Abstract：With the continuous development of society and technology, exchanges and cooperation between countries are increasingly frequent. Actually, translation plays an important role in the process, and the translation of famous works is one of the tributaries, such as Hong Lou Meng, one of the four greatest ancient Chinese novels. Due to cultural differences, such as historical background, life experiences, etc., translations of the famous works may be linguistically and aesthetically different. So, before comparing different versions of the same famous work, we should have a good understanding of the cultural differences between the source language and the target language. Only in this way can we find out the reasons of similarities and differences between different versions.

Based on the above theory, this paper focuses on two versions of zang hua yin, which is one part of Hong Lou Meng. The versions, whose translators are David Hawkes and Yang Xiangyi, are the most representative two. Attention will be paid to their differences in this paper, such as translators’ historical background, personal experiences and translation management. The study is expected to give some enlightenment to the translation of poetry and those classics.

Key words: zang hua yin, translation, David Hawkes, Yang Xianyi

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1.-Introduction-1

2.-Literature Review-1

3.-Introduction of Zang Hua Yin and Its English Versions-2

3.1 Cao Xueqin and Zang Hua Yin-2

3.1.1 Cao Xueqin-2

3.1.2 Zang Hua Yin and Its Characteristics-3

3.2 Two English Versions of Zang Hua Yin-4

3.2.1 Yang Xianyi’s Translation-4

3.2.2 Hawkes’s Translation-5

4.-Comparison of the Two English Versions-7

4.1 Differences Between Two Translators-7

4.1.1 Historical Background-7

4.1.2 Personal Experiences-9

4.2 Differences Between Translation Management-11

4.2.1 Foreignization and Domestication-11

4.2.2 Literal Translation and Free translation-12

5.-Conclusion-14

Works Cited-15