An Analysis of the Translation Strategies of English Versions of Kong Yiji

Abstract

Kong Yiji is one of Lu Xun’s representative short stories whose dissemination cannot be separated from the efforts of Chinese and western translators. Created under the background of the collision of old and new cultures, Its cultural connotation and linguistic features bring obstacle for its translation. At present, the most authoritative version are those translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, Julia Lovell and William A . Lyell. A comparative study of the translation strategies and methods adopted by the three versions can help translators learn from them. After comparative analysis, it is found that the translation strategies adopted by the three translations are different in dealing with language and cultural differences, among which foreignization is more conducive to presenting the linguistic characteristics of the original text under the premise of ensuring the fluency of the translation.