Huangdi Neijing

Kong, Y.C.

Published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press

Kong, Y.C.
Huangdi Neijing: A Synopsis with Commentaries.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2010.
Project MUSE.muse.jhu.edu/book/24634.

For additional information about this book

https://muse.jhu.edu/book/24634

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 Editorial Notes

In Neijing zhiyao, as arranged by Li Zhong-zi, there were eight chapters, each

headed by a short title in two words that requires some explanation. The
chapters were not divided into sections. Zhang Deng-ben, in his version (ref. 1),
began each chapter with an exegesis of the chapter title and a synoptic descrip-
tion of the chapter content. After that, the chapter was divided into sections,
each excerpted from a different chapter of Suwen or Lingshu. This was
followed by annotations as footnotes, and a translation into vernacular
Chinese. To conclude one section, an explanatory note highlighted the salient
points.
A different format is adopted in the present translation. Each chapter
begins with an Exegesis that governs the whole chapter. The chapter is divided
into sections and are numbered according to Zhang Deng-ben (ref. 1). The
translation in the “Section” and its “Explanatory Notes” may require footnotes.
Each item in the “Footnotes” is numbered. Cross-references to other passages
in this book are presented as (ibid. 1-2-3) (Chapter One, Section-1.2, Foot-
note-[3]). The following is an example of the basic layout:

Chapter One: How to Attain Longevity through the Practice of the Dao
(Dao Sheng 道生)
Exegesis (an overview of the chapter content and significance of chapter
title)
[Section 1.1] Suwen (or Lingshu) Chapter 1: On Genuine Nature (abbrevi-
ated title)
Chinese text (with amended Chinese words in brackets)
Translation, with number of footnotes in square brackets
Explanatory Notes
Usually relating one section/chapter to another to give an overall view
Footnotes [1], [2], [3] etc.
Justifying the translation or introducing occasional references

Some observations on translation:

• In transliterating into pinyin, no indication of the tone of a syllable is
given. Readers may consult a dictionary if the transliteration does not

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 xxii | Editorial Notes

seem to agree with the Chinese character. Transliterated titles of

medical and other classics are in italics.
• Foreign and transliterated words, translated or quoted book titles and
chapter titles, medical terms, Latin names of plants and animals are in
italics. Frequently used Chinese terms like “qi”, “yin”, “yang”, “fu”, “zang”
or “dao” are not italicised, but their derivatives are, like yangqi.
• Individual words in transliterated terms or phrases are combined to
form compound words where meaningful like Neijing and Suwen.
Authors’ dates are given on first occurrence; those of contemporary
authors are not given. Long sentences are paraphrased.
• Words in transliteration of quotations and citations are not combined;
they are transliterated character by character in order to help identify
the individual characters and avoid ambiguity. This also leaves room
for a better translation in due course.
• Translation is basically verbatim, with additional/alternate choices of
words in brackets, so that the original literary style can be appreciated.
Sometimes, it has been necessary to add a phrase, in square brackets,
where it makes a sentence complete. In order to convey the full
meaning when translating the terms, sometimes it has been necessary
to explain them further in lengthy footnotes. Paraphrasing was ulti-
mately unavoidable when the translated version seemed very odd in
English. In this case, fidelity has been the primary consideration.
• The golden rule of translation, established by one of the pioneer trans-
lators Yan Fu 嚴復 (1854–1921) is “Xin-Da-Ya” 信達雅, i.e. fidelity (xin
信, being true to the original version), readability (da 達, making the
translation readable in plain words) and elegance (ya 雅, fine words in
a literary style). These criteria still stand today.
• There are several paragraphs preceding (e.g. Chapter 1, Section 2) or
following (e.g. Chapter 1, Section 3) the paragraph excerpted in
Neijing zhiyao that are relevant to those excerpted but they are not
quoted by Li Zhong-zi. There were good reasons for Li to omit them.
Neijing zhiyao was supposed to be a synopsis of Neijing, excerpting
from 43 out of 81 chapters in Suwen, amounting to about one-eighth
of the integral text; with much less from Lingshu (only 13 out of 81
chapters). It has to be concise in order to serve its purpose. He An 何
晏 (?–249), a famous scholar-official of the Wei-Jin period, said:
“Important words are succinct.”1 Nevertheless, some of these related

1
《三國志．魏書．管輅傳》
：「要言不煩。」(yao yan bu fan).

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 Editorial Notes | xxiii

passages are also translated and incorporated in the Explanatory Notes.

• Very often, the text in Neijing followed a certain format, like the
stanzas of a poem. They are in a regular metre of four words or more,
often in rhyme (Section 1.3), something which is characteristic of
pre-Qin literary style. Elsewhere, the text was so regularly constructed
(though without rhyme) that it can be easily rearranged in tabular
form (like the 19 items of disease mechanism). Such tabulations
appear often in this book. This metric regularity and rhythmic conso-
nance exude an aesthetic quality that helps the reader to memorise its
content.
• The ability to memorise is extremely important in Chinese medicine,
where it is necessary, for instance, to commit to memory the composi-
tion of the standing prescriptions or quotations from the classics. This
is facilitated by arrangement of the prescriptions in mnemonic verses
(e.g. tang tou ge jue 湯 頭 歌 訣). It is also true that the faculty of
memory is of paramount importance in the study of Chinese classics,
in which academic excellence is equivalent to the ability to quote from
memory passages from the classics (yong dian 用 典). Liu Hu 樓 護, the
first bencao expert on record, was said to be able to recite tens of thou-
sands of words from memory (Hanshu: Life of Liu Hu 漢書．樓護傳).
A recent day scholar, Chen Yin-ke 陳 寅 恪 was famed for his ability to
pick out a quotation from the historic records of the Sui and the Tang
dynasties, his specialty, by giving the volume and page number; he was
blind by that time.
• On top of these aesthetic and academic considerations, there are prac-
tical requirements to write in a terse and succinct style so as to be
economical with words. In the old days, writing, copying, transcribing,
and engraving the wood blocks for printing were all done manually,
and using the minimum number of words would facilitate the process.
This economy of words has also been observed in the translation.
• Modified rules of pinyin for names are applied, like Si-Ma Qian (double
surname) and Zhang Jie-bin (two words in a name). Double conso-
nants (like Shen-nong) in names and compound words are also
hyphenated.
• “A few words about translation and this translation [of War and
Peace].… We all know, in the case of War and Peace, that we are
reading a nineteenth-century Russian novel. That fact allows the
twenty-first century translator a different range of possibilities that
may exist for a twenty-first century writer. It allows for the enrichment
of the translator’s own language, rather than the imposition of his

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 xxiv | Editorial Notes

language on the original.” Substitute Neijing for War and Peace, the
present author need no further apology.2

2
From War and Peace, translated by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky (Vintage Books,
2007).

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