Article,
Exploring Cultural Transmission and Translation Strategies in the Perspective of Functionalist Approaches: A case study of the two English versions of Hongloumeng
Babel, (2012)
DOI: 10.1075/babel.58.4.07wan
Abstract
Hongloumeng, one of the four great classical novels of Chinese Literature written in the mid-eighteenth century during the Qing Dynasty, is considered as the encyclopedia of feudal Chinese culture. Since the first publication of this novel, a number of admirable translators or scholars both in China and overseas have attempted to translate it into other languages. The two completely translated versions are The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes and John Minford, and The Dream of Red Mansions by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang. The difficulties of the translation work lie primarily in the culture-specific items in the novel, including Chinese allusions, rituals and customs, dressing, architecture, food, medicine, naming system, religion, poems, plays, games, geographic elements, and so on. Translating cultural items can be a demanding and challenging task due to the fact that such items have specific meanings in the source culture and language but not necessarily in other cultures and languages. During the process of cultural de-coding, re-coding and en-coding translators are not only dealing with words written in a certain time, space and socio-political situation, but they should also take into account the “cultural” aspect of the text by employing different translation strategies.
