Abstract：With the rapid development of Chinese economy, more and more foreigners have come to China on business or trips. They are interested in Chinese cuisine, and they want to know how Chinese dishes are cooked. Unfortunately, there is no standard English translation of Chinese dish names so far. 

　　　2008 Olympic Games to be held in China is coming nearer and nearer. It is urgent to have accurate English translations of Chinese dish names now. This paper synthesizes some professors’ opinions, analyzes the translation in the market aspect and gives several ways of translation for reference. Moreover, it gives some workable suggestions for disseminating the Chinese traditional culture to all over the world.   

Key words: English translation of Chinese dish names; methods of cooking; cultural background, market

中文摘要：随着中国经济迅速发展，中国吸收越来越多的外国人来华贸易和旅游，中国文化传统被外国人所接受。其中中式菜肴是一个传播中国文化的很好载体。但是中餐菜名英译目前还没有统一的标准，存在一菜多名的情况，并且有时会使外国人看了英译菜名很苦恼，还闹出了笑话。

　　　中国在08年举行奥运会，这将为中国吸引更多的的外国人来参观访问。中国菜名更需要准确的翻译，以发挥其传播中国传统文化的桥梁作用。当今学术界，不少专家以菜谱的翻译为对象进行学术研究。本文结合了多数研究者的成果，从市场角度探讨了中国菜名的英译问题，并提出了几种可参考的翻译方法，且从市场上找出英译菜名的需求，同时也提出了可行建议通过饮食文化这个载体将中国传统文化传播出去。 

关键词：中式菜肴中译英; 烹饪技巧; 文化背景; 市场