Terminology and Etymology

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and colleagues,

 

I want to let you in on an interesting conversation that I have begun with my

esteemed friend from the south (relatively speaking, at least), Z'ev

Rosenberg.  Z'ev noted that I had used to term sedate in an inappropriate

context, and so here is our conversation, thus far.  I post this with the

caveat that I would appreciate it if those of you who object to Nigel

Wiseman's terminology, not bring up again this old cantankorous subject, as it

has been addressed to death, and is not what we are discussing here,

anyway.  Rather, the issue is what is our goal in translating--to convey a

translation from Chinese which is as exact as possible, or to select a term in

English whose etymology most closely represents what the Chinese term

is conveying.  Here goes:

 

Here was the comment that I  originally made:

 

 

" When we address a given imbalance, I think that the most important thing we

need to do is look at the channels most affected, and most affecting,  sedate

one and tonify the other. Also to palpate, look and feel for tenderness,

spasm, skin crease, lack of symmetry and weakness.   In my patients case, I

sedated liver and tonified spleen and Dai, among other things. "   

 

and here was Z'ev's concern:

 

" Just wanted to point out privately that there is no such thing as 'sedation' in

Chinese acupuncture.  The terms are bu/supplement, and xie/drain.  Sedation

means to numb, to put to sleep.  That is not what acupuncture does (unless you

inject the point with lidocaine).  I know half the profession still uses these

terms, but they are simply wrong. "

 

Yehuda:

 

" Thank you for the reminder.  Unfortunately, because there is not standardized

terminology, and in both lectures, articles and books bu and xie are translated

as tonify and sedate, one tends to become a creature of habit. 

 

That being said, consider if you would,  that the etymological source

of  " sedate " is the Latin:  sedatus  which means to compose, moderate,

or quiet, which is pretty accurate as to what we are trying to do with an

overactive liver, no?  Maybe the exact translation of the term xie is drain,

but are we attempting to lessen the volume of a replete liver, in terms of its

content (as in draining a sink) or are we attempting to calm a hyperactive

child, as it were?   It seems to me that the action would be more similar to

the latter.  The source of tonify on the other hand, is the Greek,

Tonus, which means to stretch, as in a rope.  Bu doesn't seem to convey that

meaning, and in that case I would agree, that the action could more accurately

be called supplementing. 

 

I think that more important than exactly translating the terminology, sometimes

it is important to choose a more interpretive translation when trying to convey

a certain concept in a different language.  I find that frequently in Hebrew,

too, that when I translate exactly, the gist of the meaning is lost.

 

This is an interesting idea to exchange.  I wouldn't mind posting it on CHA and

TCM if you aren't opposed to it. "

 

 Z'ev:

 

" Not opposed at all. . . 

 

One clarification that may be helpful is that with acupuncture/moxa we are

dealing with channels primarily, and literally moving qi in specific ways, to

and from channels and points.  The direct visceral relationships are not the

same as with herbal medicine, i.e. shu gan, or calm the liver, which is

different entirely.  Patients may feel more calm or relaxed during and after

acupuncture, but this is a result of balancing the channels, not of a

physiological 'sedation'.   

 

 

The term for sedate or sedation in chinese is wen3 稳 . . .. 

 

Now to continue our discussion:

 

This brings up another interesting idea to consider:  do the terms that we

use to describe therapeutic actions reflect the objective physiological change

in the patient or their subjective sensation.  It would seem to me that the

Chinese are more concerned with the former, as reflected in changes in the

pulse. 

 

But returning to our original topic,  let me posit another idea:  The medicine

we practice in the English speaking Western world is not the same as is

practiced in the East, for the same reason:  The mindset that we bring to our

practices is one that was formed by our upbringing, education and

environment.  We think like Westerners, whether we like it or not.  Therefore,

I would contend, that unless we speak and think in Chinese when we see patients,

we are fitting a round peg into a square hole, by attempting to translate terms

literally, without considering the etymology of the English.  Look at Xie,

Qing and Wen for example:  When we look at the formula " Xie Bai San, " it is

translated as " Drain the White Powder. "    Let's look for a minute at the

etymology of drain.  Drain comes from the Middle English term, " dreinen " which

means to filter as in the quote by Sir Francis Bacon, " Salt water, drained

through twenty vessels of earth, hath

become fresh. "   This seems to fit nicely with the idea of gently filtering

the heat from the lungs which makes this formula so effective for small

children as opposed to " Qing " as in the formula " Qing Fei Yin " which is

translated as " Clear the Lungs Drink. "   Clear comes from the Old French " cler "

which can mean free of encumbrance.  With this formula, phlegm is transformed

and cleared out, perhaps a little more aggressively. I can't comment on the tem

  " Wen " because I am not familiar with its usage in Chinese, though I would

assume that it's implication is anesthesia.  But if that's the case, that would

be very different than sedate. Anesthetize comes from the Greek

anaisthet which means without feeling. 

 

Let me summarize: 1.  It would appear that Classic Chinese medicine was

more concerned with  clinical signs rather than subjective symptoms, in

determining the terminological choices.  2.  It is very difficult, if not

next to impossible for someone who is not equally fluent in Chinese and

English to clearly develop the mindset of the ancient Chinese physician.  It

is difficult enough for the modern Chinese physician/scholar.  I would suggest

as an ignorant outsider, that  this would be because the terminology is

integrated and  so completely different from Western languages.  3.  I would

suggest that as Westerners we need to take a two step process in proximating

what Chinese doctors meant in using Medical terminology: First, Analyze

carefully the context of the terms used in their original text, and second,

determine the etymological root of translated terms.  

 

Based upon the above three points, I come to a different conclusion then

heretofore:  that the origin of the term sedate in English has a very different

connotation than the connotation of the term anesthetize, and based upon the

above discussion and research  I find it less objectionable to use it in the

context that I chose, to quiet the liver, which is very different than calming

the liver.

 

Thank you for your eminent challenge.  Even if we agree to disagree may our

discussions have always have the same collegiality as Bais Hillel and Bais

Shammai: for the sake and pursuit of knowledge and truth.

 

Respectfully,

 

 

Yehuda