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cover of episode Lost Women of Science Conversations: Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Lost Women of Science Conversations: Lady Tan's Circle of Women

2025/2/27
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Lost Women of Science

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C
Carol Sutton-Lewis
L
Lisa See
L
Lorraine Wilcox
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Lisa See: 我在疫情封锁期间偶然发现了谭元善的著作《女医杂记》,并由此产生了创作小说的灵感。这部小说名为《谭家妇女》,旨在展现明朝一位女性医生的生活和工作。在创作过程中,我与该书的英文译者Lorraine Wilcox进行了密切合作,她为我提供了大量的历史背景资料和专业指导。虽然关于谭元善本人的信息有限,但我通过对当时医学文献和社会环境的研究,努力在虚构和真实之间取得平衡,力求还原一个真实的明朝女性医生形象。 我的小说着重刻画了谭元善的医学实践,以及她如何突破当时社会对女性的传统角色认知。她不仅继承了家族的医学传统,而且博览群书,融会贯通,形成了自己独特的诊疗方法。她对女性患者的治疗方法在当时非常独特,她重视患者的情感因素,并能与患者建立良好的沟通,这在当时男性医生无法直接接触女性患者的背景下显得尤为珍贵。 此外,我还虚构了一些情节,以丰富小说内容,使之更具可读性。但这些虚构的情节都是建立在历史事实和逻辑推理的基础上的,力求不偏离历史的真实性。 Lorraine Wilcox: 我很荣幸能够参与到Lisa See的小说创作中。作为《女医杂记》的英文译者,我为Lisa See提供了大量的资料,并就小说中关于中医的描述提供了专业指导。我发现谭云仙的著作中充满了对女性患者的细致观察和深入理解,这在当时男性主导的医学界是相当罕见的。 在翻译过程中,我深刻感受到谭云仙希望她的医学知识能够被更多人了解和应用的愿望。她的著作不仅仅是一部医学文献,更是一部反映明朝女性生活和社会现状的珍贵史料。因此,我很高兴Lisa See能够通过小说将谭云仙的故事传播给更广泛的读者群体。 在与Lisa See的合作中,我们注重确保小说中关于中医的描述既准确又易于理解。我们对一些细节进行了讨论和调整,力求在保证历史准确性的同时,使之更易于被现代读者接受。 Carol Sutton-Lewis: 本期节目探讨了Lisa See的小说《谭家妇女》,这部小说取材于明朝女医谭元善的真实病例记录。通过与作者Lisa See和译者Lorraine Wilcox的对话,我们了解到谭元善的生平、医学实践以及她对女性健康做出的贡献。 谭元善的病例记录不仅展现了她精湛的医术,也反映了明朝女性的社会地位和生活状况。她的著作为我们提供了一个了解古代女性视角的窗口,也让我们看到了女性在科学史上的贡献。 Lisa See的小说成功地将历史与虚构相结合,既尊重历史事实,又创作出引人入胜的故事。Lorraine Wilcox的翻译工作也为小说提供了重要的学术支撑。我希望通过本期节目,能够让更多人了解谭元善的故事,并从她的经历中获得启发。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Lisa See stumbled upon a book mentioning Tan Yunxian, a 15th-century Chinese female doctor, while searching for research material during the pandemic. She then located Tan's book, which had been translated into English by Lorraine Wilcox, who lived nearby. Wilcox provided Lisa with invaluable research materials and contacts.
  • Lisa See discovered Tan Yunxian's story during the pandemic.
  • Lorraine Wilcox translated Tan's medical text.
  • Wilcox helped See with research and contacts.

Shownotes Transcript

Lisa See’s novel Lady Tan’s Circle of Women) is inspired by a medical textbook published in 1511  by an eminent female doctor, Tan Yunxian. In this episode, we talk to See about the origin of her novel, and to Lorraine Wilcox, the scholar who translated the original Chinese text, about what the practice of medicine was like for a female doctor during the Ming Dynasty. Tan Yunxian was almost lost to history, but the chronicle of her cases was reprinted by a great nephew and, amazingly, one copy survived through the centuries. Through serendipitous scholarly connections, Wilcox translated it) and See used that translation as the inspiration for her novel.

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