A Study On The Translation Of TCM Terms In Hong Lou Meng From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

Hong Lou Meng, one of the four great classical novels in China, has aroused a lot of scholars’ interest to study. With the implementation of the policy of Reform and Opening up in 1978, the translated version of Hong Lou Meng attracts great attention at home and abroad. Cao Xueqin was not only a talented writer, but also an expert in traditional Chinese medicine. In Hong Lou Meng, there are many descriptions about Chinese medicine and the process of treating patients, which have played an important role in the unfolding of the plot and the depicting of characters. The TCM terms in all one hundred and twenty chapters of Hong Lou Meng can be divided into five categories: natural medicine, symptom, treatment, Chinese patent medicine and traditional Chinese medical theory.Skopos theory is at the core of functionalism. The skopos rule is taken as the basic judging principle. This research focuses on the study of TCM term translation in Hawkes and Minford’s The Story of the Stone(the English version of Hong Lou Meng) from the perspective of Skopos Theory. This study finds that Hawkes and Minford did their translation with the tendency of domestication; and besides, they also flexibly adopted the methods of literal translation, free translation, amplification, transliteration and so on. For foreign readers, Hawkes and Minford’s version is easy to understand and can arouse their desire to read, but it might hinder the dissemination of TCM culture. It is hoped that the study of the translation of the TCM terms in The Story of the Stone can provide guidance and reference for the translation of TCM and the spread of TCM culture.