Exploring the Application of Reiss’s Text Typology Theory in the Translation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Classics—Taking Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) as an Example

Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) is a world-renowned work on materia medica. Herbs continue to play an important role in modern medicine. Accurately translating the names, explanations, and functions of Chinese herbal medicines is crucial to making them accessible to foreign readers. This paper, based on text typology theory, analyzes the text typology of Ben Cao Gang Mu and its translation methods. It further identifies six translation strategies: literal translation, a combination of transliteration and annotation, functional equivalence, free translation, adaptive translation and coherence. This paper aims to draw more attention to Chinese herbal classics and provide guidance for their translation.