| Because of its overwhelming and long-lasting attraction, Hong Lou Meng which isregarded as the most remarkable Chinese novel has never ceased to be investigated byChinese and foreign scholars. Since its coming into being, this classical novel has beentranslated into at least100translated versions all over the world. And at the same time,from1830to1990, there were ten translated versions, among which eight were episodetranslations and only two were complete versions. The Story of the Stone is one of thetwo complete versions, among which, the first eighty chapters are rendered by DavidHawkes and the remaining is translated by John Minford. The other is Yang Xianyi andGladys Yang’s A Dream of Red Mansions.Adaptation Theory has been worked out since1980s. It was improved by manyresearchers through investigations. Adaptation theory explores a fresh field for the studyof translation theory and practice. Based on Adaptation Theory from contextualcorrelated adaptability, structural objects adaptability, dynamics adaptability as well assalience of adaptation process, this thesis attempts to compare the two English versionsof The Story of the Stone and A Dream of Red Mansions from the first eighty chapters oforiginal texts, paying attention to the translation of novel characters’ dress terms. Inaccordance with analysis of data and Adaptation Theory, the three findings can bedrawn in the following:1. Through the comparison of two English versions, the author finds out that dressterms translations can be expound from four perspectives: contextual correlatesadaptability, structural objects adaptability, dynamics adaptability as well as salienceof adaptation process.2. Based on social world and mental world at the contextual level, dress termstranslations can be applied from historical view, cultural view and cognitive as wellas aesthetic view.3. Meanwhile, the dress terms translations can be applies at structural objects levelsfrom noun adaptability, adjective adaptability and rhetoric adaptability. Also, in the dynamics and salience of the adaptation process.Through the comparison of the two English versions, the study finds out anapplication of Adaptation Theory in translating Chinese cultural terms, especiallyChinese traditional dress terms. In the end some limitations and suggestions are pointedout. In short, the paper provides a new perspective for Adaptation Theory itself andmakes progress towards a large room of dress terms translations studies. |
