Mixing Metaphors: Translating the Indian Medical Doctrine Tridoa in Chinese Buddhist Sources
Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: What constitutes success in the translation of a medical doctrine?Scholars have long thought that Chinese translators failed to understand or to transmit faithfully the Indian medical terminology they encountered within the Buddhist Tripitaka.This paper takes a closer look at the variations in the translation of the doctrine tridoṣ a in Chinese.I argue that translation inconsistencies reflect not confusion, but a range of strategic translation decisions.While some translators prioritised closer fidelity to Sanskrit originals, most chose to emphasise the compatibility between Indian and Chinese medical thought by glossing the tridoṣ a with terms that were loaded with indigenous metaphorical connotations.In a rereading of one such passage, I show that understanding so-called errors as translation tactics allows historical analysis to move beyond a limited focus on the accuracy of translations and to instead explore the cultural resonances and social logics of translated texts in their historical context.
Source: Asian Medicine
Author: C. Pierce Salguero
Language: English
Topic: History of Medicine Studies
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: Charlotte W. Newcombe Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W2048555885