This paper strongly rejects the notion that the use of biomedical terms to represent traditional Chinese medical concepts is helpful to the internationalization of Chinese medicine. It further argues that this practice destroys the integrity and independence of Chinese medical concepts. Taking the term fēng hu< o y < an as an example

it shows that the biomedical term “acute conjunctivitis” often suggested as the translation for this term is unsatisfactory

because (1) the clinical reference is not identical

(2) it introduces the concepts of “conjunctiva” and “inflammation”

which are not Chinese medical concepts

and (3) destroys the Chinese medical concepts “wind” and “fire” expressed in the Chinese

which reflect the way the disease is traditionally diagnosed and treated. While for English readers not familiar with Chinese medicine

“acute conjunctivitis” may be immediately intelligible

for those seeking a deep understanding of the subject

the literal translation (loan translation) “wind-fire eye” is much more helpful. This paper supports these arguments with numerous other examples.