A Report On C-E Translation Of The History Of Chinese Clothing (Excerpts)

Being praised as a kingdom of dressing since ancient times,China boasts long and profound costume history,still supplying constant inspiration for the international fashion industry.In the context of improving cultural soft power and taking Chinese culture to the global stage,Chinese apparel,a perfect embodiment fed by Chinese material and spiritual progress,is an invisible bridge for cross-culture communication and gives people from different civilizations a great opportunity to fully appreciate its abundance of it.However,the English translation of Chinese dress culture varies considerably in quality.Therefore,It is worth probing deeply into how to choose an appropriate translation theory or framework for the Chinese-English translation of Chinese clothing culture.This translation practice excerpts Chapter 1,An Overview of the History of Chinese Clothing,and Chapter 6,Garments of the Sui,Tang,and Five Dynasties from The History of Chinese Clothing,with over 22000 Chinese characters.Under the framework of "Comprehension,Expression,Adaptation"(CEA)proposed by Li Changshuan,closely combined with Skopos theory,this translation activity aims at studying the C-E translation strategies and methods required for the Chinese costume culture.During the translation process,the translator examines the implications of the terms related to costume,makeup,and politics,then applies translation techniques such as paraphrasing,literal translation,and transliteration with annotation to convey the semantic meaning accurately.As for the interlingual transformation of Chinese idioms,long and complex sentences,and literary verses,the translator provides a fluent and consistent expression for the target readers by catching the main idea,relocating the word order,and employing addition or omission.Besides,to promote the overseas transmission of Chinese clothing culture,the translator refines redundant,repetitive,and less logical passages through flexible adaptations,like removing repetitions and inserting logic connectives.As a conclusion and review of the translation task,this report delivers a successful case analysis guided by the "CEA plus Skopos theory".The translation approaches listed in the report also serve as a valuable reference for the C-E translation of Chinese costume texts.