Fang Tingyi's Empirical Study On The Translation Of TCM Terminology

Benefiting from hundreds of years of development,traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)translation witnesses a vigorous growth and presents itself in a variety of schools of thoughts.In recent years,the Belt and Road Initiative launched by Chinese government together with other policies aiming at international cultural communication has brought about a long-expected opportunity for the development of TCM translation.Yet,it has also put forward higher requirements on the English translation of TCM.It is undeniable that the existing research,at home and abroad,is far from satisfactory:the subjects are mostly confined to translation practice and theoretical research remains very limited.In this case,it is more than necessary to devote more time and efforts to the theoretical construction of TCM translation in order to advance the research in a balanced and harmonious manner.Therefore,theories on TCM translation can be better developed and,in return,serve as guidance to translation practice,facilitating TCM internationalization.In this study,Fang Tingyu(hereinafter referred to as Professor Fang),a highly respected professor in the field of TCM translation,was selected as the research subject and his thoughts would be explored in order to provide a broader and refreshing perspective for the construction of TCM translation theories.Based on empirical studies,this study adopted a bottom-up method by interniewing 10 people who have worked together or communicated with Professor Fang regarding TCM translation.The interviews were recorded and transcribed and the transcription was imported into a qualitative research software Nvivo 11 for further analysis.All the data were read line by line and coded according to the requirements of the grounded theory.After three coding steps,translation strategies,principles and methods adopted by Professor Fang emerged from the original data,and the result was further tested by analyzing the entries randomly selected from a well-received dictionary compiled by Professor Fang,i.e.New Chinese-English Dictionary of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2nd edition before the final conclusion was arrived at.Twelve interviews were conducted and the transcription added up to 144,531 Chinese characters.Based on the grounded theory,we derived six categories,namely target area,target audience,original term,reference,translation methods and techniques as well as revision.These six categories are interrelated and together they form a completed translation process.The integration of target area and target audience came to a higher level,i.e.translation purpose,and it was the core category of the whole system,covering the rest four categories involving understanding original versions,referring to available translation versions,examining translation methods and double-checking the translated texts.The obtained results were verified by an investigation of the randomly selected terms from Professor Fang’s dictionary.Five principles of TCM translation adopted by Professor Fang were summarized based on the analysis and interpretation of the research results.(1)Principle of readability:The content and language of translated version should be moderately easy for target readers to understand so that information can be effectively conveyed.(2)Principle of fidelity:The translation should retain the medical information of the original term as much as possible and cultural connotation should be preserved on the condition that readability is not affected.(3)Principle of conformance:Translators should intentionally and constantly refer to the existing standards and available versions by others and adopt those translations in their own work before a better translation is given.(4)Principle of flexibility:Various translation methods and techniques should be used in a combined and flexible manner.(5)Principle of open-mindedness:Translators should be open-minded and seek feedbacks from various sources and revisit the translated text accordingly before a complete and thorough standardization is fulfilled of the translation of TCM terms.With regard to translation strategy,Professor Fang is more inclined to adopt domestication.As Professor Fang is a renowned scholar in the field of TCM translation,his thoughts on term translation would be of great value to the theoretical construction of TCM translation.In this study,the derived principles bear certain similarity to existing thoughts while it also brings about some fresh ideas,i.e.the principles of flexibility and open-mindedness as well as his inclination for domestication translation,which enriches the discussion of the topic and provides penetrating insights into the dissemination of TCM culture.The bottom-up empirical method is new to the field of TCM translation research and proves workable.The application of the grounded theory in the field of TCM translation opens a new page and is of reference value to other home researchers interested in qualitative studies.