Language questions

[Guest guest]

All,

 

Once again the topic of language and

its relationship to the study of traditional

Chinese medicine emerges, and as always

it kicks up a lot of dust.

 

Why?

 

First, I notice that there are several

questions that tend to get mushed together

as if they were all one issue. These

questions are inter-related, but they

are distinct.

 

Is it a good idea for people to know

the meanings of the words that they

read, study, speak, write, and otherwise

use in the course of learning and practicing

traditional Chinese medicine?

 

If anyone has an argument to support

a " No. " answer to that question,

please share it with us.

 

Otherwise, we will just have to assume

that, rhetorical styles not withstanding,

there is widespread agreement that knowing

what you're talking about is a basically

good thing.

 

Next, are the terms of Chinese medicine

orginally Chinese?

 

Again, does anyone actually argue this

point?

 

Now we get to a somewhat more complex

matter, namely, should students in

training programs be given some instruction

designed to familiarize them with the

original Chinese terms that constitute

the terminology of traditional Chinese

medicine?

 

Well, if you accept the premise as

related above that students and practitioners

should know the meanings of the words

and that the words we're talking about

are Chinese words, then how can the

answer to this third question be

anything but a resounding, " Well, yes

of course they should. "

 

So we can now pose an even more complicated

question, namely, why is there such strong

resistance to the logic (Yes, it

is logic) I've just outlined?

 

Why?

 

I've got some answers in mind, but before

I share them with everyone, I'd like

to stop at this point and see if

anyone challenges the foregoing.

 

I'm also very interested in hearing

others' opinions as to why people

dig in their heels and resist the

teaching of Chinese medical language.

 

I contend that it is not in the least

an expression of helpless idealism

to hold that people should know the

meanings of the words they use.

 

Nor is it wild-eyed exuberance for

unproven theories to believe that

the terminology of Chinese medicine

is Chinese.

 

As I've stated many times, my own

personal objectives in all of this

discussion of language and related

issues is to appeal directly, as one

individual to other indivdiduals,

to get people to recognize the fact

that the education in the subject

has long tended to ignore these

fundamental issues.

 

If we want to make our profession

strong and able to withstand the

pressures that continued growth and

development will no doubt bring,

we had better shore up our foundations.

 

Our foundations lie in exactly the

same ground that has provided the

foundations of the subject for all

of its long history.

 

Ken