Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

Exploring the Chinese-Western Culture Conflict in the Translation of Culturally Loaded Words in the English Translation of Romance of the Western Bower

Ruiyi AnBeijing Institute of Graphic Communication Chengcheng ZhangBeijing Institute of Graphic Communication*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Romance of the Western Bower, which is regarded as an outstanding representative work of Chinese opera classics, contains rich, culturally loaded vocabulary. Cultural backgrounds and lifestyles of specific ethnic groups naturally incorporate their respective cultural characteristics when translators from different cultural backgrounds make literary translations. For this reason, this paper chooses the English translations of Xu Yuanchong, Hsiung Shih-I and Henry H. Hart as the objects of study and analyzes in-depth their strategies in dealing with culturally loaded words. Through the three dimensions of social culture, religious culture, and linguistic culture, it aims to explore the Chinese and Western cultural exchanges and conflicts in the translation process. Finally, it is concluded that when dealing with Chinese cultural load words, Chinese translators are able to convey the inner meaning of the load words more clearly than foreign translators, while foreign translators are able to convey the meaning of the original text more concisely by using more varied words in English. Although the translation strategies of the three translators are different, all of them have successfully realized the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures. This excellent work, which is rich in cultural heritage, can be promoted and recognized globally.

Keywords: Romance of the Western Bower; English translation; culturally loaded words; conflict
Published: January 3, 2024
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/25/20231936
Volume: CHR Vol.25
pp. 179-186
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