A Comparative Study Of Introductory Texts Of Traditional Chinese Paintings In Chinese And Foreign Museums From The Perspective Of Skopos Theory

The spread of Chinese culture is gaining momentum and attracting attention worldwide.As a place of intercultural dialogue,Chinese museums actively provide a window into Chinese culture for foreigners.However,due to unsatisfactory translations of museum labels,cross-cultural communication is hindered as a result.This study aims to provide some insight and suggestions for museum label translations.The corpus used throughout this paper comprises only of texts of traditional Chinese paintings displayed in Chinese and foreign museums.This paper conducts a comparative analysis between introductory texts of the Admonitions Scroll and the Nymph of Luo River Handscroll in Chinese and foreign museums,explores their differences in narrative and emphasis placed throughout the text,and then analyzes the reasons behind such differences from an aesthetic and philosophical perspective.The analysis is conducted via the perspective of the Skopos Theory and five principles and five suggestions are proposed for future translations of Chinese paintings' labels.The five principles are 'viewer-oriented',' authenticity ','accuracy','cultural pride' and 'objective reasoning'.The five suggestions are:1.Artist descriptions should be more painting-oriented and more concise;2.Painting-related literary works should be outlined in detail;3.Painting details should be elaborated;4.Descriptions on special mounting or silk-weaving techniques should be included;5.Descriptions of seals and writings on the paintings should also be included throughout.The author hopes that the above principles and suggestions will be useful in enhancing future translations of this type and allow more foreigners to appreciate the beauty of Chinese paintings and Chinese culture altogether.