3。3Application of Functional Equivalence in Fortress Besidge 5

Chapter Four: Data Analysis 6

4。1 Introduction 6

4。2 Translation of metaphor 7

4。2。1 Literal Translation 7

      4。2。1。1 Translating metaphor into simile 7

      4。2。1。2 Literal Translation with Notes 10

      4。2。1。3 Conversion of images 13

4。2。2 Free Translation 14

4。3 Summary 16

Chapter Five: Conclusion 16

Reference 18

Chapter One: Introduction   

1。1 Background Information of Fortress Besieged 

Fortress Besieged was published in 1947, which written by Qian Zhongshu and is widely considered one of the masterpieces of twentieth century Chinese literature。 The novel depicts Chinese middle-class society in the late 1930s in a humorous way。 The title is based on a French proverb:论文网

Marriage is a fortress besieged; people outside the city want to come in, the city people want to go out。

The novel has been translated into many languages。 Such as Russian version which appeared in 1979, German version in 1982。 In 1979, Nathan K。 Mao and Jeanne Kelly translated the novel into English。 This paper is mainly about the English version。

Because Chinese and English have different traditions, beliefs, and writing systems, there are a lot of obstacles in the translation of metaphors in Chinese and English。 In English version, Nathan K。 Mao and Jeanne Kelly adopt the literal translation method and add annotations for different metaphorical expressions。

1。2 Rationale of this Paper 

It is generally accepted that Fortress Besieged is a popular novel。 Due to some controversial problems had discussed in this book so it was fastidious by critics for a long time, such as American reader’s imprecise understanding owing to misinterpretations of translators, the change of writing style for using of too many American slangs and so on。 However, it is a great book which made great influence on a number of people of different generations and nations。 Since Fortress Besieged was published in 1979, it has been translated into numerous languages and read over the world。 In English, there is just one version of this novel but it is also popular among readers, and it has become controversial in translation circles。

After documentary research, it can be figured out that Chinese scholars’ studies on Fortress Besieged largely based on the Linguistic Perspective。 Most of them developed their ideas and opinions by analyzing the way of metaphor translation at the level of words and phrases。 Since there is no one that has ever done researches on metaphor translations in Fortress Besieged, it is worthwhile to carry out my research。

1。3。 Significance of this Paper

From the translation of metaphor, what can be revealed is whether the translation can reflect the vivid words and humorous style of the original works or not。 The translation illustrates translators’ understanding of the writer and the social state of China。 And it transmits information to the people who don’t know China very much。 So the significance of this paper is to help translators to find a better way to continue working。 Every literary work, especially novels, is a tool of communication。 So when translating, it is necessary to maintain the essential of them。 To achieve this, it requires translators to translate the literary works according to the features of the target language。