ABSTRACT:Hong Lou Meng, one of the Chinese four great classics, enjoys very high and important literal statue. The masterpiece can be described as the peak work of Chinese classic novels. This novel and its translation have always been a hot topic in the study of literature.

From now on, there are many articles about the research of Hong Lou Meng. However, there are few scholars and researchers working on translation of chapter titles. In addition, most of them are studying two complete translated versions by Yang Hsien-Yi and David Hawkers. The complete English version of Bonsall was rarely studied in the field of literature.This paper makes a comparative study on the part translation of rhetorical devices of three complete English versions in chapter titles of Hong Lou Meng based on the Skopos theory.The author chose three aspects as the research object. There are Pun, literary quotation, and euphemism.

 Study shows that Bonsall mainly adapts literal translation and the strategy of foreignization. His version is faithful to the original and gives consideration to the common ground between Chinese and western culture, aiming to convey the original faithful and introduce Chinese culture. Yang Hsien-Yi mainly adapts foreignization translation strategy. His version remains the original features in order to introduce Chinese culture with a long history. Hawkes adapts the domestication strategy. He write fluent and natural English, making readers get fun and enjoy the work from reading. In a word, translation purpose determines translation strategies. Translators have taken different approaches in order to achieve different purposes.

Keywords: skopos theory; Hong Lou Meng; chapter title; rhetorical devices; comparison

TABLE OF CONTENTS

摘要

ABSTRACT

1 DESCRIPTION-1

1.1 An Description of Hong Lou Meng and Its Authors-1

1.1.1 A brief description of Hong Lou Meng-1

1.1.2 A brief description of Cao Xueqin And Gao E-2

2 LITERATURE REVIEW-4

2.1 Introduction to Three Complete English Versions-4

2.1.1 Introduction to three complete English versions-4

2.2 A Review on Chapter Titles of Hong Lou Meng-6

2.2.1 Introduction of chapter titles-6

2.2.2 Previous study on chapter titles of Hong Lou Meng-6

2.2.3 Summary of previous study-8

2.3 The Significance, Purpose and Methods of This Research-8

2.3.1 The significance of this research-8

2.3.2 Research purpose and methodology-9

3 SKOPOS THEORY.10

3.1 Introduction to the Skopos Theory-10

3.2 Principles of the Theory-11

3.3 Advantages and Limitations-12

4 DATA COLLECTION-14

4.1 Collection of the Translations of pun in Chapter Titles-14

4.2 Collection of the Translations of Literary Quotation-15

4.3 Collection of the Translations of Euphemism-16

5 COMPARATIVE STUDY ON TRANSLATION OF THREE ENGLISH VERSIONS WITH SKOPOS THEORY-19

5.1 Comparative Study on Translation of Pun-19

5.1.1 A Review on Pun-19

5.1.2 Case Study on Pun in Chapter Titles-20

5.2 Comparative Study on Translation of Literary Quotation-23

5.2.1 A Review on Literary Quotation-23

5.2.2 Case Study on Literary Quotation in Chapter Titles-23

5.3 Comparative Study on Translation of Euphemism-25

5.3.1 A Review on Euphemism-25

5.3.2 Case Study on in Euphemism in Chapter Titles-26

6 CONCLUSION-29

6.1 Major findings-29

6.2 Implications-30

6.3 Limitations-30

REFERENCES-31

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-32