medica in Europe

English translation of traditional Chinese medicine plays an crucial role in the process of internationalization. Accurate translation can express the connotation of basic terminology, convey the medical principles and cultural characteristics, promote the concept of health preservation and prevention, and promote characteristic therapy of traditional Chinese medicine.

In this chapter, it will analyze the French and English versions of the Compendium of Materia Medica in the 18th-21st century. In terms of this, the scholar Pan Jixing pointed out in the article Compendium of Materia Medica: The East and West(1983) , ＂Jacques François Vandermonde's Eaux, Feu(et Cauteres),Terres, etc., Métaux, Minéraux et Sels, du Pén Tshao Kang Mu , Jean Baptiste Du Halde's Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise and the works of Bernard Emms Read have partially translated the content of Li Shizhen's Compendium of Materia Medica. ＂As for the complete translation, we can miss the English version translated by Luo Xiwen in 2004.

2.1 Jacques François Vandermonde's Eaux, Feu(et Cauteres),Terres, etc., Métaux, Minéraux et Sels, du Pén Tshao Kang Mu

Dr. Joseph Needham, a British biochemist and historian of science, recorded in the Science and Civilization in China (1954)," Jacques Francois Vandermonde, a French doctor, had been practicing medicine in Macao, China for over 10 years. In 1732, he accidentally got a book of Compendium of Materia Medica. According to its recorded drugs, he collected over 80 kinds of mineral samples. Later, with the help of Chinese people, he explained the samples one by one according to the original description of the Compendium of Materia Medica, and attached them with corresponding labels. He also wrote a manuscript titled Eaux, Feu(et Cauteres),Terres, etc., Métaux, Minéraux et Sels, du Pén Tshao Kang Mu ,which can be seen as an abridged French translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica."

Written in French, this manuscript consists of one volume, with a total of 90 pages in the main text. Each paragraph is preceded by a serial number, and the corresponding Chinese name of the drug is written in the margin,such as "zao xin tu"(oven earth) ,"xiong huang"( red orpiment),"gan cao"( licorice). In this manuscript, he extracted and translated the names, origins, properties, five flavors,manufacturing methods, and efficacy of some mineral drugs from the Compendium of Materia Medica.For example, when describing the origin,we have the expression "金牙生蜀郡 ， 如金色者良"(Li Shizhen 1593) in the Compendium of Materia Medica and " jinya stone is a golden stone produced in Sichuan "in Eaux, Feu(et Cauteres),Terres, etc., Métaux, Minéraux et Sels, du Pén Tshao Kang Mu. For another example, when talking about property, we have "出煅灶中，如尘紫色，轻者为佳，亦以磨莹铜器用之" (Li Shizhen 1593)in the Compendium of Materia Medica and " Iron powder is considered to be the red powder found in casting furnaces. The lightest is the best, and it is used for polishing copper ware "in Jacques Francois Vandermonde 's manuscript. As for manufacturing methods, we have "其法用白锡和银薄及水银合成之，凝硬如银，合炼有法"(Li Shizhen 1593) in Li Shizhen's book, and "This is a mixture made by melting an equal amount of silver and mercury" in the book of Jacques François Vandermonde...

Unfortunately, the specimens collected by Jacques Francois Vandermonde and his translations did not receive much attention at the time. It was until the year of 1839 that Edouard Constant Biot, a French sinologist, collaborated with friends to analyze those mineral specimens and made the results public. In 1896, with the help of Chinese people(Zhang Xiuping&Wang Xiaoming 1993), F.de Mely and M.H.Courel published the entire excerpt, bringing it back to light.Now, the manuscript has been preserved Museum national d'Histoire naturelle(Needham 1954).

Generally speaking, when selectively translating, Jacques Francois Vandermonde translated the properties first,and then the origins, production methods, and efficacy. In terms of the translation of mineral drugs, he mainly adopted free translation and translated corresponding elements.

2.2 Jean Baptiste Du Halde's Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise

During the same period, when Jacques Francois Vandermonde's manuscript was neglected, another abridged French translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica- Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise, gained great fame.

Published in Paris and edited by Jean Baptiste Du Halde(Du Halde 1738), this book was co-authored by 27 missionaries in China(Fu Lu&Xiao Yongzhi 2019). It has four volumes, and is a comprehensive work which introduces China from various aspects, covering ancient Chinese politics, religion, etiquette, customs, geography, medicine,customs,flora and fauna,etc. In this book, it also contains some selected translations from the first part of the Compendium of Materia Medica. In page 437, Volume 3 of Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise, there is a volume named Excerpts from the Compendium of Materia Medica- Chinese Herbology or Chinese natural history of Medicine (Du Halde 1738). It introduces that the Compendium of Materia Medica was compiled by Li Shizhen, a Chinese medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, and explains the details of its publication. In addition, it also selectively translated some 16 kinds of drugs in the book.

Basically speaking, in terms of the translation of medicine names and prescriptions, Jean Baptiste Du Halde often adopted transliteration or literal translation. For example, he translated "人参 into "JIN-SENG", "三七 into"SAN-TSI, "海马" into"Sea-Horse"（Du Halde 1738），复命汤"into"the medicine which restores lost life. At the same time, there are some mistakes in his translation because of cultural differences and conflicts.In terms of the translation of disease names and symptoms, free translation is often used. For example,"伤寒坏症"is translated into "For malignant fevers","怔忡自汗" into "For the palpitation of the heart, attended with sweating（Du Halde 1738）.

As the first French version of the Compendium of Materia Medica published in Europe, Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise, enables European readers to have a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of Compendium of Materia Medica, which promotes European scholars' cognition of the theoretical system of traditional Chinese medicine, and was a landmark event for the spread of Compendium of Materia Medica.

2.3 Bernard Emms Read's translations of the Compendium of Materia Medica

Though Jean Baptiste Du Halde's Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise has spread widely and gained a lot of fame, it only contains a small part of drug translation in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Therefore, Bernard Emms Read along with many Chinese and foreign scholars from the Beijing Society of Museums compiled a series of works on the study and abridged translation of the Compendium of Materia Medica at the beginning of the 20th century((Wang Jiming 2011). In this series, there are 8 works, including one botanical medicine work, one mineral medicine work, and six animal medicine works. It also refers to 12 departments of the Compendium of Materia Medica,such as "Jinshi department","grass department","grain department","vegetable department","fruit department","wood department","insect department","poultry department","animal department","human department"...

As for the botanical medicine works, the book Chinese Medicinal Plants from the Pen Ts'ao Kang Mu ,which is co-authored by Bernard Emms Read and Liu Ruqiang, elaborates on more than 800 botanical medicines listed in the Compendium of Materia Medica. It also covers the "grass department","grain department","vegetable department","fruit department" and "wood department"(from volume 12 to volume 37 of the original). A Compendium of Minerals and Stones Used in Chinese Medicine from the Pen T'sao Kang Mu is the mineral medicine work that is co-authored by Bernard Emms Read and C.Pek. It narrates the "Jinshi department (volume 8 to volume 11) in the Compendium of Materia Medica,carrying over a hundred types of mineral drugs. In terms of the animal drugs, there are 6 departments in the Compendium of Materia Medica,such as "insect department", "squamous department","poultry department"and "human department" .Bernard Emms Read translated it into 6 works for publication.

In fact,several research works and translations of the Compendium of Materia Medica written by Bernard Emms Read differ greatly in style. As for his translation, only the "name" can be translated from the research works of plant medicine, while the "bone" can be translated from the research works of mineral medicine. It was not until the translation of nimal medicine section that the "flesh" and "form" were truly translated.

2.4 The Boom of abridged translations of the Compendium of Materia Medica

In the 18th century, the wave of "sinomania" rose in Europe. Once the French version Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise was published,it attracted the attention of all walks of life and was translated into many languages successively. In 1735, the French edition was sold out.In 1736, its English version The General History of China was issued in London, which is called Ed. John Watts. From 1737 to 1741, there was Ed. E. Cave(Pan Jixin 1980)... With the translation and dissemination of the Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise, the Compendium of Materia Medica has been partially translated into French, English, German，Russian(Zhang Shengxin 2003)...

2.5 The Complete Translation of Luo Xiwen's Compendium of Materia Medica

At the beginning of the 21st century, the complete English translation Compendium of Materia Medica(Luo Xiwen 2004),which is translated by Luo Xiwen and published in Foreign Language Press, became the first and only complete English translation at present.

The book totals more than 6 million words(Li Shizhne 1593).As for arrangement, the original work of the Compendium of Materia Medica contains 52 volumes The transaltion is faithful to it, and ends up with 6 books. In the first book,it translated volume 1 to volume 4 of the original, involving prefaces of Wang Shizhen, Xia Xin, Zhang Dingsi, Li Jianyuan, "preface examples" and "prescriptions for various diseases".The second book translated volume 5 to volume 14, which includes water department","fire department","earth department","Jinshi department",and section 1 to section 3 of "grass department". The third book translated volume 15 to volume 22, including section 4 to section 11 of the "grass department" and the first part of "grain department". While the fourth book recounts volume 23 to volume 34, and involves section 2 to section 4 of "grain department". The fifth book translated volume 35 to volume 46, and contains the second part to sixth part of "wood department" The last book narrates volume 47 to volume 52, including "poultry department","animal department"and "human department".

When it comes to the translation of each drug, it also follow the style of the original. Under specific drugs,their serial numbers are first listed,followed by their "Chinese Pinyin/Latin/English names, explanation of names, previous explanations, preparations, quality and taste, indications, explication and prescriptions. He uses Chinese Pinyin instead of Western Pinyin to promote Chinese culture.For some drugs, drug diagrams are attached in the text. Different from other translators, Luo Xiwen completely follows the style and content of the original from the beginning to the end. In terms of the attached table, Luo Wenxi's version contains a comparison table between the Chinese dynasties and AD era and is accompanied by various Chinese, English, and Latin indexes for readers to search for drugs.

In short, several French and English translations of the Compendium of Materia Medica from the 18th century to the present have been introduced. Regardless of their quality, they have played a certain role in promoting the dissemination of the Compendium of Materia Medica in Europe. As for its dissemination, we will discuss it in detail in the next chapter.

3. The Dissemination of Compendium of Materia Medica in Europe

Since the 17th century, the dissemination of the Compendium of Materia Medica has never stopped. In this chapter, it roughly divides it into three stages: from the 17th to 18th century, the 19th century, and from the 20th to 21st century.

Introduction and translation period (17th-18thcentury). The Compendium of Materia Medica was written at the end of the 16th century. Now, it is uncertain when and by whom it was first transmitted to Europe.However, according to scholar Chen Hengxin's A Study on the Collection of Chinese Books in the French National Library,when Jiachim Bouvet returned to France, he presented Louis XIV 49 Chinese books of 22 kinds, among which there was a set of Compendium of Materia Medica hardbound in yellow silk. That is to say, just a century after the completion of the Compendium of Materia Medica, it had already set foot on the land of Europe and entered the Royal Library of France. In the 18th century, several abridged translations of the Compendium of Materia Medica emerged in Europe,such as Jacques François Vandermonde's Eaux, Feu(et Cauteres),Terres, etc., Métaux, Minéraux et Sels, du Pén Tshao Kang Mu, Jean Baptiste Du Halde's Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie chinoise,etc.

Research and evaluation period (19th century). From the 17th to 18th centuries, European readers' acceptance of the Compendium of Materia Medica remained at the level of collection, introduction, and translation. In the 19th century, as botanist, chemists, naturalists, zoologists, pharmacologists and other scholars joined the reader group of Compendium of Materia Medica, the research on this book and Chinese medicine was also gradually carried out, including the drawing of drug maps, the collection and analysis of drug specimens, and the interpretation and evaluation of the drugs contained in the book from the perspective of chemistry and pharmacology in Europe at that time. The Compendium of Materia Medica has gained a wider audience in Europe.

Cultural impression construction period (20-21st century).In the 20th to 21st century, the dissemination and reception methods became increasingly widespread, and this book was also exhibited through museums and international academic conferences.Through various channels such as discussions and documentaries, the Compendium of Materia Medica was disseminated to various countries. During this period, there are versions of Bernard Emms Read, Luo Xiwen...And the research on the Compendium of Materia Medica by European scholars in modern times has shown a diversified trend.

4.Conclusion

The Compendium of Materia Medica has been published for over 4 centuries. Over the long years, this great work has not been submerged. On the contrary, it has become even more brilliant under the polishing of time. It is a classic and precious work in traditional Chinese medicine culture, and also a pioneering work for traditional Chinese medicine culture to go abroad and spread overseas（Zhang Yan&Yin Na 2022）. Since the late 17th century, it has been introduced to various countries in Europe and America, and related translations and research have emerged accordingly. The translation and dissemination of the Compendium of Materia Medica not only demonstrate the strong vitality of traditional Chinese medicine, but also provide some inspiration and reference for modern medicine, promoting mutual exchange and cooperation between Eastern and Western medical cultures(Liu Runlan 2014). On the other hand, it greatly demonstrates the charm of traditional Chinese medicine culture as an important component of Chinese traditional culture, and also provides inspiration and reference for the translation and dissemination of Chinese cultural classics.

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