The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine
A new translation of the Neijing Suwen with commentary by Maoshing Ni, Ph.D. Shambhala Press, 1995 ISBN 1-57062-080-6 |
Reviewed by Al Stone
Dr. Ni delivers on this promise but it is this accessibility that gives birth to both the strength and the weakness of Dr. Ni's translation of the Nei Jing. For the seasoned practitioner of TCM this is not the most in-depth translation available, however it is the most readable.
The typesetting and presentation of the information is slick and modern. This book is easy on the eyes overcoming the first of many obstacles that English speaking readers often encounter with translations from China. The publisher is the Shambhala company and their expertise goes a long way when comparing this book to so many others that feature what I call the "Traditional Chinese Font" or the courier type face in which the "e" is always a little high and the "s" is always a little low due to the poor alignment of the striking keys on the manual typewriter upon which many Chinese books seem to be written.
This modern Western sensibility expresses itself equally in the translation as well. Dr. Ni is one of the founders of Yo San University, a TCM school in Santa Monica, California. For this reason, the TCM vocabulary used is consistent with the words that English speaking students of TCM use all over the world. This provides the English speaking reader with more information and less ambiguity.
Let's compare one passage of Dr. Ni's translation to a version that was written by Henry C. Lu in 1978.
In the Lu version:
When the normal pulse of the lungs arrives, it should appear as peaceful and as light as elm-seeds (which are light but not hollow) which is the normal pulse of the lungs (hairy pulse); stomach energy is the root of the autumn (the lungs). When the diseased pulse of the lungs arrives, it should appear neither moving upward nor moving downward like the wings of a chicken, which is symptomatic of lungs disease (because the pulse is more hairy than harmonious). When the death pulse of lungs arrives, it should appear like a floating object or like a hair blown by the wind, which spells the death of the lungs.
And in Dr. Ni's version:
The normal lung pulse is light, floating and soft; neither rushed nor slow. It is like a leaf falling from a tree. If the pulse does not float back and forth with the downward motion of the leaf, it is considered a pathologic pulse of the lung. If the pulse wave feels like an object floating on the surface of the water and has no root, this is the death pulse of the lung.
As you can see, Dr. Ni's version lacks some of the depth, but provides more clarity when it comes to actually understanding what the Nei Jing is trying to say.
Another example of the difference between Dr. Ni's translation and that of Henry Wu is in the interpretation of some of the concepts central to traditional Chinese medicine. In the following paragraph, there is a slight discrepancy in the interpretation of the therapeutic activities ancient practitioners performed on their patient's spirits, and a major discrepancy in the issue of interior versus exterior treatments.
Dr. Ni's translation:
Huang Dr asked, "I have heard that in ancient times, when the sages treated, all they had to do was employ methods to guide and change the emotional and spiritual state of a person and redirect the energy flow. The sages utilized a method called zhu yuo, prayer, ceremony, and shamanism, which healed all conditions. Today, however, when doctors treat a patient, they use herbs to treat the internal aspect and acupuncture to treat the exterior. Yet some conditions do not respond. Why is this?"
Henry Lu's version:
The Yellow Emperor asked: I have heard that in ancient times, diseases were cured by prayers alone which served to divert the patient's attention and thought. But nowadays, physicians treat disease with herbs internally and with acupuncture externally, and the disease is sometimes cured and sometimes not cured. Why?
In the example presented above, Dr. Ni describes the work of the ancient doctors as redirecting the flow of energy within the patient by altering their emotional or spiritual state, while Henry Lu says that the ancient doctors diverted the patient's attention to provide the same effect. It seems obvious that in this sentence, the Ni version is more accurately translated. On the other hand, a little further down in the paragraph, Dr. Ni says that herbs treat the internal aspect and acupuncture treats the exterior. Mr. Lu interpreted this passage quite differently when he wrote that diseases are treated with herbs internally and acupuncture externally.
Another difference that you'll find in the Ni version of the Nei Jing is his ability to fill in the blanks that one would normally find in footnotes of other translations, as does Henry Wu. An example is as follows:
Literal translation from Chinese characters:
Heaven gives birth to the five phases and the three qi.
From Henry Wu:
Life is based upon the energies of Five Elements and three original energies (namely, energy of Heaven, the energy of Earth and energy transaction according to the laws of Five Elements); when the vicious energies invade the energies of life frequently, they will cause harm to man. Therefore, Yin and Yang are the roots of life.
From Dr. Ni:
The universal yin and yang transform into the five earthly transformative energies also know as the five elemental phases that consist of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These five elemental phases also correspond to the three yin and the three yang of the universe. These are the six atmospheric influences that govern the weather patterns that reflect in changes in our planetary ecology. If people violate or disrupt this natural order, then pathogenic forces will have an opportunity to cause damage to the body.
The biggest difference between classical books written in China compared to modern texts that are written in the West is that, in China, only the basic information is presented and the reason why things are the way they are is often left to the reader to decide. Because of this, the Nei Jing is a good text for presenting information, but lacks the step-by-step train of thought and logic that is more often seen in books that originate the West.
The reader of the Nei Jing would be wise to take each chapter slowly and spend some time thinking about the theory underlying what is being presented. Only then can the practitioner begin to approach the Nei Jing as it was originally intended, to elicit an intuitive response or deeper thought from the reader in much the same way that some approach the reading of the Bible.
There is a saying in China that suggests that after witnessing the positive results of a medical treatment that doesn't really make sense based on traditional functions of acupoints, one should "make up their own reason why it worked." I think that to truly get any benefit from the Nei Jing we must all give each chapter some thought and come up with our own reasons to explain what is written. Only then can we treat with the Shen level intent that is an all too often missing ingredient among those who gravitate toward point prescription recipes rather than starting with the recipe, understanding it, and then modifying it according to personal understanding and experience.
With this in mind, the Huang Di Nei Jing is a good book to spend a few years getting to know, and Dr. Ni makes this task a little bit easier, especially for those of us who are just beginning to unearth the deeper truths of TCM theory and those of us who must fulfill this undertaking in our native tongue of English.
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