A Comparative Analysis of Four English Versions of Animal Metaphors in Nicknames of Characters in Water Margin
This study examines the challenges of translating animal metaphors in character nicknames from the Chinese classic Water Margin into English. Such metaphors, which are central to character portrayal and cultural meaning, often struggle with semantic and cultural losses in translation. This study evaluates four English versions by Pearl S. Buck, Jackson J. H., Sidney Shapiro, and John and Alex Dent-Young and finds inconsistencies in strategies and results. Using the three-dimensional transformational framework of Eco-translatology, the study analyses the linguistic, cultural and communicative adaptations in 37 metaphors. Shapiro’s translations show the most balanced approach across all dimensions, while others show omissions that diminish cultural resonance and communicative intent. This study uses comparative analysis to emphasize the need for culturally informed translation strategies that preserve metaphorical meaning and promote intercultural understanding. It also emphasizes the importance of translators as cultural mediators and calls for further research on the approaches to complex metaphorical constructs in order to improve the accuracy and cultural depth of literary translations.
[1]Alice D, 2020, Metaphor, The Commercial Press.
[2]Cheng SQ, Wang XH, 2023, A Review of the English Translation Studies of Water Margin in China: A CiteSpace-Based Knowledge Mapping Analysis (2001–2019). Journal of Heihe University, 14(2): 118–122. DOI:103969/jissn1674-9499202302034
[3]Fan XY, Zhao SQ, 2024, Translation Strategies for Chinese Classics from the Perspective of Eco-Translatology: A Case Study of Sidney Shapiro's English Translation of Water Margin. English Square, (17): 24–27. DOI:10.16723/j.cnki.yygc.2024.17.002.
[4]Zhao JF, Long XY, Wei J, 2024, A Study on the Overseas Generation of Traditional Chinese Jianghu Hero Images: Based on a Comparative Analysis of the English Translations of Water Margin by Sidney Shapiro and Pearl S. Buck. Foreign Language and Literature, 41(4): 102–112, 132, 136–137.
[5]Ren DS, Qu C, 2022, Chinese Culture Going Global and De-Westernization: A Case Study of Pearl S. Buck's English Translation of the Chinese Classic Water Margin. Thinking, 48(4): 156–164.
[6]Hu GS, 2004, Translation as Adaptation and Selection, Hubei Education Press.
[7]Hu GS, 2011, Research Focuses and Theoretical Perspectives of Eco-Translatology. Chinese Translators Journal, 32(2): 5–9, 95.
[8]Hu GS, 2013, Eco-Translatology: Construction and Interpretation, The Commercial Press.
[9]Chongwen Publishing House Center, n.d., Modern Chinese Dictionary, Changjiang Publishing Media & Chongwen Publishing House.
[10]Hornby AS, 1997, Oxford Advanced Learner's English–Chinese Dictionary (6th ed.), Oxford University Press & The Commercial Press.
[11]Sheng XC, 2018, Water Margin Character Spectrum, Xue Lin Publishing House.
