Abstract：Chinese naming culture came into being early since the ancient time. Chinese people share the tradition of paying high attention to names and titles. In a name or a title, there is rich

significance to be conveyed. The famous novel “A Dream of Red Mansions” written by Cao XueQin(1724) has attracted numbers of scholars because of its long list of characters, and those names contain the essence of naming culture in China. There are two prevailing English versions, one of which was translated by Chinese native translators Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys Yang. Another was translated by western learner David Hawkes. In David’s version, names of the key roles are translated by pinyin, while the less important ones being free translated and religious names being translated through borrowed words. However, David’s version failed in reflecting those special titles which bear the whole Chinese cultural connotation. But Yang’s version made great efforts to translate those special names and cultures in a way  that Chinese traditional naming culture are conveyed. Generally speaking, David’s version reduces the potential reading barriers that may confront the westerners. He also did a good job in emphasizing the philosophy of equality in the west. However, he could not have thoroughly convey the Chinese culture in his version. This paper aims to describe the translating strategies of Yang’s version and his great contribution to the Chinese naming culture.

Keywords: Chinese naming culture;  A Dream of Red Mansions;  strategies; 

Culture

Contents

摘要

Abstract

Chapter 1 introduction-1

Chapter 2 Naming Culture in A Dream of Red Mansions-3

2.1 A Panoramic View of Chinese Naming Traditions-3

2.2 Cultural and Semantic Essence of the Characters’ Names-5

Chapter 3 On Translating Strategies of Yang’s Version-7

3.1 Characters’ Names in Yang’s Version-7

3.2 Strategies Adopted by Yang-9

Chapter 4 A Contrastive Analysis Between Two Versions-11

4.1 Different Approaches Adopted in the Two Versions-11

Chapter 5 Conclusion-13

References-14

Acknowledgements-15

Appendix-16