Defining Modern Medical Chinese

[Guest guest]

-- August 5,2002

Dear Ken,

 

'Modern Chinese' or xian dai hanyu (which includes modern medical

Chinese) has been 'defined' when the ancient classical style of

writing or gu dai hanyu underwent substantial reforms after the May

4th Movement of l919. Hence Chinese literature written before the May

4 Movement were considered ancient classical Chinese literature or gu

dai hanyu while those materials written after this historical event

were considered " modern Chinese " or xian dai hanyu.

 

Gu dai hanyu or classical Chinese literature (which encompases

Yi Gu Wen or ancient Chinese medical literature) in turn includes wen

yan wen and Gu bai hua or ancient vernacular(which evolved after the

Song Dynasty).

 

The above info is from Zhou Da Pu's book A Classical Chinese

Language Teaching Dictionary Gu Dai Hanyu Jiao Xue Didian (l991).

Changsha City. I also cited this material in my paper " The Language

of TCM and a Unified TCM Curricullum " which I am trying to get into

the CHA files.

 

Regards,

 

Rey Tiquia

Alliance of Associations of Australia

 

 

 

 

> " The study of modern medical Chinese " needs

> to be defined. There is a vast nomenclature

> of medical terms in modern Chinese. Some of

> these terms relate to traditional Chinese

> medicine, and some relate to modern Western

> medicine.

>

> I am not really suggesting anything, other

> than what has long seemed to me to be an

> unavoidable fact of life: if you want to

> know what the Chinese medical classics say

> you should be able to read them. This means

> reading them in the language in which

> they were written. This language is not

> " modern medical Chinese, " unless we

> redefine " modern medical Chinese " to

> mean classical C