Terminological Problems Encountered and Experiences Gained in the Process of Editing a Commentated Nan-Ching Edition

Abstract

The Nan-ching 難經 occupies an extraordinary position in the history of Chinese medical literature. No other medical text compiled in China over the last two thousand years has received more and longer lasting attention by editors and commentators; ironically, for the past few centuries, no other ancient text appears to have been misinterpreted as severely. My own efforts to prepare a first English edition of this text have benefitted from the large number of Chinese and Japanese commentated Nan-ching editions compiled over the past sixteen centuries; at the same time, the characterization of the Nan-ching as a commentary to the Nei-ching 經 — an assumption dominating Chinese literature since the eighteenth century and permeating recent Western secondary literature as well — proved to be an initial obstacle to a faithful rendering of its message into English. In fact, concluding from hindsight, a thorough understanding of the conceptual contents of the Nan-ching and its subsequent translation became possible only after I had been able to reassess the historical significance of this text. This reassessment, however, included leaving behind the commentary categorization of the Nan-ching, and recognizing this book as a highly innovative work instead.