Subject: Nigel Wiseman

[Guest guest]

Sun, 3 Oct 2004 13:37:33 -0700, " " <zrosenbe wrote:

 

> The Wiseman dictionary remains the best choice out there, bar none.

 

I too find the work of Wiseman and his group the best of its kind, and

indispensable for reading, study and writing.

 

That's not to say I'm sometimes frustrated by the lack of historical

dimension. Admittedly their claim is maximum accuracy of TCM/CM sort of 'as

it stands' in contemporary medical literature.

 

In my study, however, it adds significant meaning to understand the way the

meanings and usages trace back to specific historical periods and

interpretive viewpoints. I.e., not just what it means, but how and why did

it get that meaning. I find this contributes to the power of intentionality

in practical application of the knowledge.

 

Analogously, in some respects Webster's Unabridged Dictionary in editions

from the early 20th century are more useful than contemporary editions,

because the etymological information was more detailed, often following

back beyond the Latin and Greek words to the Indo-European/Sanskrit roots.

 

It's like the difference between TCM's focus on the more immediate

physiological/pathological dynamics of qi/xue in the primary channel and

organ system, on the one hand; and understanding the dynamics in light of

the other channels systems, especially the 8-extra/constitutional channels

and the curious/evolutionary organs, on the other hand.

 

 

[Guest guest]

_____

 

[]

Sunday, October 03, 2004 5:28 PM

Chinese Medicine

Re: Nigel Wiseman

 

 

 

Sun, 3 Oct 2004 13:37:33 -0700, " " <zrosenbe

wrote:

 

> The Wiseman dictionary remains the best choice out there, bar none.

 

I too find the work of Wiseman and his group the best of its kind, and

indispensable for reading, study and writing.

 

That's not to say I'm sometimes frustrated by the lack of historical

dimension. Admittedly their claim is maximum accuracy of TCM/CM sort of 'as

it stands' in contemporary medical literature.

 

In my study, however, it adds significant meaning to understand the way the

meanings and usages trace back to specific historical periods and

interpretive viewpoints. I.e., not just what it means, but how and why did

it get that meaning. I find this contributes to the power of intentionality

in practical application of the knowledge.

 

[Jason]

 

As you probably know there are oodles of books in Chinese with this type of

information.

 

 

 

-jason

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Chris,

Even though it is comprehensive, I see the Wiseman dictionary as a

beginning of a new phase of Chinese medical literature. It is hardly

the final chapter.

The Zhong yi da ci dian/Great Dictionary of

(Chinese language) gives more of a historical dimension to the terms,

including all usages in source texts, plus terms from classical Chinese

medicine no longer in common use. However, to translate it into

English will take several volumes to fill and several years to

complete.

We need more dictionaries and glossaries.

Who will do this job?

 

 

On Oct 3, 2004, at 4:28 PM, wrote:

 

> I too find the work of Wiseman and his group the best of its kind, and

> indispensable for reading, study and writing.

>

> That's not to say I'm sometimes frustrated by the lack of historical

> dimension. Admittedly their claim is maximum accuracy of TCM/CM sort

> of 'as

> it stands' in contemporary medical literature.

>

> In my study, however, it adds significant meaning to understand the

> way the

> meanings and usages trace back to specific historical periods and

> interpretive viewpoints. I.e., not just what it means, but how and why

> did

> it get that meaning. I find this contributes to the power of

> intentionality

> in practical application of the knowledge.

[Guest guest]

Sun, 3 Oct 2004 20:39:47 -0700, " " <zrosenbe wrote:

 

>… The Zhong yi da ci dian/Great Dictionary of …

 

Sounds like a good start. Do you know if this book is readily available, or

authors, publisher, date, ISBN number?

 

> We need more dictionaries and glossaries. Who will do this job?

 

Good question. And a reason why I think we need not only a clinical

doctorate, but also academic doctorates in related fields, like this. AUCM

has a couple of doctoral candidates (PhD in CCM) doing translations as

theses, but far less ambitious in scope then this.

 

One thinks, of course, of Wiseman's team, the exact structure of which I'm

not familiar with. (Is it an institute, a foundation, or just, as I

suspect, loosely associated individuals donating their time in specific

collaborative projects.) Some brain-storming on the possible scenarios to

support such endeavors might be useful - sketching out what it might take,

and hoping some young, brilliant and ambitious student or team will take on

the challenge. Given, these days, the internet and the ease of world-wide

participation, as in this forum, team efforts are made much easier.

 

Of course, if the Chinese are becoming more aware of a need for fluency and

rigor in translations, and are considering things like the Wiseman system,

then, with the flick of a bureaucratic switch, a project like this would be

as good as done. (It would be nice, too, if they also began to understand

the value of footnotes, indexes and other reference tools to make books

more usable.)

 

Unschuld notes at times how some of his effort goes toward cultivating

institutional support for what he and his scattered colleagues do, and

speaks of it with some frustration. The fact of the matter is, however,

that individuals (e.g. D. Harper, K. Taylor) do find the enthusiasm and

determination to find ways to carry through significant projects, taking

advantage of various tangential institutional opportunities.

 

Anyone know of any member of the Bill Gates family, or Warren Buffet's,

etc., who was cured by CM/TCM? In such a case, maybe we could get a

department or professorial chair funded at one of our major schools. This

might be actually less fantastic than it may appear. I understand that,

prior to her untimely death, Dr. Yi TianNi had significant private funding

lined-up for setting up an institution/clinic to further her work and

teaching.

 

 

[Guest guest]

--- < wrote:

> as good as done. (It would be nice, too, if they

> also began to understand

> the value of footnotes, indexes and other reference

> tools to make books

> more usable.)

 

haha, that's a funny point since they come from a

culture where people are expected to memorise whole

books both ways and upside down. Not too many

people will do that nowadays though.

 

Have a good one,

Hugo

 

 

 

 

 

 

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