On the Allusion Translation in Traditional Chinese Drama: A Case Study of the English Version of The Peony Pavilion

Abstract

The allusions applied in traditional Chinese drama contain prolific cultural connotations, which aren’t familiar to English readers. Therefore, translators should take the interpretation of cultural meaning into consideration thoroughly in the process of translating allusions of traditional Chinese drama, so as to make the translation readable. This paper takes the English version of The Peony Pavilion translated by Xu Yuanchong as the research object, and analyzes its translation methods for the allusion of story and the allusion of language from the perspective of cultural translation, aiming to provide a reference for the translation of allusions in Chinese classical drama.