Using DeepSeek to translate Taoist classical alchemical texts

[exorcist_1699]

In the past , it  is extremely difficult to translate Taoist alchemical  materials into English , however, with the rise of Deepseek ,  which gets  quite good classical Chinese ability , the barrier no longer exists despite some jargon's  tuning still  requires . Here is an example  about women alchemical practice  :

 

<<  金华直指女功正法  >>

 

" 男兒二八精通，精盈則洩，女子二七經行，經滿則溢，人欲無洩無溢，必須知風知火，火即元神，風即真息，神息相依，由觀而得，法從目中玄竅視入氣穴之內，炁經裹神凝，都由觀而得，法從目中玄竅無竅，休著之內，炁裹神凝，都由大意攝，天然風風，神化。 "

 

Deepseek 's  translation of   it   in 2 seconds ( then few tuning done by me)  : 

 

" When males reach the age of sixteen (二八), their essence (精) becomes potent; when full, it seeks emission. When females reach fourteen (二七), their menses commence;  when full, they overflow. To prevent such emissions and overflows, one must understand Wind (風) and Fire (火). Fire corresponds to the Primordial Spirit (元神), and Wind to the True Breath (真息). Spirit and breath rely on each other, united through focused observation. The method involves gazing from the "Mysterious Aperture" (玄竅) in the eyes into the Qi Cavity (氣穴) within. There, vital energy (炁 / pre-heavenly qi )  envelops and Spirit ( Shen ) condenses, both guided by intent (真意) .  Natural Wind and Fire interplay ceaselessly, transmuting essence into qi,  qi into Spirit (Shen) , and spirit( Shen )  into form—until a body beyond the physical (身外有身) emerges. "  

 

 

So it at least cuts the time of translation  to   1/10  of the originally required .

 

 

Edited Friday at 09:43 AM by exorcist_1699

[damdao]

It is true that today IA is far better than the previous web translators but you need to know wenyanwen and neidan in order to check every sentence. It cuts the time but if you can control the process. 

What you cannot do with IA is have accurate quotes or cross references to other texts. IA keeps generating non existing texts as actual texts and quotes.

For real texts, the old ctext.org search engine or kanripo.org are the best.