On The Translation Of Cultural Images Of Characters’ Nicknames In Jin Yong’s Novels

In Jin Yong’s wuxia novels, characters’nicknames play a very important role. They bear cultural implications crucial for readers to appreciate Jin Yong’s works. Therefore, it is of great importance to properly translate them into English. However, up until now, there are few studies focusing on the translation of cultural images of the char ts’ nicknames.From the perspective of the theory of cultural context, this paper has studied English translations of characters’ nicknames in The Book and The Sword and The Deer and the Cauldron. Analyzing a multitude of examples, the author finds that characters’ nicknames are often related to digits, Chinese idioms, names of plants and animals. Influenced by cultural contexts such as history, customs and religious beliefs, translators have their own understanding and judgments on Jin Yong’s novels. Although their translation of the nicknames can basically put across the cultural implications to the readers, they may also fail to do that sometimes. The author of this paper tried to render some nicknames that are not translated or omitted in the English versions of the two books mentioned above.The discoveries of this paper further facilitate studies on Jin Yong’s novels and are helpful for readers to better comprehend "Xiake (chivalries)" culture and characteristics of the "jianghu (literally rivers and lakes)". From the angle of the theory of cultural context, which can be employed in translation studies and translation teaching practice, this paper fills the void of studies on translation of cultural images of characters’ nicknames in Jin Yong’s fictions in mainland China. The author sincerely hopes that this paper will do its part to contribute to reviews on English versions of Jin Yong’s novels.