A Report On The Translation Of True Colors Of Officialdom

This report presents a brief overview of a translation practice project conducted in the first year of the writer’s MTI program in Yangzhou University.The chosen source text consists in Chapters 5 and 6 of True Colors of Offialdom(《官场现形记》)by Li Boyuan,one of the four greatest condemnation novels in the history of Chinese literature.In this novel,the author mixes sarcasm,ironical laughter and angry shouts against the falsehood and ugliness of the officialdom at late Qing Dynasty,and presents a great number of ridiculous but thought-provoking scenes and characters with his masterful satirical art,which draws heavily upon the use of culture-loaded words.This report aims to offer some theoretical reflections and a tentative conclusion based upon semantic equivalence concept,which was intentionally adopted as guiding principle in the translation process in an effort to adequately tackle the abundant culture-loaded words contained in the original text without losing or distorting their rich social and cultural connotation and association,much of which are highly culture-specific.According to semantic equivalence concept,the purpose of translation is to offer semantic equivalence between the source language and the target language.Drawing upon numerous examples collected through the process of completing the translation practice project,the report draws the tentative conclusion that semantic equivalence concept may be adopted both as guiding principles and practical approach to Chinese-English translation of culture-loaded words abundant in classical Chinese novels.The report contains six chapters.Chapter One offers an overview of the translation project,including a general introduction to the original text and its author,and its theoretical and practical significance.Chapter Two presents basic concepts and principles of semantic equivalence.Chapter Three is about the collection and preparation of related Information before translating the source text.Chapter Four introduces culture-loaded words and the reasons for applying semantic equivalence in translation of culture-loaded words.Through concrete examples,Chapter Five is about some translation strategies applied in translation of culture-loaded words under the guidance of semantic equivalent concept.Chapter Six offers the tentative conclusion.