Research On The English Translation Of The Term "phlegm" Based On The Medicinal Property Theory Of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Objective:The ongoing international process of Chinese medicine in the new era requires a high standard translation in the field of herbal medicine,especially the translation of efficacy terms.However,verbal translation of the efficacy terms is commonly seen in the Chinese medicine-related text.This literal-level translation,with a rare analysis of the terms' connotation,impacts negatively upon a range of communication,becoming one of the obstacles which hinder the international communication of Chinese medicine.Taking the efficacy terms of huatan as the object,this thesis attempts to provide a strategical suggestion in the English translation of the efficacy terms of Chinese materia medica based on the medicinal property theory.The properties and clinical application of herbs with the effect of huatan are analyzed to deduce the characteristics of their efficacies.The English translation of them would be given after the discussion of their connotation and commonly used translations in publications,seeking to express the characteristics of the efficacies in English to the maximum extentMethods:1.Status quo of English translation of the efficacy termsFirst,a retrospective analysis of the history of Chinese materia medica translation was done based on the literature review.Several stages with specific characteristics were divided during the process based on the different situations the translation work faced with in that time.Then,a literature review of the translation of the efficacy terms was done based on the related academic papers accessed from CNKI(Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure).The present situation of their Chinese expressions and English translations were sorted out,and the problems in both aspects were summed up.2.Analysis of connotation of the efficacy terms of huatan in ChineseThe textbook Chinese Materia Medica was selected as the main reference,herbs with the effect of huatan were screened,in which seven keywords were categorized.The original meanings of these keywords were clarified by the analysis of the explanation in authoritative Chinese dictionary and Shuowen Jiezi(Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters).Then the characteristics of them were summarized through the information of ancient literature,textbooks,dictionaries,and internet from three perspectives:medicinal properties,clinical application,and modern pharmacological research.3.Analysis of English translation of efficacy terms of huatanEight authoritative literatures including two international standards,three dictionaries and three English-version textbooks of Chinese materia medica were selected as the references The English translations of the efficacy terms of huatan in the above literature were screened for clarifying the core verbs.With reference to the Oxford,Longman and other dictionaries,English meanings of each word were analyzed,comparing with the Chinese efficacy connotation deducted from property theory.The words in the target language that can manifest the connotation of the terms in source language to the maximum extent were exhibited,and finally some suggestions on the English translation of huatan efficacy terms are givenResults:i.Little extensive research has been carried out on the verbal translation of efficacy terms.ii.Seven core terms of huatan were selected:huatan,ditan,qutan,huotan,xiaotan,zhuitan,and chutan.iii.15 English expressions were concluded.Under the guidance of medicinal property theory and clinical application,suggested translations of efficacy terms of representative herbs are given through the analysis of the connotation and commonly used translations of the terms of efficacy.Conclusion:The property theory of Chinese materia medica is used to analyze the characteristics of efficacy terms and their English translations,achieving the specific tailored English translation of the efficacy terms.This thesis also expounded the significance of the revision of verbal translation of efficacy terms from the perspective of medicinal property theory and clinical application.