Aug 2026· International Journal of English Language Education· Vol 14, pp. 53· 0 citations
Abstract
Du Fu has long been regarded as the greatest poet in Chinese literary history. Both American sinologist Stephen Owen and Chinese historian William Hung have highly praised his literary achievements and cultural significance. As one of Du Fu’s most representative long narrative poems, Five Hundred Words from Ch’ang-an to Feng-hsien embodies profound social criticism, personal concerns, and rich cultural connotations, making it an important text for the translation and dissemination of classical Chinese poetry. Drawing on Chesterman’s (2016) memes of translation, this study aims to investigate how translation strategies shape the transmission of cultural, ideological, emotional, and poetic memes in the English translation of Du Fu’s poetry, thereby deepening understanding of the preservation, adaptation, and transformation of Chinese classical poetry across cultures. Using qualitative textual analysis, it compares the translation strategies adopted by the two translators and investigates how these strategies influence the transmission of poetic memes across linguistic and cultural boundaries. The analysis focuses on the translation of cultural images, historical allusions, poetic language, and emotional expression. The findings reveal distinct strategic preferences between the two translators. Owen generally adopts a source-oriented approach that emphasizes linguistic fidelity and cultural preservation, whereas Hung tends to employ a more target-oriented approach characterized by explicitness change, interpretation, and cultural filtering, prioritizing readability and accessibility for English readers. These differences influence the fidelity, fecundity, and longevity of poetic memes in the target culture. The study argues that effective meme transmission requires a balance between preserving source-cultural meanings and addressing target readers’ communicative needs.
Domestication and foreignization are two common strategies for translators to deal with cultural differences. Based on Berman’s translation ethics and twelve deformations, this paper takes Bai Juyi’s the Everlasting Regret (selected sentences) as the object of study, adopts close reading and comparative analysis, and selects the English versions of Xu Yuanchong, Xu Zhongjie and W. J. B. Fletcher for comparative analysis, focusing on the different degrees of domestication and foreignization in the aspects of word choice, syntax, rhetorical organization, cultural transmission and so on, as well as the effects caused by these differences. The study found that in the English translation of classical Chinese poetry, in addition to the necessary domestication adjustment, the translator should retain the cultural background and aesthetic logic of the original poem as much as possible, so that the translation can achieve the purpose of conveying the cultural nature of this special literary genre. Therefore, in the English translation, foreignization enjoys ethical priority.
Chenfan Wang· English Language Teaching an...· 0 citations
— This paper compares Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang’s 1953 translation and Julia Lovell’s 2009 translation of The True Story of Ah Q to examine how translators construct Chinese cultural identity in cross-cultural communication. Drawing on the cultural perspective in translation studies and narrative construction theory, this study examines how translators’ identities and historical contexts inform their strategic choices. Findings show that Yangs ’ version employs cultural amplification and foreignization, emphasizing the depth and scholarly value of Chinese culture, in line with the nation’s early cultural diplomacy. Lovell’s version favors reduction and domestication, prioritizing readability and literary appeal within a globalized market. The study demonstrates that translation is not merely linguistic transfer but a vital practice of cultural identity reconstruction.
Yi-Wen Li· International Journal of Lan...· 0 citations
Honglou meng, the eighteenth-century Chinese novel by Cao Xueqin, stands as one of the greatest achievements in world literature. Its translation into English has produced two major complete versions: David Hawkes and John Minford's The Story of the Stone (1973–1986) and Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang's A Dream of Red Mansions (1978–1980). These two translations embody fundamentally different translation philosophies. Drawing on Lawrence Venuti's concepts of domestication and foreignization as the primary theoretical framework and supported by Eugene Nida's equivalence theory and Peter Newmark's translation procedures, this paper undertakes a systematic comparative analysis of the two versions across four key textual dimensions: culture-specific items, names and appellations, poetic discourse, and religious and philosophical terminology. The analysis reveals that the Hawkes-Minford version consistently adopts a domesticating strategy, rendering Chinese cultural elements into familiar English forms to maximize readability for the Anglophone reader. In contrast, the Yangs' version follows a predominantly foreignizing approach, preserving the strangeness of the source text and requiring greater cultural effort from its audience. Neither strategy is inherently superior; rather, each serves different readerships and reflects distinct historical and ideological contexts. The paper concludes by arguing that the coexistence of these two approaches enriches the English-language reception of Honglou meng and offers enduring insights for the translation of classical Chinese literature.
Guo Nyuhuan· International Journal of Hum...· 0 citations
Herbert George Wells wrote The Time Machine. This book holds an important place in science fiction history. Studying its Chinese translations can show us some rules behind science fiction translation. This paper uses Andrew Chesterman’s five models of translation ethics. It compares Chen Zhen’s and Qing Run’s Chinese versions. The comparison looks at terminology, sentence structure, and character speech styles. Different ethical orientations do affect translators’ choices. Chen Zhen’s translation leans toward representation and communication ethics. He tries to keep the original’s literary quality and intellectual depth. He uses foreignizing strategies more often. Qing Run’s translation focuses more on service and norm ethics. He values readability and target readers’ habits. He uses domesticating strategies frequently. This study hopes to offer theoretical help for science fiction translation practice. It also tries to broaden the use of translation ethics in literary translation criticism.
Bo Li, Peifang Zhang· Journal of Education and Cul...· 0 citations
This article examines the vision of Asian transnationalism depicted in
Chang'An: A Story of China and Japan
(2016) by Singapore‐born writer Wena Poon. Informed by theories about transnationalism, particularly Laura Doyle's notion of inter‐imperiality and Kuan‐Hsing Chen's suggestion of ‘Asia as method’, which privilege dialectical method and inter‐referencing, I analyse Poon's portrayal of multilingual subjects in her sprawling, multi‐plot novel premised on the fictionalised, translated diary of a Manchurian‐born, Japanese imperial army doctor who passed for Chinese following Japan's defeat in World War II. Crucial to her investment in a historically grounded Asian transnationalism is Poon's translational aesthetic emphasising translation as both practice and trope. Translation between languages is depicted as fraught yet necessary for inter‐cultural understanding and ethical memorialisation. At the same time, material conservation inspired by and functioning as a form of translation also becomes the productive site for an Asian transnationalism that affirms translocal affiliations and cultural commonality.
This study demonstrates that the primary challenge in translating Indonesian literary works into Arabic lies in the cultural elements embedded in metaphors, proverbs, and local expressions. Employing a qualitative textual analysis of Hamka’s Di Bawah Lindungan Kaʿbah, the research reveals that differences in worldview between Indonesian and Arab societies influence lexical choices and stylistic expressions, making literal translation insufficient. The findings highlight the necessity for translators to grasp the cultural context of the source text to ensure comprehensive meaning transfer. The study contributes to translation studies by formulating strategies that integrate semantic and stylistic approaches, including transliteration with explanatory notes, functional equivalence in the target culture, and the preservation of social metaphors. These strategies prove effective in maintaining cultural authenticity while ensuring readability for Arabic audiences. Overall, the research reinforces the view that literary translation is an act of intercultural mediation, synthesizing linguistic, semantic, and cultural dimensions to preserve meaning, aesthetic nuance, and cultural resonance in the target language.
