“八纲”是中医辨证的基本纲领,即阴阳、表里、寒热、虚实。对阴阳的英译,过去曾有negative-positive.feminine-musculine,ebb-wax及其他译法,均只反映阴阳概念的一个方面,显然是不理想的。近年来,在中外的中医书刊中均已通过yin和yang的音译法,这两个词也已收入Webster’s Dictionary中,其定义如下:Yin the feminine and negative principle(asof passivity,depth,darkness,cold、wetness)in na-ture that according to traditional Chinese cosmo-logy combines with its opposite yang to produceall that comes to be.Yang the musculine andpositive principle(as of activity,height.light “Eight programs ” is the basic program of TCM syndrome differentiation, that is, yin and yang, inside and outside, cold and heat, actual situation. English translations of yin and yang, which used to have negative-positive.feminine-musculine, ebb-wax, and other translations, reflected only one aspect of the concept of yin and yang, and were obviously not ideal. In recent years, transliteration methods of yin and yang have been adopted in both Chinese and foreign medical books and journals. These two terms have also been included in Webster’s Dictionary, which is defined as follows: Yin the feminine and negative principle (as of passivity, depth, darkness, cold, wetness) in na-ture that according to traditional Chinese cosmo-logy combines with its opposite yang to produceall that comes to be. Yang the musculine and positive principle (as of activity, height.light