AsianScientist (Jul 9, 2014) – A 15-page guide on the translation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) texts has been made available, which the authors hope will promote communication in the field of integrative medicine.

Millions of people in the West today utilize traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture, herbs, massage and nutritional therapies. Yet only a few U.S. schools that teach Chinese medicine require Chinese-language training and only a handful of Chinese medical texts have so far been translated into English.

Given the complexity of the language and concepts in these texts, there is a need for accurate, high-quality translations, say researchers at UCLA’s Center for East–West Medicine. To that end, the center has published a document that includes a detailed discussion of the issues involved in Chinese medical translation, which is designed to help students, practitioners and researchers evaluate and digest Chinese medical texts with greater sensitivity and comprehension.

“This publication aims to raise awareness among the many stakeholders involved with the translation of Chinese medicine,” said principal investigator and study author Dr. Hui Ka-Kit, founder and director of the UCLA center.

The document titled “Considerations in the Translation of Chinese Medicine” was developed and written by a UCLA team that included a doctor, an anthropologist, a China scholar and a translator. It appears in the current online edition of the Journal of Integrative Medicine. More.

See: AsianScientist

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