Chinese to English Translation

June 28, 2006 9:43 AM

Can anyone translate this Chinese to English for me? The image will open a full size jpeg that is 478kb.
The box was a gift that my brother-in-law received and we were hoping to get the full story about it from both pieces of paper. Thanks!

posted by GrumpyMonkey to Writing & Language (11 answers total)

No idea what the writing says, but that's a mandrake root, prized by traditional chinese medicine.
posted by spasm at 9:52 AM on June 28, 2006

If no-one here will do it as a favour, you could post it as a job on this site - professional translators hang out there.
posted by altolinguistic at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2006

That's ginseng, not mandrake. Though similar looking, mandrake unlike ginseng contains scopolamine (a poisonous hallucinogen) and reserpine (which can lower blood pressure).

Ginseng is especially valued in China in proportion to its resemblance to a human form. The one you've got there must be good for impotence!
posted by StickyCarpet at 10:08 AM on June 28, 2006

I believe you're right, StickyCarpet. My mistake.
posted by spasm at 10:22 AM on June 28, 2006

It is a Ginseng.
I can't read Chinese, but I do have some experiences with this type of root.

By looking at the package and boxes, it is definately a farmed root... The natural ones from top of deep mountains in Asia is very rare and can be priced more than hundreds of thousand dollars. ( many of them are hundred years old or more) (Usually older they are more nutrious and valueable.

However, good farmed ginseng is also highly valued.
The article looks like generic words describing what ginseng is and what it is good for. (often seen most of ginseng packages like this from asia)

You can eat raw by pieces... or... more often ginsengs are brewed like tea on low to medium fire for full day.

Some people put them in sealed vodka, sake, or other similar alcohol to make very healthy drinks. Again... longer you keep it in... better the nutrition value... supposely

For thousands of years, Asians believe and sometimes proven that Ginseng can make people's health better. In western world, science has proven that it has potent amount of GOOD STUFF.. I guess kinda like very strong vitamins.....

Only thing is ... consuming it could possilbe raise your body temperature.... It is mostly a good thing for a sick people... but some body types, it may not be that good for you.

If you already have unusually hot hands or feet, I wouldn't recommend it.... but if you are the opposite, ginseng can help.

I am sure you will be checking things over before you consume.... but make sure who ever consumes it have right body type.
posted by curiousleo at 10:24 AM on June 28, 2006

My friend says that the stuff on the left is advertising the store itself. She says it is a famous store in Beijing and the ad copy says that they have been around more than 320 years and they are incorporating and they have all the best stuff there is. The usual puffery, it sounds like.

The right hand stuff is extolling the virtues of the specific ginseng root. It comes from the Eastern portion of China where it is very cold and that the store has several different grades of quality and that this particular example is the highest grade that they sell.

I lacked the enthusiasm to type a literal transcription of the text, but hopefully this will accurately capture the spirit of the thing. Any innacuracies are no doubt due to my sloppy notetaking.
posted by Lame_username at 12:03 PM on June 28, 2006

Using "innacuracies" should be proof of my superior attention to detail.
posted by Lame_username at 12:05 PM on June 28, 2006

Ironically much of the GinSeng sold in China is actually grown on farms in Wisconsin, and is advertised as such over there.
posted by BobbyDigital at 2:38 PM on June 28, 2006

Going from left to right vertically, the first three characters read: "President brand." The next line reads: "Jilin Ginseng (special grade Yishan ginseng)." Jilin is the name of a Chinese province. The remainder is as described by Lame_username.
posted by NinaLee at 3:10 PM on June 28, 2006

I think some Chinese believe that American ginseng is superior to domestic varieties. When I come back to China, people often request that I bring some American gingseng with me. Wikipedia has a blurb about it, judging by the results preview in Google, but I can't access Wikipedia from Shanghai (and I'm too lazy to pull out Torpark right now).
posted by roomwithaview at 7:34 PM on June 28, 2006

The stuff written in old fashioned looking characters on the left state that this came from Beijing Tong Ren Tang, which is a big chain of stores, and has been around, as it mentions in smaller text at the very bottom running from left to right, for over 320 years. "The quality of their products is one of a kind, using only the finest ingredients, consummate craftmanship; their curative effects are remarkable, and are renowned internationally...." and the rest is pretty much in the same vein. "they spare no effort or resource or the least detail," etc, etc to bring you "genuine ginseng, genuine spirit, and genuine sincerity"

I know that there are couple of different types of ginseng. It says that this is of the Yi Shan variety, but I have no idea what that means. The stuff on the right is about the actual product, which is President Brand ginseng, so it's from the USA. Looks neat!
posted by Adam White at 4:49 AM on July 4, 2006