An international standard will be set for translations of traditional Chinese medicine terms, officials of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies said in Shanghai Friday.

The news followed the unveiling by the Beijing-based WFCMS of a translation committee at Shanghai Normal University.

The committee, established with 200-plus members, comprises professionals with domestic TCM research institutes as well as university-based language scholars.

One of the committee's main tasks is to set up a widely accepted translations database for the tens of thousands of herbs, recipes and medical treatment terms.

Committee members are expected to launch a special TCM translation Website, which can automatically give English versions of TCM terms.

Compiling bilingual TCM textbooks is also on the committee's agenda.

SNU's foreign language school will provide secretarial functions for the committee, with 16 of its foreign language professors elected into the first batch of committee members.

Li Hexing, the university's vice president, said the establishment of the committee rectified the absence of an international academic organization for TCM translations.

He said foreigners had become confused by different translations of herb names and medical terms, and this had hampered international development of TCM studies.

Committee officials said scholars would be required to incorporate Chinese culture into the translations.

(Shanghai Daily August 3, 2008)