A Report On The Chinese-English Translation Of Pandemic During The Song Dynasty:Prevalence And Prevention(Excerpts)

Traditional Chinese medicine(hereafter TCM)is one of the world’s oldest medical systems that enjoys a history of at least 2500 years,rich resources,and a unique theory.The aim of TCM is to prevent or heal diseases by maintaining or restoring the inner physical balance of people in a natural way.TCM is not only an excellent cultural heritage but also an excellent cultural heritage to the world.The material for this translation project is selected from the book Pandemic During the Song Dynasty: Prevalence and Prevention,written by Han Yi,who has been engaged in the study of medical history and the history of prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.Based on scientific research,the book reveals the prevalence and preventive conditions of plagues in the Song Dynasty,providing some valuable practices and instructions for the prevention and control of infectious diseases.Two chapters have been chosen as the source text,which is mainly informative and relatively professional,with abundant terms related to TCM and the social system of the Song Dynasty.Concerning the difficulties that readers of the target language may encounter in their understanding,the translator adopts the Variational Translation Theory as the guideline to better convey the specific Chinese information.The whole translation process consists of three steps,namely pre-translating,while-translating,and post-editing.During the process,the translation problems are collected and solved with the aid of dictionaries,parallel corpus,and reference books.When dealing with the source text,the translator makes great efforts to combine different translation skills to overcome the cultural barrier at different levels.At the lexical level,variational translation techniques of the Variational Translation Theory such as addition or deletion are adopted to convey more accurate information of specific terms and phrases.At the syntactic level,variational translation techniques such as addition,deletion,and edition are adopted for the sake of logic and coherence.At the semantic level,the alteration can be adopted for a clearer representation of the polysemous expressions and to make the expression more readable.Guided by the techniques of the Variational Translation Theory,the translator handles the cultural barriers with more ease in the translation.With the application of those techniques,the translation practice proves more accurate and effective in the representation of the author’s ideas,and at the same time,conveys information related to the historical and cultural background more appropriately to target readers.Variational Translation Techniques can help overcome cultural barriers to communication and make the translated content more easily and effectively accepted by target readers.By applying Variational Translation Techniques to the translation practice,the translator aims to accurately and effectively represent the ideas of the author and,at the same time,conveys information deeply related to the historical and cultural background more clearly to target readers.The positive role of TCM as a complementary therapy has proven effective in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.In addition,the practice of disease prevention of the Song Dynasty can help people of other countries know more about Chinses culture and improve mutual understanding.Concerning this aspect,the current translation practice is insightful to people all over the world to enhance the international recognition of TCM for both domestic and global development in disease prevention,treatment,and patient rehabilitation.