A Comparative Study On Puns Translation In The Two English Versions Of Hong Lou Meng

Atthe heightof China's classics, Hong LouMeng is rightly celebratednoticeablyforits numerous adoptions of all varieties of rhetoric functioning as story enhancers inmost cases. Thus it naturally follows that the translation of Hong Lou Meng couldalways be a spur to either practice or theory of translation, since the original flavorrooted in brilliant rhetoric, puns in particular, is seemingly hard, if not impossible tosurvive the translation.Exceptions can be found to any rule. Two translated versions of Hong Lou Meng– Yang Hsien-yi's aDreamofRedMansionandDavidHawkes'the Storyof the Stone– stand out as samples await thoroughly academic analysis for theirfairly successfultranslation of puns. Undoubtedly, diverse translation strategies are utilized to theirutmost in both versions, aiming to attain the original flavor of puns, as well as greatefforts spent in other fields related during the process of translation. No solidconclusion is reached so far in the perspective of which version could be a moreilluminating example forthe subsequent translation work.Relevance-theoretic Translation Theory planted a seed of re-examining andre-evaluating for an aesthetic and literary judgment on diversified translationtechniques applied by two prominenttranslators. Unlike Yang's strong inclination tothe original text when there is a choice to be made, Hawkes'translation strategies areobviously more oriented toward readers, seeking best contextual effects to thepossible latitude. Based on the conformity with the fundamental principle ofRelevance-theoretic Translation Theory, Hawkes'work eclipse Yang's foroffering itsreaders optimal relevance through minimal processing efforts.