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【摘要】漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)承載著中華五千年的文化特色和文化信息.而翻譯并非只是兩種語(yǔ)言之間的一種簡(jiǎn)單的對(duì)應(yīng)轉(zhuǎn)換過(guò)程，而是一種文化的交流和傳遞。

因此，在漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)英譯的具體操作過(guò)程中，首先要充分理解漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)的內(nèi)在含義，靈活運(yùn)用不同的翻譯方法，對(duì)比英漢語(yǔ)言中習(xí)語(yǔ)（成語(yǔ)）的異同，進(jìn)行適當(dāng)?shù)慕Y(jié)構(gòu)調(diào)整，將漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)所承載的文化特色和文化信息最大限度地傳譯給外國(guó)讀者。幫助外國(guó)讀者消除或減少語(yǔ)言及文化障礙就要求譯者盡最大努力把漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)翻譯成外國(guó)讀者樂(lè)于接受的形式。與此同時(shí)要在英語(yǔ)中再現(xiàn)漢語(yǔ)文化，這是一個(gè)很大的挑戰(zhàn)。

把漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)翻譯成英語(yǔ)，譯者們掌握和熟悉兩種語(yǔ)言以及其文化是非常重要的。他們必須從風(fēng)俗和文化背景的角度，通過(guò)對(duì)漢語(yǔ)和英語(yǔ)語(yǔ)言學(xué)和文化差異的理解，盡量去把握成語(yǔ)的內(nèi)在含義，從而使其觀點(diǎn)與原文的精神相一致。本文簡(jiǎn)單介紹了漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)英譯的幾種方法。

【關(guān)鍵詞】漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)，英語(yǔ)習(xí)語(yǔ)，翻譯，文化內(nèi)涵，源語(yǔ)，目標(biāo)語(yǔ)

[Abstract]ChineseidiomsbearfivethousandyearsofChineseculturalcharacteristicandtheculturalmessages.Translationisnotonlyonekindofsimplecorrespondenceswitchingprocessbetweentwolanguages,butisonekindofculturalexchangeandtransmission.

Therefore,translatingChineseidiomsintoEnglishisaconcreteoperatingprocess.First,thetranslatorsmustfullyunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidioms;second,theyshouldutilizeseveraldifferenttranslationmethodsnimblyandcontraststhesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweentheEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms;third,theyshouldcarryonthesuitablestructureadjustmentandtranslateChineseidiomswhichbearculturalcharacteristicandculturalinformationinmaximumlimitfortheforeignreaders.HelpingtheforeignreaderseliminateandreducelanguageandculturalbarrierrequeststhetranslatortoworkdiligentlytotranslatetheformofChineseidiominthewaythattheforeignreadersaregladtoaccept.Atthesametime,thisisaverybigchallengetoreappearChinesecultureinEnglish.

TounderstandandtranslateChineseidiomsintoEnglish，itisveryimportantforthetranslatorstomasterandwellacquaintthemselveswiththeoriginallanguageandthetargetlanguageandtheircultures.TheyshouldsetoutfromtheaspectsofcustomsandculturalbackgroundsandtrytograsptheconnotationoftheoriginalidiombyunderstandinglinguisticandculturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesesoastomakehisversionaliketheoriginaltextinspirit.ThisarticleintroducedseveralmethodsontranslationofChineseidiomsconcisely.

[KeyWords]Chineseidioms；Englishidioms；translation；cultureconnotation；originallanguage；targetlanguage

1.Introduction

Abouttranslation,thetranslationtheoreticianshaveproposedmanydifferentviewpoints.InChina,themostpopulartheoryisMr.Yanfu’s“faithfulness,expressivenessandelegance(信，達(dá)，雅)”whileinthewesterncountries,themostpopularoneis“equivalentvalue,equivalenteffectandfunctionequivalence(等值，等效，功能對(duì)等)”.Theseviewpointsaremutuallyinfluencedandsupplemented.Althoughthetranslatorshavedifferentemphasispoints,theyalladvocatethatthetranslationmustexpresstheconnotationoftheoriginaltextfaithfullyandthestyleoftheoriginalworkshouldreappearintranslation.“所謂忠實(shí)表達(dá)原文的意義，應(yīng)指忠實(shí)表達(dá)原文的字面意義，形象意義，隱含意義三個(gè)方面。”[1]p65(So-called“expressingtheindicationoftheoriginaltextfaithfully”,istoexpressthewordingmeaning,theimagemeaningandtheimpliedmeaningoftheoriginaltextfaithfully.)Butnotallexpressions,words,evencharactersintheoriginaltextsimultaneouslyhavethesethreekindsofmeanings.Maybesomeofthemonlyhavethewordingmeaning,butwithouttheimagemeaning;somemayhavethewordingmeaningandtheimagemeaning,butlackoftheimpliedmeaning.Anytwolanguagesareimpossibletobeallcoordinatedcompletely.Therefore,itisimpossibletocompletelyreproducethethreekindsofmeaningsoftheoriginaltext.First,becausetheculturaldifferencesproducethecontradictioninthetranslationprocess,thewordingmeaningortheimagemeaningmustobeytheimpliedmeaning.Second,theimagemeaningoftheoriginaltextcannotbefoundinthetargetlanguage.Sometimestheimagesarethesamebuttheimpliedmeaningsareactuallydifferent.Inthissituation,whatthetranslatorsneedtoconsiderfirstistheaccurateexpressionoftheimpliedmeaning.Theimagesoftheoriginaltextshouldbechangedintootherimagesthattheforeignreadersarefamiliarwith.

2.SeveralmethodsofChineseidiomtranslation

Theexistenceofculturaldifferencesbringscertaindifficultiestotheculturalexchange.Itisalsothebiggestbarrierinthetranslation.Whenthetranslatorstranslateonelanguagetoanother,besidesunderstandingthewritingofthesetwolanguagesthoroughly,thetranslatorsalsohavetounderstandtheculturaldifferencesbetweenthesetwolanguagesprofoundly.

InChinese“Idioms”meansthat“成語(yǔ)：人們長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)習(xí)用的，簡(jiǎn)潔精辟的定型詞組或短句。漢語(yǔ)的成語(yǔ)大多由四個(gè)字組成，一般都有出處。有些成語(yǔ)從字面上不難理解，如‘小題大做’，‘后來(lái)居上’等。有些成語(yǔ)必須知道來(lái)源或典故才能懂得意思，如‘朝三暮四’，‘杯弓蛇影’等。”[2]P130(Sincelongagothepeoplehaveusedhabitually,conciseandsuccinctwordsorshortphrases.MostChineseidiomsarecomposedbyfourcharacters,generallyallofwhichhavethesource.ThemeaningsofSomeidiomsareavailablefromthewordwriting,suchas:‘小題大做’and‘后來(lái)居上’;Themeaningofsomeidiomsshouldbegotfromitssourceorallusion.Suchas‘朝三暮四’and‘杯弓蛇影’.)OnChineseidiomtranslation,culturehasagreatinfluenceonthetranslators''''logicalthinkingandtheglossarychoiceofthelanguage.

Thesemanticsofidiomhastheintegrity.Usuallywecannotgetitssignificancefromasinglecharacter.IfmanyChineseidiomsweretranslatedintoEnglishdirectlyaccordingtothewordingmeaning,althoughtheforeignreaderscanunderstandthemeaningofeachcharacter,theystillhavedifficultiesinunderstandingtheoverallsignificanceofthisidiom.

2.1Metaphrase

Metaphraseisamethodthattheimageandtheformsoftheoriginaltextarepreserved,whichcanbetranslatedliterally.Thereadersalsocancatchtheimpliedmeaningbythewordingtranslation.SomeChineseidiomshavesimilarimages,whichtheforeignreaderscanassociatetotheequivalentEnglishidioms.

2.1.1LiteralTranslation

Inidiomtranslation,thereisatendencytofindEnglishequivalentidioms,equivalentinreferentialmeaningratherthanintheimages.ThereasonisthatthetargettextmustbeidiomaticallyEnglish.Therefore,literaltranslationofChineseidiomsisoftenconsiderednon-idiomatic.Aslongasthetranslationconveysavividimageandthereferentialmeaningisnotdistorted,literaltranslationcanintroduceChineseculturetotheworld.Literaltranslationisawaybywhichtherhetoric,nationalandregionalcharacteristicsarekeptinthetargetlanguage.Inthiswaythemeaningandtheformofthesourcelanguageareunchanged.

SomeChineseidiomscanbetranslatedliterallywiththesamevividfigurativeresultoftheoriginalones,whichcanmaketheforeignreadersassociatetotheequivalentEnglishidioms.

Forexample:

⑴對(duì)牛彈琴——Toplaythelutetoacow.ThereaderscanassociateittotheequivalentEnglishidiom“tocastpearlsbeforeswine”.

⑵竭澤而漁——Todrainapondtocatchallthefish(theequivalentidiom:Tokillthegoosethatlaysthegoldeneggs.)

⑶易如反掌——Tobeaseasyasturningoverone’shand(theequivalentone:Aseasyasfallingoffalog.)

⑷口蜜腹劍——Tobehoney-mouthedanddagger-hearted(theequivalentone:AJudaskiss)

ThoughtherearenotequivalentEnglishidioms,someChineseidiomswiththeliteralmeaningscanalsobetranslatedliterallywiththeaccurateimages.Suchas:

⑸井底之蛙——Tobelikeafrogatthebottomofawell

⑹史無(wú)前例——Tobewithoutprecedentinhistory

⑺七嘴八舌——Withsevenmouthsandeighttongues

2.1.2Replacement

RegardingChineseidiomstranslation,whatmanytranslationbooksdiscussedmainlywasthereplacementtechnique.Sometimes,equivalenttranslationscanbefound,butmostlyonlysimilarones.Usuallythereplacementtechniqueisnecessaryinthefollowingsituations.

(ⅰ)Chineseidiomshavesamemeaningsandculturemessagesasthoseinthetargetlanguage.

TherearemanyChineseandEnglishidioms,whichhavethesameimagesaswellastheexpressionforms.

⑴InChinese,“渾水摸魚(yú)”means“[釋義]渾水：渾濁的水。指在渾濁的水中摸魚(yú)。[用法]比喻趁混亂的時(shí)機(jī)撈取不正當(dāng)?shù)睦?，也作‘混水摸魚(yú)’。”[3]P259ButtheEnglishidiom“tofishintroubledwater”means“takeadvantageoftroubledoruncertainconditionforpersonalprofit”.Thesetwoidiomsaresimilarinbothexpressionformandintrinsicmeaning.

Thesimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑵赴湯蹈火——Gothroughfireandwater

⑶隨波逐流——Togowiththetide

⑷知識(shí)就是力量——Knowledgeispower.

⑸眼不見(jiàn)，心不煩——Outofsight,outofmind.

⑹謀事在人，成事在天——Manproposes,goddisposes

⑺空中樓閣——Castlesintheair

⑻充耳不聞——Turnadeafearto

(ⅱ)Chineseidiomssharesimilarmeaningsbutdifferentculturemessagesandimageswiththetargetlanguage.

TheChineseidioms,whichhavesameorsimilarvividanalogywiththeEnglishidioms,shouldbeexchangedintothesameorcorrespondingEnglishidiomsdirectly.Differentlanguageshavedifferentimages.

⑴Forexample:iftranslatorstranslatetheChineseidiom“胸有成竹”directlyinto“haveabambooinone’sstomach”accordingtothewordingmeaning.Theforeignreadersnotonlyhavedifficultiesingettingthemeaningthatthisidiomcontained,butalsohavethewrongassociationeasily.Therefore,thetranslatorsmustdiscardtheimagesinthisidiomandchangethemintotheimagesthattheforeignreadersarefamiliarwith.Soitmaybetranslatedas“haveacardinone’ssleeve”

⑵TheChinesesay“噤若寒蟬”(asmuteasawintercicada)”,yetthenativeEnglishsay,“asmuteasafish”.Fishandcicadahavesimilarfunctionintheaboveexamplesthoughtheyarenotsimilaratall.Asfaras“silence”isconcerned,fishisafamiliarimagetoEnglishspeakers,yettheChinesetendtoassociatethesensewithwintercicada.

⑶TheChineseidiom“甕中之鱉（theturtleinthejar）”means“[釋義]甕：大壇子；鱉：甲魚(yú)。大壇子中的甲魚(yú)。[用法]形容已在掌握之中，逃脫不了?！盵4]P651.ButtheEnglishidiom“l(fā)ikesaratinahole”,whoseimageisamouse,whichisstrandedinahole.Itisinanextremelydifficultsituation.Thesetwoscenesagreewithoutpriorconsultationbuthappentoholdthesameview.Thoughthetranslatorsreplacedtheimage,theforeignreadershavenodifficultytounderstanditsmeaning.

ThesimilarChineseidiomsincluded:

⑷膽小如鼠——Astimidasarabbit

⑸揮金如土——Spendmoneylikewater

⑹東張西望——Lookrightandleft

⑺緣木求魚(yú)——Seekahareinhen’snest

⑻拋磚引玉——Tothrowasprattocatchaherring

So,familiarimagesofthetargetlanguageareoftenusedtoreplacethoseofthesourcelanguage.ItisveryregretthattheforeignreaderscannotunderstandtheexoticatmosphereofChineseculture.

(ⅲ)Chineseidiomssharesimilarimagesbutdifferentculturemessagesandconnotationwiththetargetlanguage.

SomeChineseidiomsandEnglishidiomsarealmostthesameintheexpressionform,butthecommendatoryorderogatorymeaning,whichtheidiomscontained,isdifferent.Sotheycannotbemutuallytranslated.

“習(xí)俗文化指的是貫穿于日常社會(huì)生活和交際活動(dòng)中由民族的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣形成的文化。.[5]P64”（Thecustomculturereferstotheactivities,whichformedbynationality''''smannersandcustomsinthesocialdailylife）Asaresultofthecustomculturedifferences,thetranslatorsmustpayattentiontotheanimalwordsintheidiomswhosemeaningsaredifferent.Forexample,inChina,thepeopleoftenthinkthedogisloathing.Therefore,mostdog-relatedidiomsincludethederogatorymeaning.

⑴Forexample,“狐朋狗友（Packofscoundrels）”,“狼心狗肺（heartlessandcruel）”andsoon.Butinthewesternnation,thedogwasconsideredashuman''''sgoodfriends.Forexample:“helpalamedogoverastile(雪中送炭)”,“l(fā)oveme,lovemydog.(愛(ài)屋及烏)”andsoon.

⑵Forexample:theChineseidiom“笑掉大牙”includesthemeaning“ridicules”.TheEnglishidiom“tolaughoffone’shead”isonlytheexpressionof“l(fā)augh”or“l(fā)aughloudly”.Itisaneutralword.Thesetwoidiomslookverysimilarliterally.Butthecommendatoryandderogatorytermsoftwowordsaredissimilar.Sotheycannotbemutuallytranslated.

⑶TheChineseidiom“說(shuō)曹操，曹操到(whenyoumentionCaoCao,hesoonarrives)”means“Iwasjusttalkingaboutyou!”itdidnotbringthederogatorymeaning,butEnglishidiom“talkofthedevilandhewillappear”hasthederogatorymeaning。

⑷Ifyoutranslate“亡羊補(bǔ)牢”toEnglishproverb“l(fā)ock/closethestabledoorafter/whenthehorsehasbeenstolen”.Thedirecttranslationmistakesthemeaningof“亡羊補(bǔ)牢"whichmeans“stillhasnotbeenlate“!ButthisEnglishproverbexpressedthemeaning“hasalreadybeenlate,beyondanyhelp”。Therefore,亡羊補(bǔ)牢cancorrespondtotheEnglishproverb“astitchintimesavenine”or“betterlatethannever”

⑸IntheChineseidiom“令人發(fā)指”andtheEnglishidiom“tomakeone’shairstandonend”,[6]P164theformeronemeans“tomakethepersonextremelyangry“,thelatteronerefersthat“frightenorhorrifysomeone”.So‘令人發(fā)指’canbetranslatedinto“makethebloodboil”.

2.2Paraphrase

Paraphraseisamethodthattheoriginalcontentsarepreserved,buttheformsarechangedinthetargetlanguage.

WhenChineseidiomsaremetaphrasedintothetargetlanguage,readersstillcannotgraspthemeaningsduetoculturaldifference.“有些習(xí)慣用語(yǔ)帶有很濃的中國(guó)文化色彩…對(duì)于這部分成語(yǔ)，字面翻譯是無(wú)法為外國(guó)讀者所接受的。如加上許多解釋性的文字，就失去了成語(yǔ)精粹的特點(diǎn)。最好的辦法就是繞開(kāi)其文化背景，譯出其真正的內(nèi)涵意義?！盵7]P139(SomeidiomshavetheChineseculturecharacteristic..Regardingthiskindofidioms,thewordingtranslationisunablefortheforeignreader’sacceptance.Ifweaddmanyexplanations,theidiomcharacteristicwilllose.Thebestmethodistodiscarditsculturalcontextandtranslateitsconnotation.)

Thus,paraphraseisneededtokeepmeaningstopointandkeepconnotationinlinewiththecultureinthetargetlanguage,thoughitmayfailtoshowthestyleoftheoriginallanguage.ItisagoodwaytoconveytheconnotationofChineseidioms.

2.2.1Negation

Mr.YeZinanmentionsnegationin《高級(jí)漢英翻譯理論與實(shí)踐》.Hegivesthedefinitionlikethis:“反面著筆法(negation)有時(shí)也稱(chēng)正說(shuō)反譯或反說(shuō)正譯。其基本概念是原文從一個(gè)角度下筆，譯文恰恰從相反的角度下筆?！盵8]P80（Sometimesnegationalsowascalledthattoexpresspositivelybutbetranslatednegativelyortoexpresspositivelybutbetranslatednegatively.Althoughthebasicconceptoftheoriginaltextstartswritingfromanangle,thetranslationexactlystartswritingfromtheoppositeangle.）.

Sometimesthetranslatorsutilizethenegationtechniquejusttoformanexquisitearticle.

Forexample:

⑴“塞翁失馬，焉知非福？”isarhetoricalquestion,butthetranslationis“Dangerisnextneighbortosecurity.”whichisanaffirmationdeclarativesentence.

⑵我很高興看見(jiàn)你安然無(wú)恙?！狪amgladtoseeyousafeandsound.

InChinese,“無(wú)恙”means“haven’tgotillness”,whichisexpressednegatively.Butitstranslation——“sound”,whosemeaningis“健康”,isexpressedpositively.

“英語(yǔ)中有許多含有否定或半否定語(yǔ)氣的詞語(yǔ)，在翻譯中可充分利用，以便使譯文符合英語(yǔ)習(xí)慣，并使句子結(jié)構(gòu)多樣化?！盵9]P60(TherearemanydenialorhalfdenialexpressionwordsandexpressionsinEnglish.Iftheyarefullyusedintranslation,thetranslationwillconformtotheEnglishcustomandthesentencestructuresaremorevaried.)

⑶Forexample:“木已成舟”inChineseisfirmlyadeclarativesentence.ButitsEnglishtranslationis“thingsdonecannotbeundone”whichexpressestheidenticalmeaningfromthedenialdeclarativesentenceangle.

⑷“不入虎穴，焉得虎子？”isarhetoricalquestion,whosetranslationis“nothingventure,nothinghave”.Itisanaffirmationsentence.

⑸他開(kāi)車(chē)的時(shí)候心不在焉，幾乎闖禍?！狧isabsenceofmindduringthedrivingnearlycausedanaccident.

Thenoun“absence”concealsthemeaningofnegation.ItagreedwiththelogicsofthenativeEnglishreaders.

Mr.YeZinanhadadded“有時(shí)采用這種方法卻是譯者為了行文優(yōu)美的目的，不用這個(gè)反面著筆的方法譯文并非不通。反面著筆的方法在實(shí)際翻譯中如果用的恰到好處，常常會(huì)使譯者絕處縫生，是英漢翻譯中非常有用的一個(gè)技巧?！盵10]P81（Sometimesthetranslatorusesthismethodinordertoreachagoalofforminganexquisitearticle.Soeveniftheydon’tusethemethodofnegation,othertranslationmethodsstillwork.IfthetranslatorusesNegationproperly,hewillfindhiswayoutfromanimpasse.ItisausefulskillinChineseandEnglishtranslation.）

2.2.2Substitution

“Substitution”refersto“someChineseidiomsareabstractwhiletheequivalentEnglishidiomshaveconcreteimages;someChineseidiomshaveconcreteimagesbuttheequivalentEnglishonesarealwaysabstract.”

2.2.2.1Substituteabstractconceptforconcreteimages

TheChineseidiomisquiteabstract,whiletheEnglishidiomisconcrete.Becauseitsvividimagemayenablethereadertorealizeflavor.

⑴Forexample:“做賊心虛”maybetranslatedthat“abadconscienceisjustlikeasnakeinone''''sheart”.Weuse“asnakeintheheart”totransmit“心虛”—theafraidandguiltyconscienceofthethief.

⑵ThecorrespondEnglishidiomof“事與愿違”is“allyourswansaregeese”.Whensomeonefinedoutallswansareordinarygeeseandthedisappointedfacialexpressioniscontrarytowhatheexpects.

⑶“不知所措”correspondstheEnglishidiom“allatsea”.Shallwetrytoimaginethesituationthatapersonintheboundlesssea.Itishelpless.

⑷Theidiom“入鄉(xiāng)隨俗”maybetranslatedinto“wheninRome,doastheRomansdo.”WhyinRomebutnototherplaces？Buttheforeignreadersareveryfamiliarwiththisidiom.Wechange“鄉(xiāng)（village）”to“Rome”whichtheforeignreadersaresofamiliarwith.CertainlytheycanaccuratelyunderstandintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidiom“入鄉(xiāng)隨俗”.

Thesimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑸青出于藍(lán)勝于藍(lán)——Thepupiloutdoesthemaster.

⑹不擇手段——Byhookandbycrook

⑺不辭而別——TotakeFrenchleave.

2.2.2.2Substituteconcreteimagesforabstractconcept

“中國(guó)人特別喜歡用具體形象詞語(yǔ)比喻抽象的事物，以物表感，狀物言志。”[11]P30（TheChineselikeusingthevividconcretewordsandexpressionstosubstituteabstractthings,expressingtheirfeelingsandwillsbythings）SomeChineseidiomsusetheconcreteimagesorthingstodescribetheabstractconcepts.Therefore,intranslationprocess,thetranslatorsshouldboldlydiscardtheseimagesandtranslatetheconnotationofthemappropriately.

⑴Forinstance:ifthetranslatorstranslate“順手牽羊”directlyinto“walkoffwithasheep”accordingtothewordingmeaning.TheforeignreadersmaymisunderstandthatthethievesinChinaonlystealthesheepbutnototherthings.ButChinesereadershaven’tgotsuchmisunderstanding.Inthisidiom,“thesheep（羊）”isaconcretethingactuallywhichrefersto“others''''thingperhapstheproperty”.Itexpressesanabstractconceptwiththeconcretething.

⑵Whenwetranslatetheidiom“狗急跳墻”,wedonotneedtodescribespecificallythat“howanxiousthedogis(狗急)”,and“howittojumpthewall(跳墻)”.Aslongasweexpresstheintrinsicmeaning,theforeignreadersmaybeclearataglancewhenwetranslateitas“dosomethingdesperate”.

⑶Perhapswehavetohavealengthyspeechwhentranslate“明火執(zhí)仗”.Butthedirecttranslationis“doevilthingsopenly”.Theforeignreaderscanunderstanditsintrinsicmeaningconcisely.

⑷Iftranslate“守株待兔”inadetailedway,dowehavethenecessitytotellthefablestorywhichconcealsthisidiomindetails?Evenwetoldthisstory;theforeignreadersalsocannotrealizetheimplication,whichthisidiomcontains.Ifwetranslateitdirectlylikesthis:“trusttothechanceandstrokeofluck”.Theforeignreadersmayunderstandtheimplicationeasily.TheonlyregretthingisthatitlackstheChinesecharacteristic.

BecausethenativeEnglishreaderscan’tacceptthefigurativeimagesofsomeChineseidioms,weshouldtranslatetheseidiomsflexiblyaccordingtotheiractualmeanings.

⑸Forexample,ifwetranslatetheidiom“眉飛色舞”into“hiseyebrowsareflyingandhiscountenanceisdancing”,thenativereaderswillnotonlyfeelconfusedandpuzzled,theywillalsothinkitfunnyandridiculous.

Moresimilaridiomsare:

⑹粗枝大葉——Tobecrudeandcareless.(Deadtranslation:withbigbranchesandlargeleaves)

⑺燈紅酒綠——Dissipatedandluxurious.(Deadtranslation:withredlightsandgreenwine)

⑻開(kāi)門(mén)見(jiàn)山——Tocomestraighttothepoint.(Deadtranslation:toopenthedoorandseethemountain)

⑼大張旗鼓——Onalargeandspectacularscale.(Deadtranslation:tomakeagreatarrayofflagsanddrums)

⑽風(fēng)雨飄搖——Beingunstable.(Deadtranslation:Thewindandrainarerocking)

2.2.3Additionalremarks&Note

Thereadersneedadditionalremarksandnoteifthemeaningoftheidiomisnotcompletelyunderstood.

2.2.3.1Additionalremarks

“Additionalremarks”refersto“toincreasetherelatedinformation,whichmayhelpunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheidiominthetranslationprocess.”Itisusuallyconcise.

Forexample:

⑴Thetranslationof“事后諸葛亮”is“tobeawisemanlikeZhugeLiangaftertheevent.”Asweknow,ZhugeLiangisarenownedcharacterintheChinesehistory.Heisthesymbolofwisdom.Buttheforeignfriendsmaynotnecessarilyknowwhoheis.Therefore,thetranslatorhastoexplainwhoZhugeLiangis.Theforeignreadersareeasiertounderstandtheconnotationoftheidiom.

⑵你這是班門(mén)弄斧?！癥ouareshowingoffyourproficiencywithanaxebeforeLubanthemastercarpenter.”

Inordertohelpforeignreadersunderstandthemeaningoftheidiom,translatorsadd“showingoffyourproficiency“toindicatetheconnotationof“班門(mén)弄斧”andalsoaddsomebackgroundknowledgeofthisidiom,thatistosay,LuBanisamastercarpenter.Themethodoftranslationnotonlymakesthetranslationprecisebutalsotakesthemeaningexpressionandtheculturalexchangeintoaccount.

⑶Like“東施效顰”maybetranslatedas“TungshihimitatesHsishih”(HsishihwasafamousbeautyintheancientkingdomofYueh.Tungshihwasanuglygirlwhotriedtoimitateherway).Itsconcealedmeaningis“imitatesotherstomakeafoolofoneself”.

⑷Ifwetranslate“八仙過(guò)?！眛o“theeightfairiescrossedthesea”withoutintroducing“八仙（theeightfairies）”arecharactersintheChinesemythstory,thereadersshouldbepuzzled.Thereforewemustaddtheannotationbehindthetranslation:theeightfairiesofTaoisminChinesefolklore.

2.2.3.2Note

“Note”refersto“toaddtherelatedinformationandbackgroundsoftheidiomsindetails.”Itisusuallythefootnotes.

Althoughthestructureissimple，theimpliedmeaningisprofound.Therefore，theycannotbesolelycomeuptheunderstandingandtranslationfromasingleword.SomeChineseidiomsarerichinChineseculturalbackgrounds,amongwhichcontaintheancientChinesenamesfrommythologyandhistory.Ifwetranslatethiskindofidiomsliterally,thenativeEnglishreaderswillnotunderstandthem.Ifwetranslatetheidiomswithmoreexplanation,thetranslationswilllosstheidiomcharacteristicofbeingconcise.Inthiscase,we’dbettertranslatetheidiomfreelywiththeactualmeaningratherthanfocusonitsculturalbackground.Ifweusethemethodofdirecttranslationtotranslatethiskindofidioms,itwillbringdifficultiestothenativeEnglishreader''''sreadingandunderstanding.Moreover,evenifweusethemethodofsignificancetranslation,westillcan’tvividlyreappeartheliteraryreferenceandtheculturalconnotationoftheChineseidioms.

Someforeignreadersdon''''tknowthemeaningoftheChineseidiomsfromtheparaphrase.Buttheymaybewonderingthestoriesrelatedtothem.Inthiscase,concisenoteisnecessarytocompensatetheculturaldifferencesanddecreaseculturalloss.Thesemethodsshouldbecautiouslyusedintheavoidanceoftediousnessandtheexplanatorynotesareusuallyfootnotes.

Suchas:

⑴“畫(huà)餅充饑”——Allayinghungerwithpicturesofcakes

Inthethreekingdomsperiod(220-280),thekindoftheWei,CaoRui,wantedtoselectaverycapablemantoworkforhim.Hesaidtohisministers:“whenchoosingatalentedperson,alwaysbewareofonewithafalsereputation.Afalsereputationisjustlikeapictureofacake,itcan’trelieverhunger.”later,thisidiomcametobeusedtomeancomfortingoneselfwithunrealisticthoughts,withoutsolvingpracticalproblems.

⑵“葉公好龍”——LordSheh’sloveofdragons

Shehwassofondofdragonsthatheadornedhiswholepalacewithdrawingsandcarvingsofthem,butwhenarealdragonheardofhisinfatuationandpaidhimavisit,hewasfrightenedoutofhiswits.

Thetranslatorshavetoaddafootnotetothisidiom,andtheforeignreaderscangettheconnotationfromit.

Moresimilaridiomsareasfollows:

⑶毛遂自薦——MaoSuirecommendinghimself

Inthewarringstatesperiod,thestateofQinbesiegedthecapitalofthestateofZhao.DukePingyuanofZhaoplannedtoasktherulerofthestateofChupersonallyforassistance.Hewantedtoselectacapablemantogowithhim.AmancalledMaoSuivolunteered.WhenthenegotiationsbetweenthetwostateswerestalledbecausetherulerofChuhesitatestosendtroops,MaoSuiapproachedhim,brandishingasword.Inthatsituation,therulerofChuagreestohelpZhao,againstQin.

SotheChineseuse“毛遂自薦”tomeanthat“tovolunteerone’sservice”

⑷“一鼓作氣”——Rousingthespiritswiththefirstdrumroll

Duringthespringandautumnperiod,anarmyfromthestateofQiconfrontedonefromthestateofLu.AfterthefirstrollofdrumsfromtheQisidetosummonLutobattle,theLurulerwantedtoattack.ButhiscounselorCaoGuisaid“weshouldwaituntilthethirddrumroll,sire.”aftertheQisidehadbeatenthedrumsthreetimes,theLuarmyattackedanddefeatedtheQiarmy.Afterthebattle,thekingaskedCaoGuithereasonsforhisoddadvice.CaoGuianswered,“fightingneedsspirit.Theirspiritwasarousedbythefirstrollorthedrums,butwasdepletedbythesecond.Anditwascompletelyexhaustedbythethird.Westartedtoattackwhentheirspiritwasexhausted.That’swhywewon.”

So,later,thisidiommeans,“togetsomethingdonewithonesustainedeffort.”

2.2.4Omission

MsHuAipinghasmentionedthat“漢語(yǔ)成語(yǔ)有些是對(duì)偶詞組，前后兩對(duì)含義相同，修辭上優(yōu)美勻稱(chēng)，尤其是在四字結(jié)構(gòu)的成語(yǔ)中，多呈現(xiàn)‘同義反復(fù)’的現(xiàn)象。這種現(xiàn)象在崇尚簡(jiǎn)潔的英語(yǔ)中是最忌諱的?！盵12]P69(SomeChineseidiomsarethematchedphrases.Themeaningsofthetwopairsofwordsaresame.Theyareexquisiteandsymmetricalinrhetoric.Particularlythefourcharactersstructureidiomspresentthephenomenonof‘tautology’.ThiskindofphenomenonisatabooinEnglish,whichadvocatesuccinctness.)

TheimagesinChineseidiomsarevivid.Manyidiomshavethecompoundantithesisstructure.Thoughtheirexplanationsaredifferent,theconcealedmeaningsaresame.Regardingthiskindofidiomtranslation,Inordertoavoid“tautology“,translatingthemeaningofimageisok.

Forexample:

⑴近朱者赤，近墨者黑——Onewhostaysnearvermiliongetsstainedred./Whenyoutouchred，youbecomered.TherearesomesimilarexpressionsintheEnglishspeakingcountries:“onetakesthebehaviorofone’scompany.”or“onetakesontheattributesofone’sassociates.”or“watchthecompanyyoukeep.”

⑵“無(wú)影無(wú)蹤”，whosemeaningis“tovanishwithoutatrace”,themeaningof“無(wú)影”is“withoutanimage”,“無(wú)蹤”means“withoutatrace”.Hence,“withoutatrace”isenoughtoexpressthewholemeaningofthisidiom.

⑶忽聞?dòng)腥嗽谀档ねづ希L(zhǎng)吁短嘆。（羅貫中《三國(guó)演義》）——suddenlyheheardarustleinthepeonypavilionandsomeonesighingdeeply.

Here,“長(zhǎng)吁”and“短嘆”havethesamemeaningof“sighingdeeply”.

⑷“這斷子絕孫的阿Q！”遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)地聽(tīng)得小尼姑的帶哭的聲音。（魯迅《阿Q正傳》）——“AhQ,mayyoudiesonless!”Soundedthelittlenun’svoicetearfullyinthedistance.

Inthetranslation,“diesonless”canexpressthemeaningsofboth“斷子”and“絕孫”.

⑸她只覺(jué)得頭暈眼花，辨不出路徑——Shefelttoodizzytorememberthewayshehadcome.InChinese,“頭暈”and“眼花”havethesamemeaningof“dizzy”.

Thesimilaridiomsare:

⑹愁眉苦臉——Gloomyfaces

⑺天長(zhǎng)地久——Eternallikeskies

⑻五光十色——Multicolored

⑼生龍活虎——Burstingwithenergy

⑽字斟句酌——Weigheveryword

3.Conclusion：

Nevertheless,translationmethodsarenotfixed.OneChineseidiommaybetranslatedinseveraldifferentways.Propertranslationsaretobechosenbyconsiderationofvariouscontextsandreaders’acceptability.

Mr.TanZaixihasexpressedEugeneA.Nida’sviewasfollows:“任何能用一種語(yǔ)言表達(dá)的東西都能夠用另一種語(yǔ)言來(lái)表達(dá)；在語(yǔ)言之間，文化之間能通過(guò)尋找翻譯對(duì)等語(yǔ)，以適當(dāng)方式重組原文形式和寓意結(jié)構(gòu)來(lái)進(jìn)行交際?！盵13]P20(Everythingthatcanbeexpressedinonelanguagealsocanbetranslatedintoanotherlanguage.Wecanfindouttheequivalentonebetweentwolanguagesandbetweentwocultures,andthendothecommunicationsbythewaywhichadjustthestructuresinaproperway.)TheChineseidiomsarethecreamofournationalculture.IntranslatingthemintoEnglish,weshouldtranslatenotonlythedenotations,butalsotheculturalconnotations.Ifnecessary,weshouldadjustthesemanticstructuressothatwecandecreasetheculturelossaslittleaspossible.Inthisway,wecanpromoteandexpandtheexchangeabroadoftheChineseculture.

Eugene.Nidathoughtthat,“對(duì)于真正成功的翻譯來(lái)說(shuō)，雙文化能力甚至要比雙語(yǔ)能力更為重要?！盵14]P70（Regardingthesuccesstranslationthat,thedoubleculturalabilityevenmustbemoreimportantthanthebilingualability）Therefore,translatingChineseidiomsintoEnglishisaconcreteoperatingprocess.First,thetranslatorsmustfullyunderstandtheintrinsicmeaningoftheChineseidiom;second,theyshoulduseseveraltranslationmethodsflexibly,contrastthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinese,adjustthestructuresuitably;last,trytheirbesttotranslateChineseidiomswhichbeartheculturalcharacteristicandinformationtotheforeignreaders.HelpingtheforeignreaderseliminateandreducelanguageandculturalbarrierrequeststhetranslatortotranslatetheformofChineseidiomsdiligentlythattheforeignreadersaregladtoaccept.AtthesametimeitisabigchallengetoreappearChinesecultureinEnglish.

Translationisnotonlytwolanguagesexchanges,butalsoonekindofcross-culturalexchange.Itsgoalistobreakthebarrierbetweenthetwodifferentlanguages.

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