Jump to content
IndiaDivine.org

night sweats r Back...

Rate this topic


Guest guest

Recommended Posts

Quick question/ comment:

 

I was talking to one of my Chinese professor’s and he insisted that

night sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually should be

sleep-sweats. Meaning you sweat

during the day or night, but only when you are sleeping. This understanding would have some clinical

significance, but due to the fact that I have not read this in any text leaves

me suspect. Comments?

 

-

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

, <@o...> wrote:

> Quick question/ comment:

>

> I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that night

> sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually

> should be sleep-sweats.

 

I think that is incorrect. Dao han is translated sometimes as thief

sweats, but I have never heard it as sleep sweats. Ken?

 

However thief sweats also connotatively suggests other than night, but

in wiseman the definition as taken from chinese medical dictionaries

specifically refers to night. To call them sleep sweats seems to be an

example of connotative translation that is inherently misleading, I

think.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nhung,

 

This question has nothing to do with tests or boards.. Not sure what your

comment means...??

 

-Jason

 

 

Dear Jason,

I have one patient, he 've got the top grade in his Exam

board he is very good guide too. And I fail the test two times.I also have

many more Chiropractic and Chinese herb DR who past the test are my

patients. So you should doubt about the test of the board and go forward to

the people who have good experience.

Nhung Ta

 

-

" "

" traditional chinese herbs "

Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:05 AM

night sweats r Back...

 

 

> Quick question/ comment:

>

> I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that night

> sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually

> should be sleep-sweats. Meaning you sweat during the day or night, but

only

> when you are sleeping. This understanding would have some clinical

> significance, but due to the fact that I have not read this in any text

> leaves me suspect. Comments?

>

> -

>

>

 

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing

in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services,

including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes ken what you say helps very much.. to elaborate on Todd's comments...

 

I personally know people you have yin xu who only sweat at night (when

sleeping), and not when they take naps in the day. I know one other who

commented that they sweat in the day (when asleep) ( she was not yin

xu)....? This is interesting since one can not be sweating during the day,

fall asleep and they begin to sweat.. somewhat strange since they are

inactive... One question comes to mind:

 

Ken and others:

 

1) the movement within yin and yang within the body- Some say that at night

(i.e. sleep) the yin and yang switch positions (giving the previous

explanations of why night sweats were occurring at night - But what about

the possibility that yin and yang switch, not at night, but when we sleep,

as some suggest? This would explain the 'sleep' sweating

 

2) Further ?'s surrounding the other pathomechanisms that are suggested to

cause night sweats:

A) ht xue xu

B) spleen xu w/ damp

C) shao yang type disorder (mid-stage pathogenic invasion)

 

Why are these never mentioned? Are they not really clinically relevant?

Have others seen these in there clinic or just always consider night sweats

yin xu, and exclude these possibilities?

 

 

-

 

, yulong@m... wrote:

 

>

> yin1 xu1 dao4 han4

> yang2 xu1 zi4 han4

>

> literally they translate as:

>

> yin1 vacuity steals sweat

> yang2 vacuity sweats itself

>

It would be patently foolish to rule out yin1 xu1

> as a factor in an individual who, for whatever

> reason, say work schedule or lifestyle, slept

> during the day and had this symptom.

>

> Does that help?

 

 

Ken

 

It helps a lot. Apparently Jason's source is correct with regard to

clinical connotation. two questions are now raised in my mind.

 

1. Has anyone ever had a patient report " nightsweating " during the

daylight hours?

 

2. If so, this would certainly seem to confound the speculation on the

pathomechanism of this sx, as all the reasons offered seem to involve

the yinyang nature of day and night, a universal feature which does not

change regardless of the individual's work schedule.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2. If so, this would certainly seem to confound the speculation on the

pathomechanism of this sx, as all the reasons offered seem to involve

the yinyang nature of day and night, a universal feature which does not

change regardless of the individual's work schedule.

 

 

This might actually say the opposite: This might say that the yin and yang

of the body overrides the yin and yang of nature (day/ night) in this

instance , i.e. producing 'sleep' sweats whenever the person is asleep

regardless of the time. See my pervious post.

 

-

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

> I think that is incorrect. Dao han is translated sometimes as

thief

> sweats, but I have never heard it as sleep sweats. Ken?

>

> However thief sweats also connotatively suggests other than night,

but

> in wiseman the definition as taken from chinese medical

dictionaries

> specifically refers to night. To call them sleep sweats seems to

be an

> example of connotative translation that is inherently misleading, I

> think.

 

There are two phrases which are used to characterize

this aspect of differential diagnosis.

 

They are:

 

yin1 xu1 dao4 han4

yang2 xu1 zi4 han4

 

literally they translate as:

 

yin1 vacuity steals sweat

yang2 vacuity sweats itself

 

My understanding is that at night, during sleep,

sweating is a typical indicator of yin1 vacuity,

i.e. the vacant yin1 results in the body's inability

to consolidate and contain the sweat and it leaks

out. Thus the idea of the first of the above phrases:

the vacuity of the yin1 steals the sweat.

 

During the day, when one is awake, spontaneous

sweating, i.e. sweating without exertion, is a

typical indicator of yang2 vacuity, and hence

the meaning of the second of the two phrases:

the yang2 vacuity will cause the body to sweat

all by itself, i.e. with no exertion.

 

Now as to whether or not the meaning of these

has to do with day time and night time, I think

we have to make the presumption that people

typically sleep at night and are awake during

the day. Thus there is a " natural " correlation

between the yin1 xu1 dao4 han4 and the night time

and a similarly natural correlation between the

yang2 xu1 zi4 han4 and the day time. But I would

imagine that a majority of Chinese doctors would

agree with the proposition that yin1 xu1 dao4 han4

definitely does refer to sweating that occurs

during sleep.

 

Making generalizations beyond this probably has

only limited applicability as any particular

individual must be understood not in terms of

theory alone but in terms of that individual's

actual condition and circumstances.

 

It would be patently foolish to rule out yin1 xu1

as a factor in an individual who, for whatever

reason, say work schedule or lifestyle, slept

during the day and had this symptom.

 

Similarly, a person who experienced spontaneous

sweating while wide awake at night may well

be suffering from yang2 xu1, and it would be

ill conceived to believe otherwise solely because

of the time of day.

 

The gist of these two phrases is to differentiate

between yin1 xu1 and yang2 xu1, as I understand

them. But that does not mean that this is the

limit of their usefulness.

 

They are, after all, merely theories and must

be fitted to real people before they make

any sense whatsoever.

 

Does that help?

 

Ken

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dear Jason,

I have one patient, he 've got the top grade in his Exam

board he is very good guide too. And I fail the test two times.I also have

many more Chiropractic and Chinese herb DR who past the test are my

patients. So you should doubt about the test of the board and go forward to

the people who have good experience.

Nhung Ta

 

-

" "

" traditional chinese herbs "

Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:05 AM

night sweats r Back...

 

 

> Quick question/ comment:

>

> I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that night

> sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually

> should be sleep-sweats. Meaning you sweat during the day or night, but

only

> when you are sleeping. This understanding would have some clinical

> significance, but due to the fact that I have not read this in any text

> leaves me suspect. Comments?

>

> -

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

, yulong@m... wrote:

 

>

> yin1 xu1 dao4 han4

> yang2 xu1 zi4 han4

>

> literally they translate as:

>

> yin1 vacuity steals sweat

> yang2 vacuity sweats itself

>

It would be patently foolish to rule out yin1 xu1

> as a factor in an individual who, for whatever

> reason, say work schedule or lifestyle, slept

> during the day and had this symptom.

>

> Does that help?

 

 

Ken

 

It helps a lot. Apparently Jason's source is correct with regard to

clinical connotation. two questions are now raised in my mind.

 

1. Has anyone ever had a patient report " nightsweating " during the

daylight hours?

 

2. If so, this would certainly seem to confound the speculation on the

pathomechanism of this sx, as all the reasons offered seem to involve

the yinyang nature of day and night, a universal feature which does not

change regardless of the individual's work schedule.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jason and his Chinese prophessor are wright!

In Chinese the character " qin " 3 means to sleep & a sleep but not night.So " qin

han " means sleep sweating or sweating during a sleep, it does not matter at

night or daytime. And this correlates with my limited experience of treatment

of old people. Some of my patients say that sometimes they are sweating during

the day nap, as well

Yuri

 

 

 

 

Sun, 25 Feb 2001 03:34:14 -0000

Re: night sweats r Back...

 

 

, <@o...> wrote:

> Quick question/ comment:

>

> I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that night

> sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually

> should be sleep-sweats.

 

I think that is incorrect. Dao han is translated sometimes as thief

sweats, but I have never heard it as sleep sweats. Ken?

 

However thief sweats also connotatively suggests other than night, but

in wiseman the definition as taken from chinese medical dictionaries

specifically refers to night. To call them sleep sweats seems to be an

example of connotative translation that is inherently misleading, I

think.

 

 

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in

Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including

board approved online continuing education.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

on 2/25/01 11:00 AM, yuri ovchinikov at yuriovi wrote:

 

> Jason and his Chinese prophessor are wright!

> In Chinese the character " qin " 3 means to sleep & a sleep but not night.So " qin

> han " means sleep sweating or sweating during a sleep, it does not matter at

> night or daytime. And this correlates with my limited experience of treatment

> of old people. Some of my patients say that sometimes they are sweating during

> the day nap, as well

> Yuri

>

>

>

This is interesting, Yuri.

Yes, qin3 means sleep, but I cannot find the term qin han in my

Chinese/English medical dictionaries (I have two). It would obviously be a

less commonly used term than dao han, which I have encountered frequently in

the literature.

 

This doesn't make the said instructor incorrect, just describing a slightly

different clinical phenomenon that is apparently used less frequently in at

least some CM circles.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had some very classic yin xu patients who became yin xu I believe because

of their working night shift life style. Anyway, one guy in particular would get

very very hot after midnight and then sweat even though he was awake and at

work. He would have to change his T-shirt

2-3 times per night.Interestingly I asked if he ever sweated in bed during the

day when he slept.And NO, he didn't.At the time I thought I thought that maybe

during sleep because of REM or delta sleep or some other stage it triggered the

night sweats because of yin xu.......

 

Heiko

 

wrote:

 

> , yulong@m... wrote:

>

> >

> > yin1 xu1 dao4 han4

> > yang2 xu1 zi4 han4

> >

> > literally they translate as:

> >

> > yin1 vacuity steals sweat

> > yang2 vacuity sweats itself

> >

> It would be patently foolish to rule out yin1 xu1

> > as a factor in an individual who, for whatever

> > reason, say work schedule or lifestyle, slept

> > during the day and had this symptom.

> >

> > Does that help?

>

> Ken

>

> It helps a lot. Apparently Jason's source is correct with regard to

> clinical connotation. two questions are now raised in my mind.

>

> 1. Has anyone ever had a patient report " nightsweating " during the

> daylight hours?

>

> 2. If so, this would certainly seem to confound the speculation on the

> pathomechanism of this sx, as all the reasons offered seem to involve

> the yinyang nature of day and night, a universal feature which does not

> change regardless of the individual's work schedule.

>

 

>

>

> Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in

Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including

board approved online continuing education.

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that night

> sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translationbut due to the

fact that >> I have not read this in any text

Dear Jason,

I mean that, the text you read is not enough, also the

text book used to have question from board. So I mean you read the text book

to take the test, but unfortunate, I do not know your text book and the

board are same thing or not. That why I said that sometime you should learn

on your experience and learn from the teacher or who ever have their own

good experience. From my experience, I found out many symptom from my

patients that the book or even the teacher never mention about. I used to

teach my patients who are professionals about my experience, then I proved

it by treating what I told them the problem which cause them sickness, they

all agree after the treatment is improve.

Nhung Ta

-

" "

 

Sunday, February 25, 2001 2:07 AM

RE: night sweats r Back...

 

 

> Nhung,

>

> This question has nothing to do with tests or boards.. Not sure what your

> comment means...??

>

> -Jason

>

>

> Dear Jason,

> I have one patient, he 've got the top grade in his

Exam

> board he is very good guide too. And I fail the test two times.I also have

> many more Chiropractic and Chinese herb DR who past the test are my

> patients. So you should doubt about the test of the board and go forward

to

> the people who have good experience.

> Nhung Ta

>

> -

> " "

> " traditional chinese herbs "

> Saturday, February 24, 2001 8:05 AM

> night sweats r Back...

>

>

> > Quick question/ comment:

> >

> > I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted that

night

> > sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It actually

> > should be sleep-sweats. Meaning you sweat during the day or night, but

> only

> > when you are sleeping. This understanding would have some clinical

> > significance,>> but due to the fact that I have not read this in any

text

> > leaves me suspect. Comments?

> >

> > -

> >

> >

>

>

>

> Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare

> practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

specializing

> in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services,

> including board approved online continuing education.

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My understanding is that at night, during sleep,sweating is a typical indicator of yin1 vacuity,i.e. the vacant yin1 results in the body's inabilityto consolidate and contain the sweat and it leaksout. Thus the idea of the first of the above phrases: the vacuity of the yin1 steals the sweat.>>>>>>>>>No one symptom, out of contexts, has any real clinical relevance. Using this type of thinking results in diagnosis of many many multiple patterns in one patient without understanding of systemic interactions that explain a symptoms, such as night sweat, being Yin def symptoms, transformative heat or any other possibility. I believe this type of analysis too often leads to a kind of Chop sue formulations. A symptom must be put in context at all times.

Alon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jason,

 

>I wonder how many other words we must have

> misconceptions of.

 

Very good point. In fact, from this example

we can see clearly what is meant by contextual

understanding with respect to the meanings of

Chinese medical terms.

 

We think of a medical term in English...rather

Latin or that hybrid language that has evolved

for the use of medical personnel...as a discrete

entity, a stand alone unit in the system of

medical language. But most Chinese medical terms

form parts in phrases, such as those cited earlier

in this thread. Many of these phrases come from or

are closely related and linked to old Chinese

sayings.

 

Thus in order to make sense of a single term, we

often have to take a look at these substrata, where

the meaning takes root.

 

In fact, if you look over the various dilemmas

raised during the course of this discussion,

you'll see that yin1 and yang2 themselves are

the most likely culprits when it comes to other

terms that have been misconstrued. The idea of

a " term " in the context of the English language

gives such terms a characteristic way of meaning

what they mean. Even this differs in the Chinese.

 

Trying to resolve conflicts that appear in translation

often leads nowhere in terms of understanding the

original as all that gets resolved is the appearance

of a conflict where, in the original none exists.

Worse, subtle gradations of meaning in the original

are often entirely overlooked.

 

Thus if we think of yin1 and yang2 as two separate

things, two separate identities, even two distinct

aspects of things in general, we will always find

ourselve hung on the horns of the dilemma that we

know as the Cartesian split in Western epistemology.

 

The Chinese notions are not only NOT separate and

distinct but literally comprise one another. Yin1

is yang2; yang2 is yin1.

 

As Alon wisely pointed out, none of this makes

any sense in the abstract. These are merely conceptual

tools for use in assessing the condition of human

beings. But the tools are quite different, in some

awfully subtle ways, from their opposite numbers

in English. If Chinese ideas/words are used like

English ideas/words, the results will differ

substantially.

 

I personally would like to see more discussions like

> these concerning translation of particular 'key' terms (especially

related

> to dx and of course herbs)... (if it is in the scope of this

discussion

> group.) I do think it is clinically relevant and can only benefit

the

> profession, our personal knowledge, and the profession.

 

Speaking of it from the perspective of protecting

and supporting the development of the profession

we should recognize that this is a level of education

that has been entirely missed. More discussion is

definitely needed, but what is needed is incorporation

of the study of the language...i.e. of the mechanism

of transmission of the traditions of traditional

Chinese medicine.

 

I am quite certain that there are more than a few who

having just read what I've written above have turned

their faces heavenward and sighed, " Oh there goes that

Orientalist again! " (Or, perhaps worse.)

 

But as you have just experienced, when you don't know

what the words mean, it leads to confusion and exasperation.

But you can't know WHAT the words mean if you don't know

HOW the words mean.

 

The last thing on earth that some folks seem to want is

a cogent discussion of the meaning of terms, lest their

own ignorance come into view, perhaps.

 

The ironic truth is that those who study these subjects

always come to recognize and understand that we are

woefully ignorant, no matter how long we invest in

such study.

 

>Let's con't this

> night sweat thread...

 

Indeed. Let's continue...

 

 

Ken

>

> -

>

>

> yuriovi@v... [yuriovi@v...]

> Sunday, February 25, 2001 11:00 AM

>

> Re: Re: night sweats r Back...

>

> Jason and his Chinese prophessor are wright!

> In Chinese the character " qin " 3 means to sleep & a sleep but not

night.So

> " qin han " means sleep sweating or sweating during a sleep, it does

not

> matter at night or daytime. And this correlates with my limited

experience

> of treatment of old people. Some of my patients say that sometimes

they are

> sweating during the day nap, as well

> Yuri

>

>

>

>

> @i...

> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 03:34:14 -0000

>

> Re: night sweats r Back...

>

>

> , <@o...> wrote:

> > Quick question/ comment:

> >

> > I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted

that night

> > sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It

actually

> > should be sleep-sweats.

>

> I think that is incorrect. Dao han is translated sometimes as thief

> sweats, but I have never heard it as sleep sweats. Ken?

>

> However thief sweats also connotatively suggests other than night,

but

> in wiseman the definition as taken from chinese medical dictionaries

> specifically refers to night. To call them sleep sweats seems to

be an

> example of connotative translation that is inherently misleading, I

> think.

>

 

>

>

>

>

> Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed

healthcare

> practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

specializing

> in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional

services,

> including board approved online continuing education.

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jason,

In Chinese, the term for night sweats is dao han. Literally, this means

"thief sweating." These sweats come sin the middle of the night like a

thief when everyone in the house is alseep. I think what your Chinese teacher

was getting at is that these sweats do not occur at night when one is awake

but at night when one is asleep. His clarification is a good one. However,

it also shows that native Chinese speakers cannot be the final authority

on the English language translation of Chinese medical terms, although

they can and should be helpmates in the process. The English term "night

sweats" does mean exactly what dao han means connotatively or functionally

(if not denotatively or literally). Night sweats is the accepted English

medical terminology for the phenomenon of dao han in both Western and Chinese

medicines.

Bob

wrote:

 

 

Quick

question/ comment:

 

I

was talking to one of my Chinese professor’s and he insisted that night

sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation.It

actually should be sleep-sweats.Meaning

you sweat during the day or night, but only when you are sleeping.This

understanding would have some clinical significance, but due to the fact

that I have not read this in any text leaves me suspect.Comments?

 

-Jason

 

 

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed

healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional

services, including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To me sweat night is something to deal with the organ in the body which

what time it begin to, for example if the body sweat at 1-3 o'clock at

night, I would think that the body have symptom of liver, from 3-o'clock it

mean that the lung have some to deal with,. base from those, I check around

from eye to tongue, then point to find out what wrong with the body.

sometime, the symptom appear to be this or that, but the patients still feel

healthy because the patients are very good in exercise, then the virus the

kind afraid of the body moving they make the nest protesting by something

as the bee nest, so the medicine or exercises can not come to kill them.

That why they always activities at night. When the virus border the body,

The body automatically against them, then because the body working to

against the virus that why the body have sweat.

Nhung Ta

-

<alonmarcus

 

Sunday, February 25, 2001 10:31 PM

Re: Re: night sweats r Back...

 

 

My understanding is that at night, during sleep,

sweating is a typical indicator of yin1 vacuity,

i.e. the vacant yin1 results in the body's inability

to consolidate and contain the sweat and it leaks

out. Thus the idea of the first of the above phrases:

the vacuity of the yin1 steals the sweat.

>>>>>>>>>No one symptom, out of contexts, has any real clinical relevance.

Using this type of thinking results in diagnosis of many many multiple

patterns in one patient without understanding of systemic interactions that

explain a symptoms, such as night sweat, being Yin def symptoms,

transformative heat or any other possibility. I believe this type of

analysis too often leads to a kind of Chop sue formulations. A symptom must

be put in context at all times.

Alon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken,

 

Thank you for the reply... I can't agree more, understanding words in

context is essential.

 

-

 

 

yulong [yulong]

Monday, February 26, 2001 2:38 AM

 

Re: night sweats r Back...

 

 

Jason,

 

>I wonder how many other words we must have

> misconceptions of.

 

Very good point. In fact, from this example

we can see clearly what is meant by contextual

understanding with respect to the meanings of

Chinese medical terms.

 

We think of a medical term in English...rather

Latin or that hybrid language that has evolved

for the use of medical personnel...as a discrete

entity, a stand alone unit in the system of

medical language. But most Chinese medical terms

form parts in phrases, such as those cited earlier

in this thread. Many of these phrases come from or

are closely related and linked to old Chinese

sayings.

 

Thus in order to make sense of a single term, we

often have to take a look at these substrata, where

the meaning takes root.

 

In fact, if you look over the various dilemmas

raised during the course of this discussion,

you'll see that yin1 and yang2 themselves are

the most likely culprits when it comes to other

terms that have been misconstrued. The idea of

a " term " in the context of the English language

gives such terms a characteristic way of meaning

what they mean. Even this differs in the Chinese.

 

Trying to resolve conflicts that appear in translation

often leads nowhere in terms of understanding the

original as all that gets resolved is the appearance

of a conflict where, in the original none exists.

Worse, subtle gradations of meaning in the original

are often entirely overlooked.

 

Thus if we think of yin1 and yang2 as two separate

things, two separate identities, even two distinct

aspects of things in general, we will always find

ourselve hung on the horns of the dilemma that we

know as the Cartesian split in Western epistemology.

 

The Chinese notions are not only NOT separate and

distinct but literally comprise one another. Yin1

is yang2; yang2 is yin1.

 

As Alon wisely pointed out, none of this makes

any sense in the abstract. These are merely conceptual

tools for use in assessing the condition of human

beings. But the tools are quite different, in some

awfully subtle ways, from their opposite numbers

in English. If Chinese ideas/words are used like

English ideas/words, the results will differ

substantially.

 

I personally would like to see more discussions like

> these concerning translation of particular 'key' terms (especially

related

> to dx and of course herbs)... (if it is in the scope of this

discussion

> group.) I do think it is clinically relevant and can only benefit

the

> profession, our personal knowledge, and the profession.

 

Speaking of it from the perspective of protecting

and supporting the development of the profession

we should recognize that this is a level of education

that has been entirely missed. More discussion is

definitely needed, but what is needed is incorporation

of the study of the language...i.e. of the mechanism

of transmission of the traditions of traditional

Chinese medicine.

 

I am quite certain that there are more than a few who

having just read what I've written above have turned

their faces heavenward and sighed, " Oh there goes that

Orientalist again! " (Or, perhaps worse.)

 

But as you have just experienced, when you don't know

what the words mean, it leads to confusion and exasperation.

But you can't know WHAT the words mean if you don't know

HOW the words mean.

 

The last thing on earth that some folks seem to want is

a cogent discussion of the meaning of terms, lest their

own ignorance come into view, perhaps.

 

The ironic truth is that those who study these subjects

always come to recognize and understand that we are

woefully ignorant, no matter how long we invest in

such study.

 

>Let's con't this

> night sweat thread...

 

Indeed. Let's continue...

 

 

Ken

>

> -

>

>

> yuriovi@v... [yuriovi@v...]

> Sunday, February 25, 2001 11:00 AM

>

> Re: Re: night sweats r Back...

>

> Jason and his Chinese prophessor are wright!

> In Chinese the character " qin " 3 means to sleep & a sleep but not

night.So

> " qin han " means sleep sweating or sweating during a sleep, it does

not

> matter at night or daytime. And this correlates with my limited

experience

> of treatment of old people. Some of my patients say that sometimes

they are

> sweating during the day nap, as well

> Yuri

>

>

>

>

> @i...

> Sun, 25 Feb 2001 03:34:14 -0000

>

> Re: night sweats r Back...

>

>

> , <@o...> wrote:

> > Quick question/ comment:

> >

> > I was talking to one of my Chinese professor's and he insisted

that night

> > sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation. It

actually

> > should be sleep-sweats.

>

> I think that is incorrect. Dao han is translated sometimes as thief

> sweats, but I have never heard it as sleep sweats. Ken?

>

> However thief sweats also connotatively suggests other than night,

but

> in wiseman the definition as taken from chinese medical dictionaries

> specifically refers to night. To call them sleep sweats seems to

be an

> example of connotative translation that is inherently misleading, I

> think.

>

 

>

>

>

>

> Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed

healthcare

> practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

specializing

> in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional

services,

> including board approved online continuing education.

>

>

>

>

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bob,

 

Do you

believe if someone sweats in the day (while sleeping), that this is considered night sweats?

 

-Jason

 

 

 

 

bobflaws

[bob]

Monday, February 26, 2001

7:46 AM

To:

 

Re:

night sweats r Back...

 

Jason,

In Chinese, the term for night sweats is dao han. Literally, this

means " thief sweating. " These sweats come sin the middle of the night

like a thief when everyone in the house is alseep. I think what your Chinese

teacher was getting at is that these sweats do not occur at night when one is

awake but at night when one is asleep. His clarification is a good one.

However, it also shows that native Chinese speakers cannot be the final

authority on the English language translation of Chinese medical terms,

although they can and should be helpmates in the process. The English term

" night sweats " does mean exactly what dao han means connotatively or

functionally (if not denotatively or literally). Night sweats is the accepted

English medical terminology for the phenomenon of dao han in both Western and

Chinese medicines.

Bob

wrote:

Quick question/ comment:

I was talking to one of my Chinese professor’s and he

insisted that night sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a

mis-translation.It actually should be sleep-sweats.Meaning you sweat during the

day or night, but only when you are sleeping.This understanding would have some

clinical significance, but due to the fact that I have not read this in any

text leaves me suspect.Comments?

-

 

 

The Chinese Herb

Academy, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners,

matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese Herbal

Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including board approved

online continuing education.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest guest

Jason,

This is a very interesting question. I would want to ask this question

of a number of native Chinese-speaking Chinese doctors and hear what they

have to say. After all, it's how they use the term that is important. All

I can say is that I probably would not write down the words "night sweats"

in the patient's chart to describe this phenomenon. Rather, I would write

down exactly what you have said, "patient breaks out into a sweat when

sleeping during the daytime." In my experience, this sign is just as likely

or even more likely to be due to yang ming or damp heat than to yin vacuity.

Bob

wrote:

 

 

Bob,

 

Do

you believe if someone sweats in the day (while sleeping), that

this is considered night sweats?

 

-Jason

 

 

 

-----Original

Message-----

 

bobflaws [bob]

Sent:

Monday, February 26, 2001 7:46 AM

To:

 

Subject:

Re: night sweats r Back...

 

Jason,

In

Chinese, the term for night sweats is dao han. Literally, this means "thief

sweating." These sweats come sin the middle of the night like a thief when

everyone in the house is alseep. I think what your Chinese teacher was

getting at is that these sweats do not occur at night when one is awake

but at night when one is asleep. His clarification is a good one. However,

it also shows that native Chinese speakers cannot be the final authority

on the English language translation of Chinese medical terms, although

they can and should be helpmates in the process. The English term "night

sweats" does mean exactly what dao han means connotatively or functionally

(if not denotatively or literally). Night sweats is the accepted English

medical terminology for the phenomenon of dao han in both Western and Chinese

medicines.

Bob

Jason

wrote:

Quick

question/ comment:

I

was talking to one of my Chinese professor’s and he insisted that night

sweats (i.e. due to yin xu) is actually a mis-translation.It actually should

be sleep-sweats.Meaning you sweat during the day or night, but only when

you are sleeping.This understanding would have some clinical significance,

but due to the fact that I have not read this in any text leaves me suspect.Comments?

-Jason

 

 

The

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed healthcare practitioners,

matriculated students and postgraduate academics specializing in Chinese

Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional services, including

board approved online continuing education.

 

Your

use of is subject to the

Terms of Service.

 

Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed

healthcare practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of professional

services, including board approved online continuing education.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...