【原】“阿胶就是水煮驴皮”

早上看到这条新闻：

第一反应是，“阿胶”是啥 英文怎么说呢？ 以下是我的学习笔记，分享给你。

因为“阿胶”是中国的特色产品，我们直接称它为“ejiao”就好，然后简单解释它是什么，为什么叫这个名字，有什么功效即可。

Wikipedia上这样说：Donkey-hide gelatin is a gelatin obtained from the skin of the donkey by soaking and stewing. It is used as an ingredient in the traditional medicine of China, where it is called ejiao.

hide作为名词可以表示“兽皮”，用skin代替也可以。gelatin念 /ˈdʒɛlətn/，也可以写成geletine，gel，是“明胶”。

因为明胶一般是由动物物质制作而成，也可以成为animal glue，因此阿胶也可以叫donkey-hide glue, donkey-skin glue。

2018年第一期《经济学人》中就以Tusks, skins, and waster recycling为题提到了阿胶：

Gelatine from boiled donkey hide is another ingredient in traditional medicine (skins, probably destined for the Chinese market, are pictured in Kenya). Campaigners say the action threatens the world’s donkey population, though it is hard to see how, given that there were 44m donkeys in 2016 and their numbers are rising.

此外，“阿胶”还有一个高大上的拉丁名字：Colla Corii Asini

为啥叫“阿胶”呢，因为它的发祥地是山东的东阿县(Dong'e County)，因此我们可以说：It's named after its place of origin, Dong'e County in Shandong Province.或者People consider ejiao produced by boiling donkey hide in the water of the Ejing Well in Dong'e County to be superior.

“阿胶”有什么功效呢？

补血、止血、养颜、安胎、抗疲劳、抗癌：replenishing blood, stopping bleeding, nourishing skin, avoiding miscarriage, resisting fatigue, and preventing cancer...

• Ejiao, or donkey skin gelatin, is considered one of the three treasures of traditional Chinese medicine. It is used to treat a wide range of ailments from simple colds to insomnia（失眠） and impotence（不举）。

《老友记》中Joey吧Omnipotent(无所不能的）听成了impotent...

• Ejiao is believed to improve blood circulation so is used as a blood tonic by people with anaemia（贫血症）, low blood cell counts or reproductive problems.

• It is used for several different types of complaint（complaint在这里是疾病的意思）. It is used for a variety of conditions including bleeding, dizziness, insomnia and a dry cough.

• Ejiao is an expensive Chinese medicine product sold online as a superfood, tonic, beauty elixir and used by Chinese Medicine practitioners to nourish blood and treat gynaecological（妇科的） complaints.

• TCM believes that E Jiao is sticky and greasy, which can easily lead to indigestion. As a result, use it with care in case of deficiency of spleen and stomach.

这里有两个关键词：TCM和tonic。TCM就是Traditional Chinese Medicine:

tonic是“滋补品”，例如“人参以其滋补功效而广为人知。”就可以说：Ginseng is generally known for its tonic properties. 

说到“滋补品”想到“保健品”怎么说？

三年前关注这个号的朋友们是否还记得“天下乌鸦一般黑? 美国保健品”这篇文章？文章中“保健品”的英语是dietary supplement。

“阿胶”是elixir, panacea, cure-all吗？

我还从没吃过，下次要尝一尝，支持下TCM

---

总结一下知识点：

1. “阿胶”是 donkey-hide gelatin, donkey-skin glue, Colla Corii Asini

2. “滋补品”是tonic, “保健品”是dietary supplement

3. “灵丹妙药”可以用elixir, panacea, cure-all

最后赠送一个《本草纲目》: Compendium of Materia Medica