A Postcolonial Perspective To Translation Of Hong Lou Meng

Post-colonialism study is a new and hot topic in academic field these years, and it is even newer to be applied to the translation studies. With the realization of the cultural turn in translation studies, scholars begin to cast their eye to the political issues that manipulate translation. The power differentials in the world determine the translation currency and material, and translation strategies are also determined by different ideology and culture. Although the globalization of English ensures that translation doesn't only communicate British and American values, but also other cultures all over the world, the status of translation in the global economy calls great attention to the questionable conditions of the cultural hegemony of the major English-speaking countries, the United States and the United Kingdom. Through the case study of translation of Hong Lou Meng, this thesis tries to analyze the unequal cultural exchange between Chinese and English, which was caused by different ideologies with different powers. In order to make it clear, the author compares the translations in different socio-history background as well as the two complete translations that were respectively conducted by Chinese and Englishmen in the same era. The comparison indicates that the strong power always dominates translation according to its willing and always neglects and domesticates the culture of the weak powers.