On Translation Of Metaphors In Zhouyi From Perspective Of Conceptual Metaphor Theory

Zhou Yi, one of the oldest classics in China has been translated into many otherlanguages by scholars abroad since the17th century and the English versions greatlyoutnumber the others. The difficulties in the translation of Zhou Yi lie not only in thedifferences between the two languages, but also in the understanding and thetranslation of metaphors in Zhou Yi.The application of metaphors, one of the core features of Zhou Yi, is a way ofexpressing the thoughts of the ancient people. Since Zhou Yi itself forms acomplicated cognitive metaphor system, it is suitable to choose the ConceptualMetaphor Theory to analyze the English translations of metaphors in Zhou Yi. Lakoffand Johnson, who put forward the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, maintain thatmetaphor is not just a special linguistic form in traditional rhetorical sense, but athinking model and cognitive style of human beings. This research is designed tostudy the English translations of metaphors in Zhou Yi based on the ConceptualMetaphor Theory. Four translators’English versions of Zhou Yi are chosen toillustrate the metaphor translations in Zhou Yi, and they are: James Legge, RichardWilhelm, Richard John Lynn, and Fu Huisheng(傅惠生). The cognitive basis ofmetaphor, the classification and analysis of metaphors in Zhou Yi, and the strategiesfor the translations of metaphors in Zhou Yi, are the three research questions of thisthesis.The purpose of this thesis is to provide four strategies for metaphor translationin Zhou Yi, namely,“Retaining the Source Language Image”,“Replacing SourceLanguage Images by Similar Target Language Image”,“Transferring metaphor intoSimile” and “Adding Notes”.