The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine [Paperback]

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL CHINESE TEXT

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine or Huangdi Neijing (more accurately translated as: Yellow Thearch's Inner Classic) is the seminal text of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and covers the theoretical foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine, diagnosis methods and treatment methods. The Huangdi Neijing (commonly referred to as the Neijing) is composed of two books, namely, the Suwen or (Plain Questions -- 81 chapters or treatises. Note, for two of the chapters only the titles are known, the contents are lost.) and the Lingshu (Spiritual Pivot -- also 81 chapters). Modern scholars believe the first book, the Suwen, was compiled and edited over a long period of time from the third century BCE to 1053 CE (Song Dynasty).

The Neijing departs from the older shamanistic belief that disease was caused by magical influences. In the Neijing the natural effects of diet, lifestyle, emotions, environment, age and heredity are the reason diseases develop. The universe is composed of various forces and principles and these forces can be understood via logical means and humans can stay in balance or return to balance and health by understanding the laws and theories of these natural forces. Central to the Neijing is the notation that humans are a microcosm that mirrors the larger macrocosm, thus the principles of yin and yang, qi, the five elements, the environmental factors of wind, damp, hot and cold and so on that are part of the macrocosm or Universe equally apply to the human microcosm.

CONTENTS OF VEITH'S BOOK

The version Veith translated is the authoritative version known as the: Chong Guang Bu Zhu Huangdi Neijing Suwen. She translated:

(i) Wang Bing's 762 CE preface.
(ii) The circa 1053 CE Imperial Office's preface.
(iii) A historical overview of the Suwen, i.e., chapter 103 of the Siku Quanshu Zongmu Tiyao. (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries: General Catalog with Abstracts, circa late eighteenth century.)
(iv) The first thirty-four treatises of the Suwen. The Lingshu is not translated.

In addition, she includes an extensive introduction on the history, basic philosophy and theory of the Neijing, TCM and Taoism. She includes some interesting historical illustrations.

ACCURACY OF TRANSLATION -- SUMMARY

Ilza Veith's translation was my first encounter to this Classic Chinese Medicine text and definitely inspired me to study Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is beautifully written. Unfortunately, her book contains major translation errors. For this reason it can not be fully relied upon. While ancient Chinese texts are well known to be difficult to translate, some of the errors show a lack of knowledge of TCM and Classical Chinese. Further, she adds in words without indicating they are additions. Classical Chinese is terse and words must be added in for good English and sometimes the implied subject or topic is omitted and must be added back in for good English, but in good translations these additions are enclosed in square brackets. Veith often adds in the wrong omitted topic or assumes a topic is missing when it isn't and thus adds in new words, topics, etc. not in the original.

Since the book is beautifully written, contains many interesting illustrations, and some useful historical and philosophical knowledge, as well as introductory Chinese Medical theory it is still worth reading. However, as a reference for learning the nuances of the ancient fundamentals of Chinese Medicine it is way too flawed.

Given the work done by Wiseman, et al. and Unschuld on ancient Chinese medical vocabulary and grammar in the past twenty years it is somewhat surprising that these errors have not been corrected in this latest version. From what I can tell all that has changed from the prior edition is a new forward by Ken Rose and a new more modern looking cover.

THREE DETAILED EXAMPLES OF INCORRECTLY TRANSLATED PASSAGES

EXAMPLE I. Veith in chapter 10 (=treatise 10), page 144 has clauses like "when the pulse has a white appearance", "when the pulse has a green appearance" and so on for the other three colors. This is absurd, pulses do not have white or green appearances in TCM.

What is occurring is just prior to this passage the five colors are mentioned for examination purposes. Then each color is given along with a pulse type. She failed to realize the color is about the complexion, not the pulse, and that the color [Typically observed by looking at the patient's face, in other parts of the Suwen it is detailed which parts of the face should be observed.] is being matched with a particular pulse image.

EXAMPLE II. Page 160, (chapter 17, book 5), unfortunately this passage is so distorted from the actual meaning that one wonders what happened. (Actually, it is clear what happened, she took the wrong path by mistaking jing1 ming2 (clear-bright essence) to mean skillful and clever; I don't know how old this usage is, (I have been told it may be around a thousand years old, which is considerably after the Neijing, it still means skilful and clever today), it is not the correct meaning here. Then she added in "pulse" twice -- which is not in the original Chinese.) She clearly had limited knowledge of TCM (or more precisely Classical Chinese Medicine) and was not well versed in the other medical classics. In her defense, I should add, in 1945, when she began her translation efforts, there were few TCM translation resources available to her.

"But those who are skilful and clever in examination observe every living thing. They distinguish black and white; they examine whether the pulse is short or long. When they mistake a long pulse for a short one and when they mistake white for black or commit similar errors, then it is a sign that their skill has deteriorated."

Now every other translation I have read (English or Modern Chinese), and my own translation reads along the lines of:

The clear-bright essence [means: the mind and/or the eyes] is the means for observing ten thousand material-things, distinguishing white and black, examining short and long. To regard long for short, to regard white for black, if this [occurs] then the jing1 (essence) [of the patient] is feeble-and-declining!

I confirmed my above translation with a native Hong Kong TCM doctor who retranslated the passage for me from the original Chinese text [Chong Guang Bu Zhu Huangdi Neijing Suwen version -- same as what Veith used]. I also consulted a specialized Neijing dictionary to verify my translation. Note, the editor-in-chief for this dictionary has studied the Neijing for close to fifty years. There is no escaping the conclusion that Veith's translation is totally wrong.

EXAMPLE III, page 159 (chapter 17, book 5 of Yellow Emperor's Classic), Veith's translation:

The Yellow Emperor asked: "What is the way of medical treatment?"

Ch'i Po answered: "The way of medical treatment is to be consistent. It should be executed at dawn when the Yin [the female principle in nature] has not yet begun to stir and when the breath of Yang [the male principle of life and light] has not yet begun to diffuse; when food and drink have not been taken, when the twelve main vessels are not yet abundant and when the lo vessels are stirred up thoroughly; when vigor and energy are not yet disturbed--at this particular time one should examine what has happened to the pulse.

There are several serious errors in the above. Apparently, Veith misunderstood the contextual meaning and, in addition, for several characters misunderstood which meaning of several possibilities applied and consequently a cascade of translation mistakes followed in an attempt to salvage a sense of unity to the passage. It should have been obvious that an error early in interpretation had occurred.

1) The portion: "The way of medical treatment is to be consistent. It should be executed at dawn" should be translated along the lines of: The examination [of the pulse] is usually done at dawn.

The character zhen3 (pinyin tone 3) means examine (verb) or examination (noun), but zhen3 followed by fa3 means examination (possibly diagnosis as well). Admittedly there is some debate here as zhen3 fa3 could be translated as: "The methods of examination" or "The laws of examination" or possibly just "examination or examinations."

It is possible that the compound zhen3 fa3 is a later development and these two characters should be scanned as separate characters. It is difficult to say as according to modern scholars the ideas of the Neijing date from about 2400 to 1750 years ago, but the text itself has under gone changes and the version that existed in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C to 220 A.D.) is not what is available today (they date from 1250 to 950 years ago and are based on earlier no longer extant texts).

There is at least one version of the Nei jing that has mai4 instead of fa3 which would give: The examination of the pulse is usually done at dawn. (At any rate zhen3 followed fa3 means zhen3 fa3 is now clearly a noun and it is sufficient to translate it simply as: examination or examinations.)

She has also misunderstood the meaning of chang2; while it can mean constant, in this context it means usually or quite often. The idea is that the pulse should be taken early in the morning when it is calm (If it is stormy weather for example the pulse will be influenced. Plus the practitioner's mind is more calm in the morning.), since this not always possible or practical, the character chang2 is used to convey this.

2) The phrase: "lo vessels are stirred up thoroughly" is translated poorly and is misleading, very literally it would be: network (luo4) vessels harmoniously/mixed EVENLY (luo4 mai4 tiao2 yun2). The idea of balance, calmness and lack of excess pervades the passage and thus the incorrect way Veith translated this phrase stands out like a sore thumb. Further, the phrase could be expanded, as though it isn't explicitly stated, it is the qi and blood that flow through the connecting (luo4) vessels. Thus this part should be translated along the lines of: the [qi and blood of the] network vessels [that branch out and enmesh the body] are harmonious and stable (perhaps balanced is better than stable).

3) The phrase: "when vigor and energy are not yet disturbed" is also incorrect. Literally, the four characters in this phrase are: qi4 blood not-yet disorderly. Why use "breath" for qi earlier, but then use vigor and/or energy? And what about the blood? Since the passage is about reading the pulse, obviously qi and blood are central to the passage. No other translation I have seen uses anything other than qi and blood. Thus, it should read along the lines of: when qi and blood are not yet disturbed.

4) The last clause: "at that particular time one should examine what has happened to the pulse." Apparently she mistranslated the two characters you3 guo4 which taken together mean: wrong or mistake. Thus the last clause should be translated along the lines of: thus, for these reasons an abnormal pulse can be detected.

A Chinese doctor friend of mine stated these two characters are an old usage and you3 guo3 means: to have something wrong. The verb you3 means: "to have" and the character guo3 by itself can mean: beyond the normal limits, mistake or error.

5) The phrases: breath of Yin and breath of Yang while poetic are also translated poorly as qi4 is more than breath. The Chinese characters are: yin1 qi4 and yang2 qi4 respectively.

Yin qi means: the qi of the five "storing" organs (The five viscera are: heart, lungs, spleen, liver and kidneys.), qi that moves inward and down, and the qi that forms the blood, etc.

Yang qi means: the qi of the "hollow/transporting" organs (small intestine, large intestine, stomach, gall bladder, bladder), the purely functional triple warmer, qi that moves up and out; and defensive qi; etc.

6) The part about twelve main vessels is not well translated. What is referred to here are the main channels (jing1 mai4) of qi AND BLOOD, by adding in "twelve", which is not in the original, Veith is implying the twelve acupuncture channels (which are channels of qi, not of blood, [note, this is a simplification, the actual situation is more complicated]), which may or may not be meant here, in most Chinese medical texts when twelve the channels are meant, the characters for twelve are specifically included.

I don't know enough about the Neijing to rule out for sure that the twelve channels are not implied. However in last part of the previous chapter of the Neijing when the jing1 mai4 are referred to, these two characters are specifically prefixed by twelve thus meaning the twelve regular acupuncture channels. Even if somehow jing1 mai4 here means the acupuncture channels, it isn't clear that the 8 extra channels are not meant as well as they are major channels of qi as well. (Note, I don't know in what historical time period or text the eight extra channels were first described, though Lu Gwei-Djen and Joseph Needham's book: Celestial Lancets, page 107 (2002 RoutledgeCurzon reprint) offers evidence that "The Art of Determining the Acu-points of the Eight Auxillary Tracts" was one of the books the physician Shunyu I (216 to 150-145 BCE) studied.)

The content of this book, originally translated in 1949, could be 3,000 years old and reflects a distinctly holistic approach to wellness and disease. The author strives to identify the causes of non-wellness. The author approaches the human organism from the function and linkages of all organs to different parts of the body. It provides a complete endorsement and supportive theory for acupuncture and other forms of holistic treatment that takes into account the individual's environment, the seasons, and many additional internal and external factors. The book is more revealing about China and the Chinese than traditional interpretive treaties and consequently reveals much about Western medicine through the blank space of what is generally not discussed in Western healthcare. Sure, there are translation errors, but it's an excellent source of information about the genesis and basis of Asian healthcare.

This is an advanced book for those with an interest in herbal, meditation, and natural foods healing. A lot of the text refers to references and ideas that many may not understand unless you have read previous books on similar subjects. A thorough understanding of the many concepts and ideas of Yin Yang are a must and an understanding of the ancient references to many of the body's organs. The knowledge in this book is given in a conversational method. Many students of the Yellow Emperor respectfully ask him questions and he answers in eliquent methods.

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