The Challenges and Strategies in Chinese Translation of Literary Texts

Taking the 36th Han Suyin Translation Competition as a case study

Abstract

Since the inception of translation activities, literary translation has consistently held a dominant position within the field. With the increasing frequency of cross-cultural interactions between China and the world, the translation of literary texts between Chinese and foreign languages has also seen a rise. This paper takes the 36th Han Suyin International Translation Contest as a case study, in which the author participated in the English-to-Chinese translation. In guidance of the translation principle of literary texts, it explores how translators can address the cultural disparities between the East and West, break through the constraints of the source language, and faithfully represent the literary qualities of the original texts. The main challenges identified include: the abundance of literary expressions, continuous durative verbs in English, context-dependent imagery and metaphors, and complex sentence structures. To address these challenges, this paper proposes several strategies: emphasizing linguistic allure and translation aesthetics, decoupling cultural content to enhance cultural adaptability, extracting substantive information in context, and strategically segmenting texts to clarify logical structures. The author hopes that this paper will provide useful insights and references for the study and practice of literary translation.