On the current status of publication of French version TCM books in China / 国际中医中药杂志

ABSTRACT

Books on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in French version have a large readership in France as well as in other French-speaking countries in Europe and Africa. From 1977 to 2020, 10 Chinese publishing houses have published 44 TCM works in French, among which 7 are on TCM popular readings and 37 on academic ones. If classifying by TCM disciplines, 29 are on acupuncture & Tuina (including teaching charts), 6 on health preservation, 5 on TCM culture, 3 on TCM terminology dictionaries and 1 on Chinese Materia Medica. With acupuncture as the most popular subject, the published ones have diversified themes and are of high-quality and academic value. Representative works are enlightening on the issues such as cooperative copyright mode, TCM standardization, academic value of published books, French translation of TCM, and domestic book market, etc. However, classic TCM monographs are short of French translations in China, and TCM books in French are still in a niche market, with uneven economic and social efficacies. We should value the promotion of accurate TCM knowledge by our French version of TCM publications, for the translations overseas are sporadically mistaken. Books of such are highly competitive in the international market, thus in-depth investigation, accuracy in topic selection, and all-media publishing should be conducted.