An English-Chinese Translation Report On Cultures Of Knowledge: Technology In Chinese History (Chapter 7)

As a center of ceramic production,Jingdezhen plays an important role in both Chinese history and world history.With the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative,Jingdezhen,an important commodity export place of the ancient Silk Road and the Marine Silk Road,has been rediscovered in its historical value.The report is based on the translation task of the seventh chapter of Cultures of Knowledge:Technology in Chinese History.As a historical text,this book,in which there are many passive sentences and culture-loaded words,is featured with objectivity,formality and readability.In the translation of historical text,translators are required to have specific cultural knowledge to reproduce the beauty of language and style while ensuring the accuracy of the translation.In the process of translation,Vermeer’s Skopos Theory is selected as the guiding principle.According to Vermeer,translation activities are subordinate to the purpose of translation,and appropriate translation methods and strategies can be adopted according to the intended purpose of the target text.Under the guidance of three rules of Skopos Theory,the domestication strategy is mainly adopted on the macro level,and different translation skills,such as addition,division,condensation and back-translation,are applied according to the context.It is hoped that the translation task can help the target readers not only learn about the Chinese history from the Western perspective but also gain a better reading experience.This report has provided valuable experience for the translator,and it aims to provide a reference for the translation of historical texts under the guidance of Skopos Theory.