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摘 要

文学作品与文化密不可分。在红楼梦中，由于文化的不同和丰富的联想涵义，颜色词往往很难恰当准确地翻译出来。本文旨在从文化内涵的角度，对两种文化差异下的颜色词--红色的翻译作了一些尝试性的比较与探讨。鉴于两大红楼梦的经典译作与前人对于其中颜色词翻译的研究，文章将围绕文化的内涵下定义，讨论文化与翻译之间的关系，分析红楼梦中一些“红”字的文化内涵，最后呈现几种针对“红”字的翻译策略。只有清楚地了解“红”字的内涵，读者才能对于《红楼梦》的英译本和小说的主题有着更好地理解。

关键词：《红楼梦》；颜色词；红；翻译；文化内涵

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Purpose and Significance of the Study 1

1.2 Structure of the Study 2

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Relevant Studies on the Versions of hong lou meng 2

2.2 Relevant Studies on Translation of Color Words in hong lou meng 3

3. “Red” , Culture and Translation 3

3.1 Definition of Culture 3

3.2 Different “Red” in Chinese and English. 4

3.3 “Red” in Hong Lou Meng 5

4. Connotation of "Red" in hong lou meng 5

4.1. Red as a Symbol of Status and Wealth 6

4.2. Red as a Symbol of Emotion 6

4.3. Various Shades of Red 7

4.4. Red as a Symbol of the World 7

4.5 Red as a Symbol of Young Lady 8

4.6 Connotation of “Red” in Clothes and Names 8

5. Translation of “Red” in hong lou meng 8

5.1 Literal Translation 8

5.2 Free Translation 9

5.3 Addition 10

5.4 Omission 10

6. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 12

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose and Significance of the Study

Vocabulary is an essential part of the language and in the meantime it is the reflection lens of the cultural development. Especially the color words, which are conducive to our inseparable connection with the big world, are frequently employed, and endowed with a multitude of cultural connotation . Thus, They are of cardinal importance during the process of either the English study or translation. Thanks to them, it becomes easier for us to have a clear view of all the things around the universe .

We all know that color words has its own physical features, meaning and culture connotation, not to speak of their variability from countries to countries. The words and phrases of colors are particularly ample. Color may contain diverse messages towards different culture. China and English, to only name a few, belong to different culture systems, therefore, each people’s perception of the same color is distinct, or even opposite. If we could not be able to have a clear idea to make a distinguish between them, it will be impossible for us carry out concrete and efficient communications, let alone the translation. Because it is just the different meaning derived from cultural connotations that have caused those misunderstandings. So the cultural connotation of the colors is not only an crucial element for international communication, but also an primary and predominant component of cross-cultural translation. Cultural connotation , as a result, is one of the significant subjects tackled in language translation.

Hong Lou Meng, a description of the declining fortunes of a large feudal family, is a cultural monument in the history of Chinese novels. In the novel, the application of color terms, especially the word "red", adds savor to the entire chapters. An estimated 155 times of color words were used by the author in the former eighty chapters, in which the term red was widely mentioned from the name of the book to the main characters, including the major themes of the novel---such as emotional stories, tragic fates and so on.

However, because of the diverse culture backgrounds and rich associative meanings, the Chinese-English translation of the color items has become a hard nut to crack. Fortunately, there are two classic versions of translations, and one is A Dream of Red Mansions by well-known Chinese translators Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, the other The Story of the Stone by renowned English translator Hawkes. As a result, based on two classics above and previous studies, this paper will chiefly try to focus on a deep cultural connotation of the color red at length.

1.2 Structure of the Study

The whole paper is composed of five sections. Apart from the first one, which is the introduction part. The second section is literature review. It will introduce several studies published by previous researchers ,and some problems this paper will talk about, which is based on those studies. The third section will deals with the relationship between red, culture and translation, and it will be divided into three parts: the definition of culture, different red in Chinese and English and the red in hong lou meng. The fourth section will probe into the connotation of "red" in hong lou meng during the process of translation due to the different culture background. Finally, the last section will try to present a number of translation methods to solve these misunderstandings and thus help readers to comprehend hou lou meng better.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Relevant Studies on the Versions of hong lou meng

As a world-famous classical novel, hong lou meng has various versions of translation, which have been widely circulated around the world. At present, it is counted that there are dozens of translation versions already, among which the English versions are absolutely of great value. Since 1830, with the two poems translated from hong lou meng publishing in the journal named Translations of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, the translation of hong lou meng have just created an opening. After that, there were some scholars trying to translate several chapters of the whole novel over the following decades of years. Finally, with the advent of two classical and greatest translations until the nineteen seventies , the English versions of hong lou meng were gradually known to the world and they became better understood by the readers from other countries. Two famous translators are Hawkes and Yang Xianyi (and Gladys).

2.2 Relevant Studies on Translation of Color Words in hong lou meng

So far, many scholars have studied the translation of hong lou meng based on these two versions from different perspectives. Such as Cao Liya (2012:76), in her paper, she talked about how to define the color words in hong lou meng. Besides, Li Jishan (2011:73), Liu Xiaohui (2001:311) and Zhang Ming (2010:110), who made an exhaustive and exact study, have probed into the translation methods of these colors words in hong lou meng. In addition, in Zhang Xuan’s work (2012:182) , she gave color words the concrete cultural meaning and pointed out the study of cultural connotation of the color words can not be ignored during the process of translation.

3. “Red” , Culture and Translation

3.1 Definition of Culture

Culture is originated from the Latin word “colere”, which has the implication of “to cultivate”. When it comes to the meaning of culture, scholars from different area of knowledge have given various definition to it from many aspects.

In Primitive Culture compiled by Edward Burnett Tylor (1871:1), culture is defined as "a complex which includes knowledge, religion, arts, morals, law, custom and the abilities and habits acquired in the society" from the point of view of anthropology.

Linell Davis (2010:28) put forward another connotation “culture is the total accumulation of beliefs、customs、values、behaviors、institutions and communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generations in an identifiable group of people”

In the sociological field, Georg Simmel (1971:12) habored the idea that "the cultivation of individuals through the agency of external forms which have been objectified in the course of history"

From the foregoing, we can draw a conclusion that culture is totally a various, divergent and abstract idea. Simply, it thus can be divided into two types, non-material culture or material culture.

3.2 Different “Red” in Chinese and English.

In this big world, there are thousands of colors. The study of the concept of terms for color has been used to deal with the relationships between different languages and cultures. Modern scientific research shows that eighty percent of the media for the mankind to know about the world is through the visual sense. In daily life, it is a hackneyed phenomenon that we employ common color words to express abstract and complicated emotions, which makes our lives more and more vibrant and vivid. Color word, just like a symbolic form, usually carries associative meaning, similar or different. It reflects each people’s own spiritual concept and cultural value.

However, the connotation of color under different cultural backgrounds is different. The Chinese nation, for example, unlike western countries, has a preference for the word "red", which is often endowed with a positive meaning. Usually, Chinese people think red is a lucky and joyous color, they prefer to adopt red colors to symbolize auspiciousness, happiness and propitiousness. The color word "red" in English, in contrast, stands for the meaning of death, danger, horror and so on. Thus, their understanding of "red" is generally based on its symbol of ‘blood’,‘devil’ and‘Santa’, such as ‘red alert’, ‘to see the red light’, ‘red-headed’ and so on. Example: (1).大漠风尘日色昏，红旗半卷出辕门。前军夜战洮河北，以保生擒吐谷浑。（王昌龄《从军行》之四） Translation: In the desert the wind and sand have dimmed sunlight; With red flags half-unfurled through the camp gate we go. North of the River Tao , after nocturnal fight, our brave vanguards has captured the chief of the foe. Wang Changling ARMY LIFE IV, Tr. by (Xun Yuanzhong, 2001 )

The “a red flag” in English here is the meaning of “红旗”” in Chinese, however，their own symbolic meaning are totally different. “Hongqi” in Chinese is considered as a symbol of success. To the west, on the contrary, it stands for a foreboding of danger which indicates the impending disaster. As a result, readers will misunderstand it if the translator replace the “a red flag”with another word or phrase. However, In this poem, the translator favored translating “红旗”directly without making any change of it, so it may probably make people from different country feel it hard to comprehend them. Nevertheless, there is no need for translator to make a little adjustment on this point of no great importance, because readers will have a full and complete grasp of it after reading the entire poem .what’s more, it is just the cultural deviation that will help readers understand Chinese better and experience the culture of the other region.

In sum, the understanding of the "red" between Chinese and English is different in some degree, for this reason, it is no wonder that there are a lot of difficulties in our understanding and expression of the word "red" in such a different cultural connotation.

3.3 “Red” in Hong Lou Meng

As one of the four great classical novels, hong lou meng has a reputation for the use of a large number of color words. Especially the word red , in some degree, can be figuratively called the soul of this book. It is counted by Fan Ganliang (1996:221) that there have been more than one hundred and fifty kind of color words used in hong lou meng. What’s more, among those different types of color words, the word red is frequently used, especially in the name of the book, the main characters in the novel, and the name of groups of people in this novel.

Thus, it can be seen that the translation of the color words is relatively significant, among which a clear understanding of the word red is also a factor that can not be simply ignored during the process of translation.

4. Connotation of "Red" in hong lou meng

Due to the cultural differences between translator and author, it can easily lead to obscurity or even arise misunderstanding during translation.

Usually, Chinese people think red is a lucky and joyous color, they prefer to adopt red colors to symbolize auspiciousness. The color word "red" in English, in contrast, stands for the meaning of death, danger, horror and so on. Their understanding of "red" is generally based on its symbol of ‘blood’, such as ‘red alert’, ‘to see the red light’, ‘red-headed’ and so on. As a result, the connotation of the word red under western culture is totally different from the east. Hawkes, during the process of translation of Hong lou meng, under the background of western culture, thought that the word "red" in English cannot remind his readers of some auspicious effects or arouse their happy association. Thus, in order not to engender misunderstanding and confusion between Chinese and Western readers , he chose the original name of hong lou meng ——《石头记》to give this book a special English title ——“The story of the Stone”.

More generally, he was prone to choose green and gold in lieu of red, because he believed that green and gold in English is the equivalence of red in Chinese. E,g. Tr.by Hawkes (1973) (1).贾芸想到：“怪道叫‘怡红院’原来匾上恁样四个字。”“So that’s why it’s called ‘The House of Green Delights’,” jia Yun told himself. “The name is taken from the inscription.”（Chapter26）(2).红楼梦曲“A Dream of Golden Days” （Chapter5）(3).怡红公子“Happy Green Boy”（Chapter37）.

4.1. Red as a Symbol of Status and Wealth

In ancient China, red was regarded to represent power, status, or rank. Such as “朱户”“朱楼”, which usually refers to rich and powerful family.

E.g.(1).说不尽那光摇朱户金铺地。

Translation: Words fail to describe those brilliant vermilion rooms.

（Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang,1994: 76）

In this poem , the word red only is too abroad so it can not reflect the deep meaning of “朱户” “朱楼”. The translators, in correspondence with it, thought of replacing the word red with another shade of redness. Accordingly, he chose the dark red which exactly carry the meaning of “朱户”“朱楼”, and that is vermilion. (2).忽见一对红衣太监骑马缓缓走来.....(chapter18) Translation: Then a couple of eunuchs in horseback came riding very,very slowly up to the main gate......（Hawkes, 1973: 223) In this sentence, the author described the color of the clothes by using “红” in order to lay stress on the identity of this character. However, Hawkes unfortunately omitted the translation of the “红衣”, which to a certain extent lost some information that the original text intended to convey here.

4.2. Red as a Symbol of Emotion

Red represents many emotions in both Chinese and English, such as bashfulness, shame, blush, anger and so on. That is where most Chinese and English have the same culture connotation. As a result, the translators usually prefer to translate it directly or according to the deep connotation it carries.

E.g.(1). 她看了宝玉一眼，复儿又低下头去，那脸上的颜色渐渐的红晕起来

Translation: She looked down again at once, and a deep flush spread slowly across her face.

( Hawkes, 1973: 170)

林黛玉自觉忘情，不觉红了脸，拿袖子遮了脸......因害羞而脸红。以至于宝玉... ...

Translation: Daiyu realized that she had been caught off her guard. She covered her burning face with her sleeve,and turning over towards the wall, pretended to be asleep.

( Hawkes, 1973: 553)

The first and second “红”above are none and all have the implication of ‘shyness’. The only difference between them is, to some extent, the degree of this emotion. Apparently, the second one is more stronger than the first one, and so is the ‘burning’ to the ‘flush’.

贾母一见了紫鹃，便眼内出火.... ..

Translation: At the sight of Nightingale, Grandmother Jia’s eyes flashed angrily. ( Hawkes, 1973: 118)

Due to the same cultural background, the use of verb‘flash’ here to describe an emotion of ‘anger’ is easier for the readers to understand. Moreover , grandmother Jia ,with the modifier ‘angrily’ at the end of the sentence, has been characterized an image as an acrimonious and fractious old women.

4.3. Various Shades of Red

In English, there are many different shades of red, such as ‘scarlet’, ‘crimson’, ‘pink’, ‘green lake’, ‘rose pink’, ‘vermilion’ and so on. During the process of translation, it is often necessary for us to choose the exact shades of color words according to the mental activities of the main character or the precise meaning of the whole text.

E.g. (1).之间门外铜钩上悬着大红撤花软帘，南窗下是炕，炕上大红毡条......

Translation: A soft scarlet flowered portiere hung from brass hooks over the door, and the Kang below the south window was spread with a scarlet rug.

(Hawkes, 1973)

In above sentence, the accurate choice of the word ‘scarlet’ instead of the"red" here makes the description of this room in a vivid and alive way.

4.4. Red as a Symbol of the World

Chinese people prefer to use “红尘” to refer to the world or universe. However, It is difficult for western people to understand if translated according to its literal meaning because it means ‘red dust’. In hong lou meng, the “红尘” is in a pretty high rate of usage. Example: 无才可去补苍天，枉入红尘若许年。此系身前身后事，倩谁记去奇传？The “枉入红尘许若年”here is translated into “I passed some years on earth to no avail” by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang (1994:3), “long years a foolish mortal man was I”by David Hawkes (1973:18), and “in vain the mortal world full many a year I wend” by H. Bencraft Joly(1891). After being exhaustive explained, it is easy for western people to have a clear understanding of it.

4.5 Red as a Symbol of Young Lady

In China, red is tightly related to the young lady. Such as“唇红齿白” which is used to describe the beauty of women. What’s more, “女红”is also a good example: In ancient china, “女红”generally refers to sewing which is a type of needlework , and it is a job mostly exclusive to women. With the development of times and technology, it gradually become another kind of meaning--- “女工”，which means women workers. While in English, the red can also be used to refer to tha young, beautiful lady, such as the poem A Red ,Red Rose written by Robert burns, in which the author sings the praise of the beauty of his lovers. As a result , it is no wonder that there are a lot of ‘reds’ which means the young lady are employed in hong lou meng. For example :白骨如山忘姓氏，无非公子与红妆。（青埂峰顽石诗 第八回）。It is translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang that ‘ Heaped high the white bones of the nameless dead, who in their day were lords and ladies fine’, and “红妆“here represents lady. Another translation version is ‘Bones, white and bleached, in nameless hill-like mounds are flung, bones once of youths renowned and maidens fair and young’ by H. Bencraft joly , and there is ‘golden girls’ by David Hawkes and ‘unmarried girls’ by B.S. Bonsall. From these examples listed above, we can find that translaters prefer not to translate “红”directly，but according to its meaning the text carries.

4.6 Connotation of “Red” in Clothes and Names

Usually,when it comes to the translation of the "red" in clothes and name, the translators usually choose not to change the original meaning of the word or phrase. And here is the example translated by Hawkes, the “大红” was translated into dark-red. “林黛玉”, which is also called “绛朱草”, was translated into ‘Vermilion Pearl Plant’ by Hawkes.

5. Translation of “Red” in hong lou meng

5.1 Literal Translation

Literal translation, which is also named direct translation , refers to translate the work directly, without changing the meaning of any words or phrases. What’s more, the translation from source language to target language is usually word by word, which can keep the equivalence of word and sentence. This kind of translation, thus can help readers enjoy the flavor of the original work and learn better about the other culture.

Jean Delisle (2004:35) proposed a detailed and lengthy explanation to this concept “Literal translation is a strategy where a produces a target text while retaining the formal features of the source text, but conforming generally to the grammar of the target language.”

Briefly,as for the translation of the color words, it means retaining as much as possible the original color images by replacing with the English word of the same meaning. Here is an example from hong lou meng :

可惜这惜这石榴红绫最不经染. (from hong lou meng, the 62^nd chapter)

Translation: It’s too bad, this pomegranate-red silk shows the dirt so .

（Yang Xianyi amp; Gladys Yang, 1994: 371)

The ‘石榴红’here was translated into“pomegranate-red”, which employ the method of literal translation and it also represents that the meaning of ‘石榴红’between Chinese and English are exactly the same. And here is another example :

那林黛玉严严密密裹着一幅杏子红绫被，安稳合目而睡。( from hong lou meng, the 21th chapter).

Translation:Tai- yu lay peacefully with closed eyes, snugly wrapped in an apricot-red silk quilt.

（Yang Xianyi amp; Gladys Yang, 1994: 298）

From the two examples above, the pros of this kind of translation method is apparently obvious and clear. That is, it can retain the original information of source language whenever possible so that readers can understand the whole text easily and clearly.

5.2 Free Translation

In Dictionary of Translation Studies, the author (Liu Jing, 2004:62) says that “Free translation is a type of translation in which more attention paid to producing a naturally reading TT (Target Translation) than to preserving the ST (Source Translation) wording intact; also known as SENSE-FOR-SENSE TRANSLATION, it contrasts with LITERAL AND WORD-FOR-WORD TRANSLATION.”

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