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This research article primarily focuses on the author’s personal views on the history of translating names of Tibetan medicine into Chinese; the merits of translating (such terms) into other languages like Chinese; issues of improper translation in certain cases; considerations on the advisability of translating names of Tibetan medicine into Chinese and other languages; and the ways and means to resolve this issue.

This paper discusses the relationship between Tibetan medical theory and practice with respect to the classification of Materia Medica and the discernment of quality and potency. Based on more than thirty years of experience as a Tibetan medical practitioner, the author describes a number of specific Materia Medica in detail, with an emphasis on how to determine fake from authentic ingredients. The author also offers recommendations and guidance on proper cultivation techniques and conservation methods, in line with Tibetan textual sources on the subject, in combination with empirical knowledge.

This paper, translated from the Tibetan original, presents the author’s viewpoint on the current situation regarding the protection of medicinal herbs and vegetation—the sources of Tibetan medicine—and makes recommendations on measures that should be taken for their protection in the future. The article also includes an appendix listing species names of plants that are A) particularly rare or endangered, and B) the subjects of conservation efforts and/or cultivation trials through the Project to Strengthen Traditional Tibetan Medicine (PSTTM), which is based in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China.