A Dutch doctor translated acupuncture through four languages

Boing Boing highlights an intriguing chapter in medical and translation history. In sixteen eighty-three, Dutch physician Willem ten Rhijne published 'De Acupunctura' while living at Dejima, an artificial island off Nagasaki. During the Edo period, Dejima was the only place where Europeans were permitted to reside on Japanese soil. The book itself emerged from one of the most roundabout translation processes on record.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton