The Conceptual Metaphor Translation:A Case Study On Zhu Shenghao’s Chinese Version Of Hamlet

The conceptual metaphor is not merely a matter of language. It is a matter of cognition and a thinking model of experiencing the world. It is deeply rooted in human mind and has become a part of our daily life. It has become one of the main ways to depict the figure and reflect the theme in literary works. Hence conceptual metaphor translation plays an important role in understanding the works correctly.The thesis investigates the conceptual metaphor translation with a case study on Zhu Shenghao’s Chinese translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet based on the principles of similarity, systematicity and cultural coherence of the conceptual metaphor theory proposed by Lakoff and Johnson. The purpose is to investigate the importance of the conceptual metaphor translation in the translation of literary works. The thesis analyzes how the senses of such conceptual metaphors are constructed and translated in Chinese by analyzing Zhu Shenghao’s three types of translation strategies and factors influencing the choice of translation strategy. It is founded that the metaphor intra-structure is one of the main factors influencing the choice of translation strategies. Zhu Shenghao’s metaphor translation always puts the need of Chinese readers into the important place.There are still problems in his deletion of some metaphors translation with “bawdy image” and specific culture. Sometimes it can’t fully convey the meaning and feelings.In a word, the thesis is a tentative study on conceptual metaphor translation in the Chinese version of Hamlet. Hopefully, it may be helpful for the further researches on conceptual metaphor translation in literary works.