Introductory Readings in Classical Chinese Medicine: Sixty Texts With Vocabulary And Translation, a Guide to Research Aids And a General Glossary [Hardcover]

Paul U. Unschuld (Other Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: Chinese, English (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (November 14, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556080409
• ISBN-13: 978-1556080401
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,082,051 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Could be better..., March 17, 2009

By 

ELC - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introductory Readings in Classical Chinese Medicine: Sixty Texts With Vocabulary And Translation, a Guide to Research Aids And a General Glossary (Hardcover)

When I got this book, I was initially impressed. The texts Unschuld selects are interesting to be sure. The worst part is that it is very user UNfriendly. The texts are long, and finding the corresponding pinyin and translation is impossible. Additionally, this is not really a language teaching book. The author includes only the pinyin and a translation. There are no grammar explanations or any other explanations for that matter. There are some historical footnotes, but nothing that helped me read the texts. The reader is expected to figure it all out through the translation, making the book no more valuable than any other translation that includes characters. The more I *try* to work with this book, the less I like it. Unschuld is a great historian, but not a very good language teacher. I highly suggest Goodman's Classical Chinese Medical Texts: Learning to Read the Classics of Chinese Medicine (Vol. I) over this.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent intro to classical Chinese medical literature, November 7, 1998

By 

"anshen" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introductory Readings in Classical Chinese Medicine: Sixty Texts With Vocabulary And Translation, a Guide to Research Aids And a General Glossary (Hardcover)

This book gives short excerpts of classical texts, ranging from 90 BCE to 1891 CE, and presented in standard character chinese and Wade-Giles transliteration (which will annoy some, but many older dictionaries, using Wade-Giles, are much more useful than those produced in Maoist China, as the latter tend to avoid certain connotations of words that are significant to Chinese medical tradition), with vocabulary lists and English translation. The English translation clearly identifies words and phrases used to 'fill in the gaps' and smooth out the translation. The sixty texts are grouped by subject matter and well-chosen. There is an appendix on research aids, and a useful general glossary. This text is a bridge to the world of the classical texts for those who do not have the language skills to read them otherwise, and is a significant contribution to students of Chinese [traditional] medicine in the west.
The only drawback is the price - at (this price) it's almost outlandish, but it IS a useful book.