Research On The Loss Of Chinese Cultural Elements In A Dream Of Red Mansions Translated By Yang Hsien-yi And Gladys Yang

Hong Lou Meng, one of the greatest classics in Chinese literature, represents the highest level of Chinese novels. It has been translated into more than ten languages and introduced to the other parts of the world during the past one hundred and seventy years. In the translation field, a great many studies have been conducted on the translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. However, the most majority of the domestic and overseas translation studies of A Dream of Red Mansions have focused on the issue of "how to translate", leaving the English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions in a "vacuum environment". Although the English versions aim to introduce Chinese literature and spread traditional Chinese culture, many colorful cultural elements from the original work Hong Lou Meng cannot be represented effectively or they are just neglected, which results in the losses of Chinese culture.Therefore, in this thesis, the author starts from the perspective of culture, choosing cultural translation theory as the research tool because it will help us discuss the losses in the translation process from an angle of culture and analyze the phenomena and the reasons behind the phenomena. This thesis discusses and analyzes some losses of cultural elements in A Dream of Red Mansions that was translated by the famous scholar and translator Yang Hsien-yi and his wife Gladys Yang. It chooses some typical examples related to traditional culture, discusses the specific difficulties in translating some types of culture-loaded words and expressions in A Dream of Red Mansions, and analyzes the reasons behind these losses. Only a very small number of researches have discussed the English versions of modern Chinese literature from the angle of cultural losses, thus this research has some originality and inventiveness.Based on the theoretical analysis, the thesis has concluded three findings: firstly, the occurrence of the losses of Chinese culture in the translation of literature works through the process of the foreign communication is a common phenomenon and will produce a negative impact on the understanding of Chinese culture by foreign readers; secondly, as a bridge between Chinese and Western cultural exchange, translators of Chinese works should keep in mind that they should take the responsibility to promote excellent Chinese culture and make every possible effort to help the foreigners know, apprehend and even appreciate Chinese culture instead of complying with Western culture; thirdly, for the sake of carrying on and developing the Chinese culture, it is especially necessary to extend the learning and studying of Chinese to education and other related fields. Its purpose is to cultivate the younger generation to become the disseminator and transmitter of Chinese cultural. In addition, the thesis will also systematically probe into the causes and reasons which lead to the losses of Chinese culture in terms of the relation between Chinese and Western cultures and the cultural factors of the translators involved.The entire thesis is mainly composed of four parts, namely, introduction, theoretical framework, main body and conclusion. Chapter One is the introduction part, which includes the research background, research purpose, methodology, significance and literature review. The literature review mainly introduces the translation review of A Dream of Red Mansions, including a brief diachronic introduction to nine English versions of A Dream of Red Mansions and Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang’s English translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. Chapter Two is the theoretical framework, including the origin and development of cultural translation theory, the relationship between language, culture and translation, as well as the cultural approach to translation. Chapter Three is an analysis of cultural loss in the translation, namely a case study of A Dream of Red Mansions by the Yangs, including the definition of cultural loss and the cultural losses in A Dream of Red Mansions. It discusses the losses from three aspects: name culture, dress culture and external landscape culture, analyzing and exploring the reasons behind the losses. Chapter Four is the conclusion which summarizes the major research findings, points out the limitations of the research and offers some suggestions for future research.