The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic
The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic
The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic, often called simply the 'Nei Jing,' is regarded as the most important book in the early history of acupuncture. Attributed to the legendary Yellow Emperor (Huang Di), who reportedly lived around 2500 B.C.E., this book was probably first written about 200 B.C.E.. It sets down the theoretical basis for acupuncture and Chinese medicine in general.
My translation is intended for students of Chinese language and medicine, but it is also accessible to beginners. By including the Chinese characters in a large, clear font, and including the standard Pinyin with tones, I hope this version can inspire other translators to incorporate these conventions into their own works. For practicing Chinese, this can be printed and the characters copied by hand. I also have a version with grid boxes built in for practicing the characters (Click here for an example page of the workbook format).
Passage 1
Translation:
The Way.
Wise people walk it.
Ignorant people merely admire it.
Characters:
Character-by-character translation:
Commentary:
The meaning of this passage is pretty clear, so needs no lengthy commentary. It reminds me of a passage in the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) where Lao Zi writes:
When the wise hear of the Way, they practice it diligently;
When the intelligent hear of the Way, they practice it occasionally;
When the ignorant hear of the Way, they laugh out loud;
If the ignorant didn't laugh, it wouldn't be the Way.
(Chapter 41)
The grammatical conventions of Classical Chinese begins to be apparent here, with a character which simply denotes the topic. Other grammatical characters are used in the next passage. Classical Chinese relied upon such characters and not punctuation.
Passage 2
The Yellow Emperor said: From ancient times, reaching back to heaven, life has had its roots in Yin and Yang (life has come forth from the combination of male and female). Heaven and earth make up all space. With the six inner unions, its vital force made the nine rivers, nine holes (bodily openings), five organs (the heart, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys), and twelve joints. All things together in balance, heaven’s vital breath gave birth to the five organs and three energies. Many violate this [balance]. Then evil forces harm the person. This is the origin of the teaching of long life.
Character-by-character translation:
Passage 3
Characters:
Translation:
When wind is a guest in excess, sexual essence (Jing) will then decline.
This evil [wind] injures the liver.
Character-by-character translation:
Commentary:
Please compare my translation above to the following translation from a popular translation of the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic:
"If yin and yang are out of balance, evil wind will gain access into the body through the skin."
Looking over the character-by-character translation above, you will see that the characters for Yin and Yang are not even there! Nor is there a character for skin! It looks like in effort to avoid the issue of Jing (sexual essence), they intentionally misrepresented the medical meaning of Wind, Essence, and the Liver. This illustrates the need for scholarly translations to include the original texts along with a character-by-character translation. Otherwise the reader never knows how faithful the translator was to the original.
The combination of both the Essence and the Liver both being negatively effected by Wind is indeed curious, as the Essence is usually associated with the Kidneys, and not the Liver. This passage then requires more contemplation as to various ways Essence is depleted.
Passage 4
Characters:
Translation:
Therefore, severe Yin surely turns to Yang and severe Yang necessarily becomes Yin.
Character-by-character translation:
Commentary:
This is a basic explanation of Yin/Yang theory, and explains the dot of opposite color in the Tai Ji (Yin/Yang) diagram. It is a reminder to apply this theory in the understanding of health and illness.
Passage 5
Characters:
Translation:
Water and fire.
Yin and Yang journey through these signs.
Character-by-character translation:
Commentary:
This passage points out the various manifestations of Yin and Yang as they 'journey' through our world. As water and fire, cold and heat, female and male, Yin and Yang manifest in everything. The physician, as well as the philosopher, will recognize these patterns in all things. Thus the ordinary things of this world become signs or omens of the universal way.
Passage 6
Characters:
Translation:
Therefore, if first there’s pain and later bruising and swelling, Qi has injured the body.
If first there’s bruising and swelling, and later pain arrives, then the body has injured the Qi.
Character-by-character translation:
