Customer Reviews

Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As the publisher of this book, there are several factual errors in the anonymous review posted here that I would like to address.

First, the "translation of a translation" comment is misleading. First century texts such as the Shang Han Lun are not books one pulls off a shelf. They were typically prepared on silk or bamboo, and their content is today known via a process called "collation" where archeological artifacts and references in later texts are studied to create a best possible idea of the orginal. The Shang Han Lun Yi Shi, on which this text is based, has been considered the standard by scholars for some time.

Secondly, the "translation of a translation" issue is germane only in texts that do not contain the source Chinese. Not only does this text contain the source Chinese, there are appendicies that contain a ground-breaking study of the Shang Han Lun terminology, and alternate orderings of the Chinese text. Importantly, the translators decisions are openly and transparently justified giving readers the opportunity and tools they need to decide questions for themselves. In the case of this translation, each passage in the text is accompanied, not only by the English translation, but by commentary on the terminology and translational decisions.

As regards the anonymous writer's contention that the commentaries are not by the author. This is simply false. Feng Ye, Md. Phd., is listed as an author; he is a professor at Chang Gung Medical College where he supervises and instructs graduate Chinese medicial doctors in a teaching hospital. Dr. Wiseman, the primary linguist, also teaches at Chang Gung Medical College and has widely published not only the term set but also the research on which this translation is based.

Everyone will make their own decision as to which Shang Han Lun best suits their needs, but that decision should not be informed by "a Reader's" factual errors.

Bob Felt
Publisher
Paradigm Publications

Mitchell, Ye, and Wiseman's translation of the Shang Han Lun is without a doubt among the treasures of my Chinese medicine library. By providing the Chinese medicine community with a line by line translation of this classic work, the translators have enabled a depth of study unparalleled in any other translation of a Chinese medical text. Furthermore, the inclusion of the original Chinese (both in simplified and traditional characters) along with pinyin, linguistic clarification, and an extensive language appendix (worthy of a book unto itself!) studying this text allows the reader to simultaneously learn Chinese medical language while immersing oneself in a seminal and indispensable classic of Chinese medical literature. Aside from its own inherent clinical and academic value - which is undeniably great - this work therefore offers a gateway to a vast treasure house of un-translated Chinese medical literature. This book is an exceptionally valuable gift to the Chinese medicine profession in English speaking countries. It should set the standard for all future translations of classical Chinese medical texts. I hope the Jin Gui Yao Lue follows...

As anyone can tell from my previous reviews, I don't pull punches or spare criticism when I encounter a TCM or Classical Chinese medical book that fails to deliver. Well, this delivers bigtime and I'm very pleased with it. The organization is didactic, the translations appear reasonable and, thank goodness, the full Hanzi, fully accented PinYin and the translation are close by and easily accessible.

It is obvious that meticulous scholarship went into the production of this book and it should prove to be the standard book on this topic for some time to come.

As an unexpected bonus, the reader is treated to an absolutely superb chapter towards the end of the book on the topic of a kind of introduction to the nuances of classical Chinese and the typical grammatical constructs and idioms characteristic of medical books of this era. It is one of the finest introductions I've seen on the topic and an unexpected treasure in a book filled with commentary, translations and explanations which make the work of the student a delight instead of an unending search through obscure dictionaries and readers.

As a graduate, not too long ago, of a medical college of Traditional Chinese medicine, I can say that this book will have a central spot on my medical bookshelf for some time to come!

Highly recommended and my profound thanks to the people involved in its production!

This is the only really useful English language translation of the SHL, written by people with a command of both Classical Chinese and English. And if you study it you will find it immediately clinically useful, esp if you already have some experience.

How many USA or for that matter Chinese, Japanese or Korean herbalists actually understand how to use Gui Zhi Tang?

This book is the beginning of Chinese herbal medicine, in terms of what remains of classical texts, and as such should be part of the education in all the schools. Of course, sadly, it is not.

I dont think the 1 star review on this page really even merits comment; the nicest thing one could say is its misguided; but foolish might be more accurate. Agree with all what the publisher in his review has to say.

This is the standard of excellence that translations of TCM texts have to live up to. I can't rave enough about this book. Can't wait for their version of the Jingui Yaolue!

This translation of the Shang Han Lun is well done! I have been in a ten month long class taught by Arnaud Versluys and this book has been a great addition to his teachings. It is well laid out and since I am in the process of learning to read and write medical Chinese, I have found the addition in Chinese to be indispensable. The chapters are well structured as to pattern presentation and herbal prescriptions. It is also a valuable book in any practitioner of Chinese Medicine's library! Don't miss out!

I would like to point out a few things about this book. Yes, I do have a personal beef with a translator who has a book signing. I mean the real star here is the Shang Han Lun, not him.
1) Most important point, though no one will say it, this is not a real translation of the classical Shang Han Lun. It is a translation of a translation into modern Chinese. As one esteemed Chinese teacher said, when listing books that needed to be written into english;" We need a new translation of the Shang Han Lun, not the Easy Shang Han Lun."
2) Notice that the comentaries are not by Mitchell, but instead by a Shang Han Lun expert in China. This means that you do not get any kind of cross cultural translation.
You are better off getting a much less expensive, old copy of the Shang Han Lun and reading that.