Cultural Translation Research On Hong Lou Flowers-Crab Apple

To be a true man,one has to read Hong Lou Meng. Even one reads through numerous books in the world, the masterpiece could not be neglect. Time goes by, while my sentiment convinces the proverb all long.Hong Lou Meng, which covers the symbolism bases on myth signs, the realism of characters and events and the romanticism that focuses on atmosphere and imaginative expression. It is not only the best of Chinese classics, but also a masterpiece in world classic literature."In this busy, dusty world,"says the author Cao Xueqin in his book,"having accomplished nothing, I suddenly recalled all the girls I had known each in turn and feel that all of them surpassed me in behavior and understanding."Hence I narrate a female tragedy like"Thousand Red Flowers in One Cavern"and"Ten Thousand Beauties in One Cup"which reveal his profound concern on humanism.Ladies are flowers. The Chinese flower culture always connects with the essence of nature and humanity feelings. Favorite Chinese ancient tales like Tao Yuanming regard chrysanthemum as his sincere friend and Lin hejing has plum wife and crane son.Hong Lou Meng can be regarded as a great picture of beauties. The Grand view Garden gathers famous flowers and rare plants with flowery verses and odes through the whole writings naturally. People have fun with flowers in happy days and even lament for sorrow with flowers too. The flourishing and withering of blooms mirror all ups and downs of human destiny. Such the art of writing unites in whole harmony through the novel which makes it free from vulgarity.Cultural translation research is the most important aspect of translation research on Hong Lou Meng. For such an encyclopedia-like literature, one's work is nothing but a drop of water from the vast ocean only. In my thesis, I take research on flower culture and as an entry point to emphasize translation studies on Chinese Crab-apple culture.My thesis makes a comparative study between the two translated versions weighing the gains and losses. Emphasis will be on two aspects, the denominations of Chinese Flowering crab-apple (material level), the verses and poems on Chinese crab-apple(spiritual level). The purpose of my thesis is to reveal the connotation and verve of Chinese culture. By analyzing the original version of Hong Lou Meng, referring to some domestic redology achievements, I try to make original criticism and translation practice on culture translation of crab-apple in Hong Lou Meng.The thesis consists of three parts: introduction, the main body and conclusion.In Introduction, the value of research on crab-apple of Hong Lou Meng and the overviews on the existence two English versions will be summarized. The significance of my thesis will be permeated.Chapter One introduces the origin and characteristic of Chinese flower culture as well as the flower culture in Hong Lou Meng. Chapter Two introduces the current translation research on Hong Lou Meng and the value of research on Chinese crab-apple. Chapter Three takes cultural translation research on two main varieties of crab-apple in Hong Lou Meng. Chapter Four focuses on crab-apple poems. Chapter Five discusses and explores the translator styles and translation strategies. The last part, the conclusion, reaffirms the motif of the thesis.Any single translation strategy which deals with the classics literature like Hong Lou Meng is difficult. Culture translators need to absorb the advantages of both Domesticating and Foreignizing strategies. The perfect balance and harmonious of contents, meanings and connotations can be considered as faithful, expressive and elegant in the real sense.Translation research on Hong Lou Meng has to be systematized and intensified. With no doubt much higher requirements will put forward to later translators and translation researchers. Nowadays, Chinese culture draws from the marginal status to centre gradually. Chinese civilization shows the wisdom of an ancient ethnic.However, cultural translation goes always beyond one's ability. Sometimes, it is not equal to one's ambition to deal with. The individuality, temperament, mentality, scope of knowledge, the ability of language application and even standpoints and moral beliefs of the translator influence translation activities a lot. As a foreign language learner and a translator, I have the duty to spread Chinese culture and reveal the rich connotations and the verve of Hong Lou Meng.