第三届世界中医翻译大赛译文详细点评,中医翻译术语&技巧马起来!
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经络的神奇作用
木 山
[1] 如果说,西医治病是以解剖系统为基础,那么中医治病,则以经络系统为其基础之一。对此,西方人感到惊奇。
[2] 如《黄帝内经》所述:“十二经脉者,人之所以生,病之所以成,人之所以治……”“经络者 决死生,处百病,调虚实,不可不通”。可见,经络学说是中医的一个核心理论,源于远古,服务当今,在两千多年的医学长河中,为中华民族的治病、防病、康复发挥了重要的作用。
[3]《灵枢·脉度》说:“经脉为里,支而横者为络”。其中属于经脉方面的,以十二经脉为主,属于络脉方面的,以十五络脉为主。它们纵横交贯,遍布全身,将人体内外、脏腑、肢节、器官联成为一个有机的整体,运行全身气血,感应传导信息。
[4] 早在两千多年前,中医就知道“循经刺络”,从而形成了以经络为基础的砭石按摩、针灸、拔罐、草药等治疗手段。
[5] 与西医的“头痛医头,脚痛医脚”不同,中医对于头痛,可能治脚,对于眼病可能治肝,对于耳病可能治肾等,会收到神奇的治疗效果。针灸中的所谓“循经取穴法”,就是经络学说的具体应用,如胃病,常循经远取足三里穴,胁痛则取太冲等穴,而中药治疗亦是通过经络这一渠道,使药达病所,以发挥其治疗作用,如麻黄入肺经、膀胱经,故能发汗、平喘和利尿等。
[6] 那么,“经络”到底是什么?对此国内外学者进行了大量研究,基本的共识是,经络既不是血液循环,也不是神经系统,而是运送“气血”的通道。气血必须通过经络才能输布周身,以温养濡润各脏腑、组织和器官,维持机体的正常生理功能。用现代医学语言表述:经络是细胞群、体液、组织液之间交换能量的通道,并且形成低电阻、神经信息和生物电信号的网络丛群。
[7] 同时,经络有感应刺激、传导信息的作用。当人体的某一部位受到刺激,其感应就会沿着经脉传入体内有关脏腑,发生相应的生理或病理变化,而这些变化,又可通过经络传导到体表。针刺中的“得气”就是经络感应、传导功能的具体体现。
[8] 中医认为,“气为血之帅,血为气之母”。人体之气来源于血液的气化,故血为气之母;气又反过来推动血液循环,掌握着血流的节奏,故气为血之帅;而这些都要在经络中进行。
[9] 在医疗实践中,似乎可以这样分工:经络出现问题,当归中医所管;而看得见的“管道”,如血管、呼吸道、淋巴腺、神经网等出现问题,当归西医所管。
[10] 古老经络系统的发现,与当今现代医学技术的结合,必然会产生更为神奇的治疗效果。
3. 译语意识的考量
中医的语言,如上所述,植根于中国传统文化,“意合”特点突出,因而在译成英文时,应时时具有“形合”意识,如使用在原文中没有、但译文中必要的具有语法功能的介词、代词、连词等,把孤立的句子串联起来,以求词意和语势的贯通。
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The Amazing Functions of the Meridians
By Lin Wei(林巍)
【1】While the treatment of disease in Western medicine (WM) is believed to have been based on an anatomical system, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) was founded on the meridian system, one of its fundamental theories, which seems quite amazing to Westerners.
【2】As The Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Medicine states, “It is the meridians that determine people’s birth, the causes of illness, the therapeutic treatment.... In a way, the meridians enable us to determine life and death, ascertain all diseases, and adjust xu (deficiency) and shi (excess); one must therefore not be ignorant of them”. Obviously, as a core theory of TCM, the meridian system, with its ancient origin and current validity, has been playing a significant role in treating and preventing diseases and guiding rehabilitation for the Chinese people over the past two thousand years.
【3】According to the “Measurement of Meridians” (Chapter 17) in The Spiritual Pivot, “The meridians are internal trunks, and their horizonal branches are collaterals”. The system of meridians and collaterals is mainly composed of twelve regular meridians and fifteen regular collaterals (plus other irregular ones). Spreading all over the body, these me- ridians and collaterals pertain to the “interior” viscera and bowels and extend to the “exterior” extremities, joints and organs, integrating them into an organic whole. Through this network qi and blood are transported and biological information transmitted.
【4】As early as over two thousand years ago, there was a practice of “pricking meridians and collaterals” (to cool down the body temperature by releasing a bit of blood along meridians and collaterals), from which meteorite massage, acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine and other treatments were developed.
【5】Unlike the approach of Western medicine, which is basically “treating the head when one has a headache and curing the feet when the feet hurt”, TCM, based on the meridian system, may treat the feet for headaches, the liver for eye complaints, the kidneys for hearing problems, to achieve remarkable curative results. By the same token, apply- ing the theory of meridians to acupuncture, certain acupoints that are on the affected channel but far from the site of discomfort may be chosen for treatment, such as Zusanlion (ST36) on the lower leg for stomach trouble, or Taichong (LR3) on the top of the foot for hypochondriac pain. Chinese herbal medicine also goes through these channels to reach the diseases to exert its therapeutic effects. For example, when ephedra (Herba Ephedrae) is taken into the lung channel or bladder channel, it can induce sweating, stop wheezing or become diuretic.
【6】What are the meridians then? In exploring this secret, a lot of scholarly research has been done both at home and abroad, and various hypotheses have emerged. Currently, the common understanding is that meridians are not identical to the circulatory or the nervous system, but channels for transporting qi and blood (the material foundation for human physical activities). By way of meridians and collaterals, qi and blood are spread over all of the body, warming and moisturizing the viscera, tissues and organs, maintaining the normal physiological functions of the body. In modern medical language, this concept may be expressed as meridians being channels for exchanging energy between cell clusters, body fluids and tissue fluids, constituting a network cluster group with low electrical resistance that can transmit neural information and bioelectrical signals.
【7】At the same time, meridians are also sensitive to receiving stimulation and transmitting message. When a certain part of the body is stimulated, the induction will be conveyed along the meridians to the relevant organs of the body. The corresponding physiological or pathological changesoccurring will also be manifested on the body surface through the meridians. The so-called “qi sensation” patients feel vividly indicates this meridian induction and transmission.
【8】In TCM, “qi is the commander of blood and blood is the mother of qi”, namely the qi of the human body comes from the transformation of the blood; qi, in turn, promotes blood circulation and controls the rhythm of the blood flow withinthe meridians and collaterals.
【9】In medical practice, the division of labor may be divided in the following way: problems due to the “invisible” meridians should be treated by TCM; any maladies found in “visible” channels, such as blood vessels, respiratory tracts, lymph glands, or the nervous system should be dealt with by WM.
【10】Combined with modern medical technologies, the meridian-based treatments discovered in ancient China will surely produce even more miraculous therapeutic effects than either treatment system used alone.
参考文献
[1] 李照国 . 中医名词术语国际标准化研究——理论研究、实践总结、 方法探索 [M]. 上海:上海科学技术出版社,2008. [2] 李照国 . 简明汉英《黄帝内经》词典 [Z]. 北京:人民卫生出版社, 2011. [3] 李振吉 . 中医基本名词术语中英对照国际标准 [M]. 北京:人民卫生 出版社,2008. [4] 魏乃杰 . 英汉汉英中医词典 [Z]. 长沙:湖南科学技术出版社,1995. [5] Nida A.Eugene & Taber R.Charles. The Theory and Practice of Translation[M]. 上海:上海外语教育出版社 , 2018. [6] World Health Organization Western Pacific Region. WHO International Standard Terminologies on Traditional Medicine in the Western Pacific Regions [M]. Manila: Philippines, 2007.
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