A Study Of Cultural Conflicts On The English Version Of Hongloumeng By David Hawkes

Hongloumeng (HLM), the greatest of all Chinese classics , has become the representative of Chinese culture. How to translate the cultural elements and then transfer the cultural messages to the greatest extent is a great challenge for translators.Based on relevant cultural theories by Eugene. A. Nida, this thesis made detailed comparisons in the aspects of religious culture, social culture and linguistic culture through examples extracted from the English version of HLM by David Hawkes. The thesis concluded that Hawkes has applied the translation method of domestication to make his version more acceptable and comprehensible to the western readers, but fails to convey, to some extent, the cultural connotation of the original one. Thus, cultural conflicts are inevitably reflected from his version. As a result, cultural understanding between China and the West should be further strengthened to make an effective communication.