Translation of “阴阳学说”
-Introduction
阴阳 belongs to part of traditional philosophy, and a basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine theory. Here are some problems appearing in the translation of “阴阳学说”as follows.
-Translation of “阴阳”
      阴阳 is a concept which has spread to the west long long ago. In the very beginning, people translated it into such as “sun and moon”(which means 日和月 indeed), “masculine and feminine”(which means 男和女 actually), “negative and positive”(which means 阴极和阳极) and so on. However, in practical conditions, people thought that these translations could not express the spirit of “阴阳”in Chinese philosophy and culture, and then its better translation became “yin and yang” that was transliterated, which has been accepted by most specialists and now can be looked up in Webster’s Dictionary.
      The transliteration of “阴阳” is accepted by the mass, but there remains differences in writ
ing, sometimes in capital letters, sometimes in small letters, sometimes in italics. According to the practical use, these types are all popular. In the view of communication, it seems more comfortable to people if written in small letters. When talking about separated meaning of “阴” and “阳”, it is appropriate to use “yin and yang” or “Yin and Yang”. When “阴阳” is regarded as a whole part, it will be more proper to use “yinyang” or “Yinyang”.
-Translation of phrases about “阴阳学说”
      1. 阴阳学说
      “阴阳学说” is always translated into “theory of yin and yang” or “doctrine of yin and yang”. “Theory” and “doctrine” are both OK to show the exact meaning. But “doctrine” has something about religion, whose first meaning in many English dictionaries is “beliefs and teachings of a church”. For instance, two examples of explanations of “doctrine” in the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of English-Chinese are both about religion:
(1) a matter of doctrine
(2) the doctrine that the pope is infallible.
There is no denying that “doctrine” can be used to show theory of science or irreligion:
(1) the reactionary Monroe doctrine
(2) the doctrine of evolution
In a consequence, “doctrine” can be also used to translate “学说” of “阴阳学说”, but it is not so common as “theory” as a matter of fact.
reactionary翻译
2. 阴气 and 阳气
“阴气” and “阳气” used to be translated into “yin-energy” and “yang-energy”, mainly because at that time “气” was translated into “vital energy”, and there exists “yin principle” and “yang principle” as well. With the popularity of “qi” or “Qi”, “阴气” now is translated into “yin qi” and “阳气” into “yang qi”.
3. 阴中之阴 and 阳中之阳
“阴中之阴”and ”“阳中之阳” used to be translated into “a component part of yin within yin” and “a component part of yang within yang”. This kind of translation has been simplified by far with the deletion of “a component part of” which works as an explanation.
阴中之阴      yin within yin
阳中之阳      yang within yang
阴中之阳      yang within yin
阳中之阴      yin within yang
4. 阴阳互根
“阴阳互根” now is translated into “interdependence between yin and yang” and sometimes “yin and yang are rooted in each other”, “yin and yang have their roots in each other” or “mutual rooting of yin and yang”.
5. 阴阳转化
“阴阳转化” can be often translated into “transformation between yin and yang”. Version created by some foreigners is “yin-yang conversion” or “mutual convertibility of yin and yang”.
6. 阴阳自和
“阴阳自和”can be translated into “natural harmony of yin and yang” according to its literal meaning. In fact, “阴阳自和” is that unbalanced 阴阳 tends to be balanced again after therapy. Therefore, it can also be translated into “reestablishment of equilibrium between yin and yang” which is closer to the original meaning. In some countries, “spontaneous harmonization of yin and yang” or “natural restoration of the yin-yang balance” are both common to see.
7. 阴阳消长
There are two common translations of “阴阳消长”: “growth and decline between yin and yang” and “waxing and waning of yin and yang”. “Wax” means being gradually round of the
moon which extends to growth and “wane” means part disappearing of the moon which extends to decline.
8. 阴平阳秘
Simply, it can be translated into “balance between yin and yang” according to its Chinese meaning. But translations in and out are not unified. In China, its common translation is “Yang steadies while yin calms” or “Yin is in peace and yang in density” while “calm yin and sound yang” is more common in other countries.
- Epilogue
“阴阳学说” is the basic theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM), which has been putting excellent effect on the road of TCM’s globalization. In order to push the development of our own Chinese Tradition, its theories are supposed to be accepted not only by ourselves but also the world. And to forbid misunderstandings, Translators are under the heavy pressure of leading our unique culture essence to the whole globe exactly
and understandably. Therefore, it demands translators to never stop absorbing and learning and gain more experience to achieve it.

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