Translation Of TCM Classics In Light Of Gestalt Theory

Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine(Huangdi Neijing or Neijing)lays the foundation for the theory of TCM and has a great influence in the history of China as a medical work,which is called the father of medicine.Its content is derived from the observation on the phenomenon of life by ancient Chinese for a long time,a large number of clinical practice and simple knowledge of anatomy.The comprehensive medical mode of "human-nature-society-psychology" in Neijing is in accordance with the integrity of the experience and behavior that Gestalt theory emphasizes,which provides the evidence for the research.By explaining the translation of TCM classics in light of Gestalt theory,with Plain Question,Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine as the text,the versions from Ilza Veith,Li Zhaoguo and Maoshing Ni are analyzed,the essence of the translation of TCM classics are discussed,the interpretation and guiding role of gestalt holism,isomorphism theory and gestalt principles on the translation of TCM classics is verified.Under the guidance of the gestalt theory,when understanding the original text,the translator as a reader needs to regard the original text as an organic whole in cognition,form a comprehensive idea of Yellow Emperor's Canon of Medicine by the "top-down" method,have deep understanding of Neijing as a gestalt and its language features and cultural essence,and avoid being constrained by various language ingredients and ignoring the overall understanding of the text.In the formation of target language,the translator should keep in mind that the translation of words,phrases or paragraphs is on the basis of the grasp of the overall connotation of the original text,the overall thought of the text is taken as the macro guidance,and finally the gestalt of original text can be naturally reflected in the translation.In addition,the gestalt principles provide the specific translation strategies worthy of learning for English translation of Neijing.