On the Translation of Xia Culture in Chinese Martial Arts Novels under the Background of Cultural Confidence based on Legends of the Condor Heroes

Abstract

Cultural confidence is a nation or a country's full affirmation in its culture, the active practice of its own cultural values, as well as the firm confidence in the vitality of its culture. Introducing excellent Chinese martial arts novels to the world is a manifestation of cultural confidence. The success of the English translation of Jin Yong's martial arts novel "Legends of the Condor Heroes" by Anna Holmwood in the Western market can give Chinese translators a lot of inspiration in translating Chinese martial arts novels. This article analyzes the characteristics of the jianghu terms, characters’ nicknames, and KungFu names that constitute the xia culture in Chinese martial arts novels, and explores the different strategies used in Holmwood's translation for various culturally-loaded words and phrases, namely transliteration, literal translation with annotation, free translation, and creative translation. While retaining the exotic factors in the novel so that English readers can appreciate the unique charm of Chinese martial arts culture, it also appropriately ensures the readability of the novel, which is not an easy task in translating Jin Yong’s work. Thus the translation provides some references for the subsequent foreign translation of Chinese martial arts novels