Reasons of Two Different English Versions of A Dream of Red Mansions

孙雪珂?朱耀扬

A Dream of Red Mansions is one of the monumental works of Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese history. Since translation is a subjective and cultural activity that is based on communication among different nations and countries，it could be different. Nowadays， there are many kinds of translation of A Dream of Red Mansions. Among them，Yang and Hawkes are the most classical and typical ones. This paper aims to analyze reasons of these two translations， how cultural difference influence it， and then gives advice accordingly.

Translation is a subjective activity and translators are main characters in it. Yang Xianyi was a Chinese writer and was very familiar to Chinese culture. He would put more Chinese traditional culture into translation and be faithful to Chinese original culture. Hawkess mother tongue was English but he was a hingh-level sinologist. Although he had deeply researched Chinese culture， there was more or less deficiency for him to really integrate into it. Hence there will be difference between these two versions to some extent. For example：

Original Text：Qu Jing Tong You Chu.

Translation of Yang Xianyi：A winding path leads to a secluded retreat.

Translation of Hawkes：A path winds upwards to mysterious places.

Both these two kinds of translation are good but they differ in‘secluded retreat and ‘mysterious places. From the perspective of cultural spreading，Yangs translation is more original to Chinese culture while Hawkes translation is too straight forward to show original meaning.

Translation is also an essentially dynamic process，which is a two-way communication from not only translators but also readers. Readers personal understanding is another  reason causes differences between these two versions. Since A Dream of Red Mansions was written in old Chinese， having been translated to another language， it is more difficult for Chinese people to understand， not to mention foreigners. But Chinese people are born with Chinese culture，  know more about their native culture and could understand it more easily. So the original translation style with brief notes are the best choice. However  western readers are not very familiar with Chinese culture and they cannot understand it completely. Therefore， Hawkes uses many English words to transform them into western culture.

Translation is a kind of intercultural communication.The west and east have different customs， thinking mode， individual value， communication ways， religion and so on， which are easy to cause misunderstandings， which is also pointed by Fan Xinyuan that “Certain thinking mode and cultural customs come into being under certain cultures， which have great impact on the translation of signs” （179）. Actually， people call this cultural default in translation， which is a common element in literature. It is an omission of cultural information or relative cultural backgrounds since writers and readers have the same living backgrounds and cultural knowledge. In “A Dream of Red Mansion”， there are lots of special religion words like “Bodhisattva” and “Jade Emperor”. But these expressions in westerns belief is the “God” and they cant find exact words to represent it （Wang Haixia 3）. However， because of cultural difference， the cultural tacit understanding between translators and readers disappears. Therefore， it causes negative effects on readers personal understanding and reduces literature works aesthetic value. Above this， culture compensation appears. Writers would give cultural compensations such as explanatory notes， comments and other supplementary words to let readers know and understand different and difficult concepts.

A Dream of Red Mansions is a Chinese classic，which is hard to keep translation reality.  Yang and Hawkes actually did a good job. Characteristics of translators， readers personal understanding and cultural difference are three main factors which cause difference in these two-translation versions. Relatively， there are three basic ways to solve them， which mainly are cultural compensation， borrowing and substitution. The first can make culture unity while the second and the third can make it communicate faster. Then cross-culture translation can be easier. Together with borrowing and substitution， translation will play a more and more important role in cultural globalization.

References：

[1]Cao， Xueqin， and Gao E. Hong Lou Meng[M]. Beijing： Peoples Literature Publishing House，2016.Print.

[2]Hawkes， David. The Story of the Stone[M]. London： Penguin Classics，1974.Print.

[3]Fan， Xinyuan.On Signs Translation from Cross-Cultural Communication Aspect[J]. Crazy English Teachers，1，2014：179-179. Print.

【作者簡介】孙雪珂，朱耀扬，哈尔滨工程大学外语系。