在中西概念与话语间找平衡 ——第四届世界中(4)

【4】In balancing the opposite forces, TCM believes that health is the state in which the body is in harmony other words,asThe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperorstates, “Only whenyinandyangare properly preserved can one be in good shape; whenyinandyangare separated from one another the end of life comes”.Life is promoted byyinandyangwhen it goes with the flow, but restricted when it leans against the process of mutual promotion and restriction signifies nature’s survival law of the fittest, by laying the foundation of Chinese philosophy for cultivating health.

【5】In terms of the relationship between physique and spirit, TCM advocates that the two should be unified.“Physique” refers to the physiological parts of the body, including viscera, organs, muscles, veins,bones, hair and skin, while “spirit” denotes the mental state of a person,including thinking, consciousness, emotions, psychology, intellect and so on.It is believed by TCM that “Physique is the container of spirit,whereas spirit is the soul of physique; without physique spirit has no way to exit and without spirit physique becomes lifeless”.Whenever the balance is lost between the two, it will inevitably result in physical decline or even medical practice, a superb doctor is not confined to a rigid pattern of superficial treatment, but rather takes all relevant factors into account to really get to the causes of the illness,working out the most comprehensive and effective approach.

【6】Vitalqiemphasized by TCM is essential to have peace of mind.It is held that a person falling ill is largely due to the deterioration of his or her vitality and resistance.“Once vitalqiis preserved, there is no way for pathogenic factors to attack the body”, “if you are in a good mood,how can you contract illness?” expoundsThe Inner Canon of the Yellow ,The Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseasealso expatiates on the point that robust visceral functions can better resist pathological a result, a comprehensive theory of “deficiency syndrome” has been developed, which is one of the most original concepts of TCM, distinctly different from Western medicine (WM).Many complicated pathologies in WM are reasonably explained with effective curative results.

【7】Concerning disease prevention, TCM promotes the idea of“treating disease before it arises”.As stated in Chapter 26 ofThe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, “An accomplished doctor treats a malady in its preliminary stage by detecting the patient’s overall symptoms,while blundering one starts to act only after an ailment has occurred or a condition has even worsened”.TheWritings of Prince Huainanfurther elaborates, “Good doctors always provide healthy people with prevention knowledge so they don’t get sick, in the same way that wise rulers constantly adopt preventive measures before disaster happens to avoid any calamity”.Unlike preventive medicine in WM, it’s easy to realize that in TCM person is always the primary target instead of the disease,and its disease-prevention approach pays special attention to defending against non-biological pathogenic factors, emphasizing how to improve the viability and quality of man in a natural environment.

【8】Besides, compared with the ideal model of health in WM, the concept of health in TCM is a dynamic one.To be healthy, one has to constantly adjust to both the changes in the outside world and the balance of the inner body, which are all thoroughly illustrated in theories of visceral manifestation,wuxing, three categories of etiological factors,seven emotions and so on, constituting an extensive, comprehensive and systematic health-and-fitness regimen.

【9】In short, deeply rooted in centuries-old traditional Chinese culture,the understanding of health in TCM, with its unique and holistic view on life, makes a great contribution to the well-being of mankind as whole.■

第四届世界中医翻译大赛，收到有效参赛译文近千份，创历年新高。普遍水平有所提高，亦不乏相应问题，值得分析、归纳。一、概念之下探深意全文首先涉及一些中西医似乎都有的概念， 如“健康”“生理”“病理”“健康模式”等，需弄清其深层含义。就标题而言，特别是对其中的“健康观”， 有着不同理解，最多的译成Health Concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine，还有Outlook on Health等。分析起来，fitness的原义是the state of being physically fit，尤其与健身有关，而health显然含义更宽泛，在此又可表示“健康观念”，而为突出重点，可将其置前，译为“Health: An Understanding of Traditional Medicine”。然而，如同历届大赛，仍有部分参赛者漏译了题目，未能进入复赛，实属遗憾。众所周知，中医和西医有着本质的区别，因而在翻译中不能为表面的“相同概念”所误导。对于“中医”，有的译成 Chinese Medicine，看似简约，但不准确，因该英文词组是个颇为宏观的概念，指在中国的所有医学体系，包括中医、西医、中西医结合、藏医、蒙医、壮医等。在2015年6月1—4日的ISO/TC249第六次全体会议上，经过各国的投票，最终决定以traditional Chinese medicine为TC249的名称，标志其成为国际标准译法，故此译法不宜擅自改动。同时，[1]中关于世界卫生组织对“健康”所作的定义，许多人作了意译，但既然是引用定义，还应在网上搜寻到原文，以利规范：The definition of health proposed by WHO is that “health means not merely the absence of disease,but the fine condition of people in their physiology, psychology and society”.如上所述，由于中医文化的特性，在其翻译中离不开特殊的处理方法。例如，[3]中的“天地之气”许多人译成tian qianddi qi、Heaven-Qi and Earth-Qi，其实不必如此字面对等，而可将其综合为the vital energy of heaven-earth。 同时，许多人将“气”译成gas, 似乎是一种意译，但殊不知其音译词qi/Qi早已国际化，同时还衍生出许多“音意结合”式的翻译，如元 气（primordialqi、originalqi、congenitalqi）、正 气（healthyqi、rightqi、genuineqi、vitalqi）、宗气（pectoralqi、thoracicqi、ancestralqi）等。应当说，在中医英译里，“名同实异”是一种普遍现象。典型的，如西医的心只有泵血的功能，而中医的心除了“主血脉”之外，还“主神志”，具有思维的功能。同理，对于[5]中的“形神关系”，很多人沿用了“气”的音译法（qi）, 译成xingandshen, 固然有可取之处，但还不够完整，若能在其后有所解释，如采用括号形式xing(physique) andshen(spirit)，则更能准确衔接二者的关系，尽管只是部分地。对于[3] 中的“唐代医家王冰”，有译成“Doctor / Dr./ The medical expert /scholar of the Tang Dynasty”“Wang Bing”, 因中国古代的“医家”泛指所有从医的人，似乎不错，但没有注意到中西方在此概念上实质含义的不同。在西方，能成为doctor的一定是surgeon，要做手术的；在学科上，西医被称为orthodox medicine（正统医学），这与其说是医学的分类，不如说是一种社会文化的认知（即为社会大众所认可），而中医属于alternative medicine （complementary medicine, fringe medicine）, 即另类医学（或补救医学、替代医学等）。从西方权威的医学词典Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary中可以查到对中医医生的称谓为practitioner或medical practitioner；以笔者在国外的实践，认为在某种情况下，中医还可称为doctor of Chinese medicine，因而此处可译为medical practitioner Wang Bing （710—805）。更为典型的是[6]中的“中医学形成了一套‘虚症’的完整理论”。在中医翻译界，对于“虚”与“实”的翻译，一直存在争议，问题集中在“虚”究竟是怎样的“虚”，是soft、weak还是empty？“实”到底又是如何的“实”，是solid、hard还是strong？欧明在1980年出版的《汉英中医常用词汇》中，将“虚”译作asthenia，“实”译作sthenia，也算是一种借用，因在西医里，sthenia指的是病态的亢进或兴奋，asthenia指的是虚弱或衰弱，似颇为对应中医“虚”和“实”的含义。英国科学家李约瑟（Joseph Needham）在《中国科技史》中的“中医药分册”里，将“实”译作plerotic（源自希腊语，意思是“充实、充满”），将“虚”译作asthenic，与欧明的译法不谋而合。然而，深入探究起来，中医的“虚”并不等于西医的 asthenia或asthenic。近年来国内外最为流行的译法为 deficiency, 而“虚症”为 deficiency syndrome，也算是一种约定俗成。当然，有些词语、概念还需在更宽泛的话语关联中去理解。二、话语之中觅含义应当说，中国的传统医学与西方的现代医学有着两套完全不同的话语体系，因而中医翻译在很大程度上要借助话语背景进行。例如，[3] 的“天真之气”就是典型的中医表述，参赛者有着多种翻译，如 primaryqi、 vital energy 等；其实，“天真”在中医里有着多种别名，如“真气”“元真”“元气”“原气”等。在中医的古籍中，“真气”有时也指“元气”。近来，中医翻译界将 “真气”译作trueqi或genuineqi，“元气”一般译作primordialqi或sourceqi，而在WHO西太区的标准中，“元气”即译作sourceqi，与“原气”同一，有时亦译作originalqi，并未统一。 根据较为权威的《汉英双解中医大辞典》对此的释译，“天真之气”不妨译为 a person’s primordialqi。同样典型的是[4]中的“阴平阳秘”，许多人按其字面意思译成 whenyin-yangis in secret, 同时对于此处的“精神”又译成了 spirit、spiritual wellbeing。据《病机撮要辨证》载“精之生，由于神，神之生，合于精，故非神不能致生，非精不能有神”，“精”“神”倶备，为生命之本，是一种整体状态，故可用in good shape。该句不妨译为：Only whenyinandyangare properly preserved can one be in good shape.同段中的“优胜劣汰”，有的译成“select the strong/superior and eliminate the weak/inferior”，固然不错，但还应意识到这是借用达尔文进化论中的概念以阐述中医“相生相克”的理念，故可用该理论中的原语，或稍作变通，如nature’s survival law of the fittest。对于富有中医特色的“阴气”“阳气”概念（[3]），若只音译成yin qi、yang qi, 对于一般英文读者仍不易理解，还应在其后加上辅助性解释，如（positive force）（negative force）。类似的，“阳暑”译 为yang shu（summer-heat syndrome），“阴下竭”译为yin xia jie(exhaustion in lower-energizer) 等。对于[5]中的“五脏六腑”，参赛者亦提供了多种译文，似不足为奇，因“脏腑”是中医翻译界论争最多的重要概念之一。在中医传入西方的早期，人们一般采取了音译或者音意结合的译法，典型的，19世纪末德贞翻译《遵生八笺》时，将“脏”译作viscera，而将“腑”译作“fu：The internal parts are divided into the five viscera and six fu”，“五脏”译作five viscera，“六腑”为sixfu。在拉丁语中，viscera指的是人体胸腔、腹腔和盆腔中所有的器官，当然也包括bowel（肠道）。Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English对viscera的释义为“large organs inside your body, such as your heart, lungs and stomach”，而在中医里，stomach属于“腑”，说明在英语中viscera包括“脏”和“腑”两方面的内容。在中医英译的这一类话语转述中，有一条不成文的原则，即在保留中医特色的基础上，尽可能利用或“改造利用”西医词语，以利于英语读者接受，如近年出现的，将“方剂学”由过去的science of TCM prescriptions演变为TCM prescriptionology，将“针灸学”写为acupuncturology、Neuro-Acupuncturology，即嫁接上了英文表“学科”的-ology等。因而，将此处的“五脏六腑”译为fivezang-viscera and sixfu-organs可谓尚佳选择；当然，“(the physiological parts of the body) including visceral organs”亦不失为一种巧妙概述。可能是由于原话语的深奥，同段中“粗守形”“上守神”的译法最是异彩纷呈。探究起来，该语出自《黄帝内经·灵枢》首卷首篇《九针十二原》：“小针之要，易陈而难入。粗守形，上守神。神乎神，客在门，未睹其疾，恶知其原？”主要讲针灸之法，粗工重形质，只看到皮肉筋骨脏腑器官等形迹，局限于治疗“人的病”；上工重气化，注重寻查神机的异常，而能整体调和“病的人”，因而务必“守神”而刺，不可像粗工那样止于“守形”。 “粗”和“上”可理解为不同医生的医术有高下之别。译文过于简约和繁复都有碍于原义的表述，关键是要在对比的概念、话语中找到适当的平衡。对于[6] 中的 “在心态的把持上”大都译成In the control of mentality、In holding the mindset等。在西方话语里，最好的心态是peace of mind。中医强调“正气为本”，包括机能活动、抗病能力和康复能力。故此处的“正气”可变通为Vitalqi，不妨将词序调整加以强调：Vitalqiemphasized by TCM is essential to have peace of mind.同时，“正气内存，邪不可干”中的“邪”有多种译法，如有意译成evil element, 有音译成xie qi, 似乎都有一定道理，因前者译出其性质，后者更具中医本色。同样，对于“四季脾旺不受邪”，也有类似的处理。pathogenicqi是目前对“邪气”比较流行的一种译法。同样，对于[7]中的“治未病”“上工”“下工”的准确翻译，亦应以其话语体系为根基，才不至过于偏离原意。从理论上讲，“治未病”似乎与“西方预防医学”相对应。在本文语境中，既不能照搬西医的定义，又要力求对其丰富的中医含义作言简意赅的表述，对此有的参赛者作了详细的注释，不失为一种方法，但更需注意与“中医主张……”的搭配，故参考译文为：TCM promotes the idea of “treating disease before it arises”.这可视为一种变通。就“上工”和“下工”而言，根据《黄帝内经》的论述，所谓“上工”，指的是最为优秀的医师，故“工”似乎是中国人理解的doctor。对于“上工”“中工”和“下工”，英国中医翻译家魏廼杰（Nigel Wiseman）作了如下解释：In ancient China, a superior practitioner was one with a nine-out-of-ten success rate, a mediocre practitioner (中工) was one with a seven-out-of-ten success rate, and an inferior practitioner (下工) was one with a six-out-of-ten success rate.当然，个人译述时，还可有多种词语的选择，如：An accomplished/excellent doctor/physician treats a malady/malaise/sickness in its preliminary stage by detecting the patient’s overall symptoms, while a blundering/clumsy one starts to act only after an ailment/complaint/condition has occurred or a condition has even worsened.此外，还有参赛者使用了大量的拉丁语，颇显学术性，但无形中构成了另一种话语体系，从而偏离了中医英译的范畴。三、在概念与话语间力求精当对于原文概念与话语的深刻理解、有机结合、得体转述，是构成高质量译文的基本要素。从参赛译文反映出的，除了内容外，在形式上亦不乏如何译得更加精当的问题。对于[2]“但有着五千年历史的中医，对此则有更为广博的理解”，有的译成：But Chinese medicine, which has a history of five thousand years, has a broader understanding of this.意思似乎不错，但其中的两个has使其语言表述大打折扣；其前半部分完全可以用“with a history of…”。“广博的理解”，有的译文“ (Concerning health…) more extensive, broader and profound understanding of health”显得有些堆砌辞藻，而最后的health则可用代词（如it）或替换词（如the issue），从而避免重复。同时，对于“中医”缩写的表述，有的写成“TCM (traditional Chinese medicine)”，显然颠倒了次序。其他细节问题，如[1]中的“现代医学认为”，许多译成“Modern medicine believe that…”，忽略了第三人称单数；标题译成“The health concept of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)”，其中的每个单词的首字母都应大写，同时不应在标题中出现附着缩写“(TCM)”。对于中文书名的处理，如《素问》，许多译文错误使用了“英文书名加中文书名号”的格式（《Plain Questions》），而没有正确采用英文斜体格式（Plain Questions）。同时，中国的历史朝代和历史人物出现在英译文中，应注明年代和生卒日期等。有些对原文的“低级理解错误”，显然是出于疏忽，如将[1]中的“现代医学”译成“TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine)”，若如鲁迅所说，译后至少看两遍，便不难发现问题。此外，还有相当数量的拼写错误，这在电子器具和网络异常发达、极易纠错的今天，实属不该。统而言之，基于中医文化博大精深的性质，对其翻译的认识和提升亦无止境。其中，既要对独特概念的深入挖掘，又需在不同话语系统间的比较、参照；既要保持中医特色，又需借鉴西医及现代学科的概念及术语，力求在二者之间找到恰当平衡及更加完善的转述。 □【参考译文】“Health”: An Understanding of Traditional Chinese MedicineByLin Wei（林巍）【1】With regard to the factors affecting human health, modern medicine holds that there are four main aspects: biological heredity, living environment, behavioral patterns and medical ,the World Health Organization (WHO) defines “health” as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.【2】Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), embedded in a history of 5,000 years, however, has a more profound understanding of the issue.【3】Macroscopically, TCM examines physiological and pathological changes in relation to the natural world: their isomorphic resonance is explored within a sophisticated framework of “Heaven—Earth—Man”.The “Plain Questions” ofThe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperorsays,“While everything is provided by the Universe, there is nothing more precious than man whose survival depends on the vital energy of heavenearth and seasonal rules”.Wang Bing (710—805), a medical practitioner in the Tang Dynasty (618—907) also pointed out that “Failing to follow seasonal changes will result in attracting all sorts of pathogens to the body and turning it away from theDao, and in that way a person’s primordialqiwill be extinguished”.“Any kind of nourishing life has thus to be in line with the seasons”.In spring and summer, people prefer cold drinks to cope with the hot weather, which may harm theyang qi(positive force);in autumn and winter, the dry and cold climate drives people to eat spicier food, which may in turn hurt theyin qi(negative force).In a way, TCM always advises that people should pay attention to cultivating theiryangin spring and summer and theiryinin autumn and winter, so as to maintain the body’sqiand blood consistent with the four seasons.【4】In balancing the opposite forces, TCM believes that health is the state in which the body is in harmony other words,asThe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperorstates, “Only whenyinandyangare properly preserved can one be in good shape; whenyinandyangare separated from one another the end of life comes”.Life is promoted byyinandyangwhen it goes with the flow, but restricted when it leans against the process of mutual promotion and restriction signifies nature’s survival law of the fittest, by laying the foundation of Chinese philosophy for cultivating health.【5】In terms of the relationship between physique and spirit, TCM advocates that the two should be unified.“Physique” refers to the physiological parts of the body, including viscera, organs, muscles, veins,bones, hair and skin, while “spirit” denotes the mental state of a person,including thinking, consciousness, emotions, psychology, intellect and so on.It is believed by TCM that “Physique is the container of spirit,whereas spirit is the soul of physique; without physique spirit has no way to exit and without spirit physique becomes lifeless”.Whenever the balance is lost between the two, it will inevitably result in physical decline or even medical practice, a superb doctor is not confined to a rigid pattern of superficial treatment, but rather takes all relevant factors into account to really get to the causes of the illness,working out the most comprehensive and effective approach.【6】Vitalqiemphasized by TCM is essential to have peace of mind.It is held that a person falling ill is largely due to the deterioration of his or her vitality and resistance.“Once vitalqiis preserved, there is no way for pathogenic factors to attack the body”, “if you are in a good mood,how can you contract illness?” expoundsThe Inner Canon of the Yellow ,The Treatise on Exogenous Febrile Diseasealso expatiates on the point that robust visceral functions can better resist pathological a result, a comprehensive theory of “deficiency syndrome” has been developed, which is one of the most original concepts of TCM, distinctly different from Western medicine (WM).Many complicated pathologies in WM are reasonably explained with effective curative results.【7】Concerning disease prevention, TCM promotes the idea of“treating disease before it arises”.As stated in Chapter 26 ofThe Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor, “An accomplished doctor treats a malady in its preliminary stage by detecting the patient’s overall symptoms,while blundering one starts to act only after an ailment has occurred or a condition has even worsened”.TheWritings of Prince Huainanfurther elaborates, “Good doctors always provide healthy people with prevention knowledge so they don’t get sick, in the same way that wise rulers constantly adopt preventive measures before disaster happens to avoid any calamity”.Unlike preventive medicine in WM, it’s easy to realize that in TCM person is always the primary target instead of the disease,and its disease-prevention approach pays special attention to defending against non-biological pathogenic factors, emphasizing how to improve the viability and quality of man in a natural environment.【8】Besides, compared with the ideal model of health in WM, the concept of health in TCM is a dynamic one.To be healthy, one has to constantly adjust to both the changes in the outside world and the balance of the inner body, which are all thoroughly illustrated in theories of visceral manifestation,wuxing, three categories of etiological factors,seven emotions and so on, constituting an extensive, comprehensive and systematic health-and-fitness regimen.【9】In short, deeply rooted in centuries-old traditional Chinese culture,the understanding of health in TCM, with its unique and holistic view on life, makes a great contribution to the well-being of mankind as whole.■

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