18-09-2026, 01:49 PM
Dear Professor Stolfi,
Thank you for your reply and explanation. If I understand correctly, you are now not merely proposing the “Chinese theory”; rather, you believe that SPS is a verbatim transcription of the Shennong Bencao Jing (SBJ) as quoted in the c. 1400 printed ZHB, and that the oral-dictation story is only your best guess as to how it happened. Is that right?
No problem, Professor Stolfi. I will do my best. I have studied Classical Chinese, and I have some understanding of and ability to analyze texts written by ancient Chinese people. In the “Chinese Theory: Support and Opposition” section of the forum, there are now about 86 pages. I have only just started reading from the beginning, but I have seen some of your translations of Classical Chinese sentences and characters, and they are correct. This shows that you also have a good understanding of Chinese.
This is very exciting. I am willing to help, but my knowledge of Chinese medicine and philology is limited. To be truly useful, what kind of help do you need most? For example, checking Chinese texts, comparing specific passages, finding references, or something else?
If possible, could you give me one concrete alignment example: one passage from the Shennong Bencao Jing, the corresponding SPS paragraph, and how the symbols/words correspond? I would especially like to know: Is there a stable mapping from VMS symbols to Chinese sounds? Were the omission rules fixed before the comparison, or adjusted afterward?
I am not trying to challenge you; I just want to understand the evidence so that I can help.
Best regards,
Chenxiang
Thank you for your reply and explanation. If I understand correctly, you are now not merely proposing the “Chinese theory”; rather, you believe that SPS is a verbatim transcription of the Shennong Bencao Jing (SBJ) as quoted in the c. 1400 printed ZHB, and that the oral-dictation story is only your best guess as to how it happened. Is that right?
No problem, Professor Stolfi. I will do my best. I have studied Classical Chinese, and I have some understanding of and ability to analyze texts written by ancient Chinese people. In the “Chinese Theory: Support and Opposition” section of the forum, there are now about 86 pages. I have only just started reading from the beginning, but I have seen some of your translations of Classical Chinese sentences and characters, and they are correct. This shows that you also have a good understanding of Chinese.
This is very exciting. I am willing to help, but my knowledge of Chinese medicine and philology is limited. To be truly useful, what kind of help do you need most? For example, checking Chinese texts, comparing specific passages, finding references, or something else?
If possible, could you give me one concrete alignment example: one passage from the Shennong Bencao Jing, the corresponding SPS paragraph, and how the symbols/words correspond? I would especially like to know: Is there a stable mapping from VMS symbols to Chinese sounds? Were the omission rules fixed before the comparison, or adjusted afterward?
I am not trying to challenge you; I just want to understand the evidence so that I can help.
Best regards,
Chenxiang