| As a significant part of Chinese literary studies, translations on Li Qingzhao's ci-poetry began early both in China and overseas. However, translation studies on how to translate these ci-poems have not been progressed equally. The absence of a set of systematic translation theories poses great impediments in the translation process. Therefore, this thesis attempts to analyze and summarize some applicable, reasonable and felicitous translation strategies through a detailed comparative study of different English versions of Li Qingzhao's ci-poems. The thesis also aims at contributing to the current researches of Li Qingzhao's ci-poems, realizing the purpose of doing comparative study and promoting the art of classical Chinese poetry.Through scrutiny, the thesis discovers that there are four general principles advocated and summarized by scholars and translators considering how to better translate Li Qingzhao's ci-poems. Firstly, the translator must have a good command of the cultures of the source language and the target language, and s/he should indulge him/herself in reading the texts. Secondly, the translator becomes first the reader and then the translator to fulfill a dual responsibility. Thirdly, the translations of ci-poems should aim at preserving the flavor and atmosphere of the original poem, so that these translations are true to the spirit of the originals. Fourthly, the translation of a poem should at least read like a poem.The thesis then conducts microanalyses of the English translations of Li's ci-poems from the perspectives of language and culture. A linguistic comparison is made on how to approach grammatical structures in Li Qingzhao's ci-poems. The translation of syntax, function words, persons, tenses and metrical patterns are discussed in details. It also examines the merits and demerits of verse form and open form, and whether rhyming scheme is necessary. In this way, translators'attempts and inclinations to overcome the differences between the Chinese and the English languages and their particular consideration for English readers can be seen. A cultural comparison is further made about culturally-loaded elements that baffle translation. It concentrates on the strategies of translating ci-poem titles, Li Qingzhao's style of colloquialism, musicality, rich imagery, rhetoric devices and allusions, and studies how to recapture the whole atmosphere and restore it in the English versions. In this sense, it presents how translators complete cultural transfers in the translation process.The thesis analyzes the translators' attempts to bridge the gaps between the Chinese and the English languages, their particular consideration for English readers, their endeavors to increase readability and complete cultural transfers in the translation process through a detailed comparative study. It further summarizes the strategies that are effective and felicitous when translating Li Qingzhao's ci-poems from linguistic and cultural perspectives. Future studies of the English translations of Li Qingzhao's ci-poems still face great challenges. Therefore, the author of the thesis sincerely hopes that more researchers and scholars would participate in the translation and studies of classical Chinese works to promote the art of ci-poems.
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