Contents

Acknowledgments

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Background and Significance of the Study-1

1.2 Structure of the Thesis-1

Chapter Two Literature Review-3

2.1 Introduction to Culture-loaded Words-3

2.2 Previous Studies on Translation of Culture-loaded Words-3

2.3 Introduction to Adaptation Theory-4

Chapter Three Application of Adaptation Theory to the Translation of Culture-loaded Words in Weicheng-7

3.1 Introduction to Weicheng-7

3.2 Culture-loaded Words in Weicheng-7

3.2.1 Ecological Culture-loaded Words-7

3.2.2 Material Culture-loaded Words-8

3.2.3 Social Culture-loaded Words-8

3.2.4 Religious Culture-loaded Words-8

3.2.5 Linguistic Culture-loaded Words-8

3.3 Adaptability in the Translation of Culture-loaded Words-8

3.3.1 Adaptation to the Mental World-9

3.3.1.1 Cognition-9

3.3.1.2 Emotion-9

3.3.2 Adaptation to the Social World-10

3.3.2.1 Historical and Cultural Background-11

3.3.2.2 Religious Belief-11

3.3.2.3 Social Institution-12

Chapter Four Conclusion-13

References-14

Abstract

Weicheng is Ch’ien Chungshu’s most famous masterpiece and occupies a prominent position in the history of modern Chinese fiction. In this work, the author used a large number of culture-loaded words which reflected the profound Chinese culture. However, the adoption of abundant culture-loaded words has brought considerable difficulties to the translation of the work and appropriate translation approaches will offer help to cross-cultural communication.

On the basis of Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao’s English version for Weicheng, this thesis discusses how to make the translation of culture-loaded words adapt to the context from the perspective of contextual adaptation, hoping that it can not only make the readers maximize the appreciation for culture peculiarities but also retain the cultural inheritance of the work at the most.

Keywords:  adaptation theory   culture-loaded words   Weicheng