Interpretation of the Chinese Character “药”（medicine）
汉字是象形文字，是很有诗意的，可以激发我们的想象。从一个字的音、形、义上，都能折射出很多内容。我们学中医，看到每一个字，都可以去联想一下它们背后的意义，这个对于训练我们的思维是很有好处的。The Chinese written language is pictographic, which is poetic and inspiring for imaginations. The pronunciation, form and meaning of Chinese characters all could reflect rich information. When we look at a Chinese character we may try to think of the embedded meanings, which can be very beneficial to train our way of thinking in learning TCM.我们看这个“药”字，繁体写作“藥”、“葯”。“藥”字最常用，“葯”字则另有意义，也可以用来指药，可以看成“藥”字的异体字。Let’s have a look at the character “药” (meaning “medicine”, pronounced as YAO) ，written as “藥’’ or “葯” in its original complex form. The character “藥” is most commonly used, “葯” has another meaning and can be referred to as medicine or a variant form of “藥’’.藥，一个草字头，一个快乐的乐字，这意味着，药，是给人带来快乐的草。草为什么能给人带来快乐呢？因为它可以治病、养生，能解除我们的病痛，还能让我们的身体更好，可不是带来快乐吗？In“藥” (meaning “medicine”, pronounced as YAO), the upper part (艹) means “grasses” or “herbs”, and the lower part （樂） means “happy”. Together the character means medicines are herbs bringing us happiness. How can herbs bring us happiness? Because they can cure diseases and keep us well, or even improve our health status. So they do bring us happiness.只不过，能给人带来快乐，就能够给人带来痛苦。你用得对，它就能给人带来快乐；用得不好，加剧病情，甚至把人治死了，那就是给人带来痛苦，那就不是药了。However, what can bring happiness can bring pains as well. If you apply them properly, they bring you happiness; when improperly, they aggravate your illness and even cause death. In such cases they are no longer medicines as they bring pains.所以说，没有绝对的药。必须到了会用的人手里，它才是药，否则，就只是草根树皮、枯骨顽石。如果用错了，它就更不是药了，而是毒。脱离了具体运用，去谈某药有某用，某药有毒，都是不合理的。That is to say, herbs are not always medicine. When herbs are in the hands of a good doctor, they become medicine. Otherwise, they are just grass roots, tree barks, dried bones or solid rocks. If they are applied wrongly, they could even become poisons. It does not make any sense if we merely talk about certain herb’s medicinal properties or its toxicity without specific circumstances of disease treatment.就连简体或异体的“药”字，都有其寓意，从草从约，意味着，用药要有节制，不能滥用。中医的一个原则就是：用最少最平和的药、最快的时间、最少的钱，治愈疾病。在时间、金钱和物力上，都体现了“节约”二字。历代医家都在为此不懈努力，因此，中医中药给人的印象往往是“简便验廉”。Even in its simplified or variant form, the character “药” (also meaning “medicine”, pronounced as YAO) is also very meaningful. Its upper part (艹)means “grasses” and its lower part （约） means “brief” or “economical”. This character implies that we should apply medicines moderately, not abusively. One essential principle in TCM is to cure diseases in the shortest time with least amount of mild herbs at lowest cost. It’s a principle of economy in terms of time, money and material. All the masters in TCM have been trying to follow this principle through all the generations, so that TCM practices usually impress people with its unique advantages of being simple, convenient, effective and inexpensive. 作者丨唐略《思考中药》本节译者丨米奇 译者简介：米奇，理工科学士，英文硕士（汉英语法研究与机器翻译专业）。多年在世界领先的医疗行业外企工作。业余时间大量用于学习推广中国文化。资深中医爱好者。
