-3-ChapterThreePrinciplesandStrategiesofProverbsTranslationInthetranslationofEnglishandChineseproverbs,itisfirstnecessarytohaveafullunderstandingofthecontextandcontentoftheproverbsinordertobeabletoexpressthecontentandspiritoftheproverbsmorefaithfully.DespitethefactthatbothEnglishandChineseproverbsaretheoutcomeofhumanmentalability,theyarealsothedevelopmentofhumanwisdom.Intheirworkandcreativeinnovations,theyrefertotheknowledgeoftheChineseandEnglishpeople.TheEnglishandChinesepeople’sabilitiesintheircreativeeffortsandliteraryproductions.Duetothehistoricalanddistinctivenationalcharacteristicsofproverbs,therearecertaindifferencesingeographicalconditions,religiousbeliefs,historicalallusions,etc.,themeaningsandconnotationstheyareintendedtoexpressmaynotbefullyunderstoodbyus,andweneedtoconsultmaterialsinordertogainadeeperunderstandingandknowledgeofeachother’sproverbs.Thisisbecauseproverbshavehistoricalanddistinctivecharacteristicsthatbelongtonations.Wemustbeflexiblewhiletranslatingproverbsbecausetheyeachneedadistincttranslation.3.1PrinciplesofProverbsTranslationCulturaldifferencesareamajorobstacletocross-culturalcommunicationandamajorproblemintranslation.Translationisacommunicationactivitythattakesplaceculturesandlanguages.Toeliminateculturaldifferences,itisnecessarytotakeintoconsiderationtheimpactofcultureontranslation.Thepurposeoftranslationistoletthenationalreadersunderstandtheotherculturethroughthelocallanguage,sothetranslationshouldconformtothetranslationstandardinmostcasesinordertobeunderstoodbythereadersofthetranslation.3.1.1Faithfulness,ExpressivenessandEleganceinProverbsFaithfulnessmeansthatthetranslationcorrectlyexpressesthemessageoftheoriginal.Faithfulnesstothereaderofthetranslation,faithfulnesstothemeansofexpressionofthetargetlanguage,andfaithfulnesstothepresentationoftheoriginallanguage.Thetranslationoftheproverbsaccuratelyandcompletelyexpresseswhatwasoriginallytheproverbs’meaningwithoutalteration,exaggeration,omission,orunnecessaryadditionorexclusion.Forexample,inthetranslation,the“情人眼里出西施”istranslatedas“Beautyisintheeyeofthebeholder”ranterthan“XiShiliesinlover’seyes”.InthisChineseproverb,“XiShi”isoneofthefourlegendarybeautiesofancientChina,evenafterreadingthistranslation,readersfromothercountrieswhoarenotcomfortablewith“XiShi”maystillnotunderstandwhatthismeans.Sowecanadd“abeautifulwomancomesoutfromthewest”afterthetranslation.Duetotheexistenceofsentiments,eachpersonaregoingtobelievethattheotherisidealandcannotnoticeshortcomingsinoneanother,regardlessofhowtheotherappearstobe.Expressivenesscanbedescribedasthefluencyandtheabsenceofmistakesintranslation,requiringadherencetothethatlanguage’schanginggrammaticalstructureandtheuseofinstructionsphrasesandwordsthatlackphoneticissues.WhentranslatingEnglishproverbsintoChinese,it’simportanttoconsidertheunspokenmeaninganddeepersignificanceofsomeoftheproverbs.Thetranslationwillnotaccuratelyconveythemeaningandwillharmtheoriginallanguage’srichsignificanceandlanguageimageifthetranslatoradherestotheformalrulesofthesourcelanguageandonlytranslatesitintoChinesefromaliteralsense.Sothatthetranslationmaybeparticularandvivid,weshouldsearchforChineseproverbsorsayingsthathavethesamesymbolicsignificanceorimpactastheoriginaltext.Suchas,inChina,theChineseproverb“好事不出門惡事傳千里”translatedintoEnglishshouldbe“Goodnewsnevergoesbeyondthegate,whilebadnewsspreadfarandwide”.AndinEnglish,theproverb“Nothingventured,nothinggained”translatedinto“不入虎穴焉得虎子”ratherthan“不冒險就無所得”.Eleganceisareferencetothephrasingandtranslationhavingbeenelegantandgraceful,atleastpartlyreflectingtheauthor’sandtranslator’swritingabilitiesandexperience.Thetranslationshouldnotbeunacceptableorignorant,anditshouldhaveacertainliterarylanguageandcharacteristic.Accordingtomanyacademics,thestandardofeleganceisthemostchallengingtomeet.Manyrhetoricaldevices,includingthecouplet,contrast,firstrhyme,lastrhyme,andreference,areusedinEnglishproverbs.Chineseproverbssimilarlyaimforcleangrammarandrhymeharmony.Therefore,eleganceshouldbeusedastheChineseequivalentofEnglishproverbs.ThetranslatormustbeveryfluentinChinese,haveaspecificdegreeofproficiencyinChinesephoneticsandrhetoric,aswellasflexibletranslationabilitiesandin-depthculturalunderstanding,inordertorendertheChinesetranslationofEnglishproverbsaselegant.Forexample,inEnglishproverb,the“Amerryheartmakesalonglife”istranslatedas“樂者壽長”ratherthan“心情愉快的人長壽”.Andweshouldmake“Thecountryflourishesandpeopleliveinpeace”translatedintoChinese“國泰民安”.3.1.2RespectingCultureofEachCountryTranslatorsshould,ofcourse,respectandapproachtheculturesofallnationswithanequallyrespectfulandbalancedattitudewhiletheyaretranslating.ThedifficultyoftranslatingEnglishandChineseproverbsisundoubtedlycontributedtobythedifferenceinculturalbackgrounds,whichwillundoubtedlyhaveanimpactonthetranslationofEnglishproverbs.However,whileaccountingforEnglishandChineseproverbsintoothers’culture,itisessentialtoensurethatthetranslationisaccurateandtoavoidanyremainingdifferencesinculturebetweenthetwonations.Wemustconsidergenerationalanddifferencesinculturebecauseitisdifficulttotranslateproverbsintwocompletelydifferentcultures.ThemosteffectivewaytomakethetranslationofEnglishandChineseproverbsmorestraightforwardandtomakeitsimplerforthosewhoarereadingthemtoaccepttheoriginalcontentandcomprehendthemeaningconveyedbytheoriginalproverbsisbyavoidingdifferencesasmuchaspossible.ThispromotesthegrowthandspreadofChineseandWesterncultures.Forexample,thenationofChinahasagroupculturewherefamilyandrelationshipsarevaluedhighlyandareregardedasessentialelementsofsociety.Chinesepeoplehavelongplacedmorevalueonseniority,fatherhood,andthetraditionalrelationshipsbetweenkingandsubject.InChina,fourgenerationsinonefamilyandfamilyreunionhavelongbeenhighlyregarded,andthereisanoldproverbthatgoes,“Childrenshouldnottravelfarwhiletheirparentsarealive”.Ontheotherhand,independenceandpersonaldevelopmentareoftenvaluedintheWest.ChildrenareconsideredadultsintheUnitedKingdomandtheUnitedStateswhentheycometo18,meaningtheymustleavetheirparents’careandlivebythemselveswhileearningalivingforthemselves.Inthesecountries,thereisnodistinctorderseparatingseniorsfromjuniors;instead,theyusuallyconsiderthemselvesbuddies.Therefore,whenwetranslate,weshouldrespecteachcountry’shistory,geographicalfactors,andreligiousbeliefs.Andwehavetopaycloseattentiontoexpressingtheunconsciousmeaningandsubstanceoftheproverbwhilelookingafteritsnationaldistinctivecharacteristics.Respectingculturalvarietyisnecessarytoachievingglobalculturalprosperityandisanessentialelementofhumansurvivalandadvancement.3.2StrategiesofProverbsTranslationTranslation,asatypeofspeech,istranslatedfromalinguisticpointofview,thatis,theprocessoftranslationmeansthetranslationofonewishintoanotherlanguage.Thisisthelinguisticprocessoftranslationbetweentwodifferentlanguages.TheQingdynastytranslatorYanFu’s“faithfulness,expressivenessandelegance”isnotdifficultforus.Inadditiontofaithfullyexpressingthemeaningoftheoriginalproverbs,thetranslatorshouldalsotrytomaintainthefigurativemetaphors,richimagery,rhetoricaleffectsandethnicandlocalcharacteristicsoftheoriginalproverbs.Differentnationshavedifferentcultures.Generallyspeaking,themajordifferencescomefromdifferentgeographies,histories,religions,andvalues.Peopleindifferentcountrieswillchoosedifferentobjectstocreatetheirproverbsandexpresstheirfeelings.Anddifferentthingshavespecialmeaningsindifferentcountries.Theinherentideasformedintheirmindsareprototypes.AsaconsequencetheprototypeofproverbsarefundamentaltothetranslationofEnglishandChineseproverbs,anditisveryimportanttouseproperstrategiesinproverbstranslation.3.2.1LiteralTranslationWhentranslation,weshouldadoptastraightforwardtranslationthatisfaithfultotheoriginaltext.Wecannottranslatethe

proverbswordforwordduetothereisanimportantdistinctionbetweenEnglishandChineseproverbs.Aliteraltranslationisatranslationthatisfaithfultothecontentoftheoriginaltext,andisconsistentwiththestructureoftheoriginaltext.TheliteraltranslationmethodcanpreservethemetaphoricalimageandnationalcolorofEnglishproverbs.Literaltranslationistheeasiest,quickest,andmosteffectivetranslationmethodinproverbinterpretation.MostoftheEnglishproverbsarethesameorsimilartotheChineseproverbsintermsofmetaphorandimage.Thistranslationnotonlypreservesthecharmandformoftheoriginallanguage,butalsomakesthetranslationeasytoaccept.Itmakesthetranslationeasytoaccept.Forexample:(1)IntheEnglishproverb,“Awisefoxwillneverrobhisneighbour’shenroost”istranslatedinto“聰明的狐貍，不偷鄰里”.(2)the“Barkingdogseldombite”,wecantranslateitinto“愛叫的狗很少咬人”.(3)IntranslatingtheproverbsofChinesetraditionalculture,Wecanmakeuse“熟能生巧”betranslatedliterallyinto“Practicemakesperfect”whatwesowusingtheliteraltranslationmethod.(4)Andwecanusetheliteraltranslationmethodtotranslate“自作自受”to“selfdo,selfhave”.InEnglishandChineselanguage,therearealsomanyproverbsthatuseliteraltranslation,suchas:(1)the“雞蛋里面挑骨頭”translatedintoEnglishshouldbe“

Pickbonesfromanegg”.Itservesasanexampleforcarefullysearchingforfaultsandgaps.Itfrequentlyshowsupinactivitiesofcounterattack

andbullyingofothers.(2)theChineseproverb“一回生，兩回熟”translatedinto“

Firstmeeting,strangers;secondmeeting,oldfriends”.Thisproverbspeaksaboutthefirsttimeseeingsomethingstrange,somepeoplemeetingmoretimes,seeingeachothernaturallyfamiliar,alsometaphoricallyspeaking,afterdoinganythingoncewillhaveexperience.(3)theEnglishproverb“Curiositykilledthecat”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“好奇害死貓”.Westernlegendsaysthatdespitehavingninelives,thecateventuallydiedasaresultoftheirowncuriosity,warningasanexampletoothersthatcuriosityshouldbekepttoareasonableleveltoavoiddanger.(4)theChineseproverb“萬事俱備，只欠東風”translatedinto“Everythingisreadyexcepttheeastwindthatiscrucial”.ThisproverbreferstoZhouYu’splantoattackCaoCaobyfire.Hehadmadeallthepreparations,butsuddenlyrememberedthathecouldnotwinwithouttheeastwind.Itisusedasanexampleforthefactthatallthepreparationsweremade,butonlyoneimportantconditionwasmissing.Thiskindofliteraltranslationcanletthereaderunderstandthetranslationofnationalproverbsataglancewithoutmuchexplanation.Italsopreservestheexpressionandimageoftheoriginaltext.3.2.2FreeTranslationWord-for-wordtranslationisnotlikelyusingliteraltranslation.Thefreetranslationmainlyreferstograspingtheimportantaspectofcontentandmetaphoricalmeaningwhentranslating,andconveyingtheoriginalmeaninginamoreflexiblewaybysacrificingimagesandcombiningwiththecontext.Whenitisdifficulttotranslateliterallyorbarely,butthereadercannotunderstand,wecangenerallyusethemethodoftranslation.Thefreetranslationisabletoconveythemeaningoftheoriginaltext,butitisnotnecessarilyidenticaltotheoriginaltextintermsofsentencestyleandrhetoric.Becauseitisimpossibletoexpresstheproverbsofthetargetlanguageproperlyatthispoint,translatorsmustgiveupproverbsformsandfiguresofspeech.Insteadoffocusingontheymustemploythemethodoffreetranslation.Themeaningofaproverbtranslatedbyliteraltranslationisverydifferentfromitsown.Forexamples,theChineseproverb“一言既出,駟馬難追”couldonlybetranslatedbyusingthemethodoffreetranslationratherthanliteraltranslation,translatedinto“Awordspokenispastrecalling”andtheproverb“shewasbornwithasilverspooninhermouth”,thefreetranslationrefersto“含著銀湯勺出生”,buttheliteraltranslationrefersto“thereisasilverspooninhermouthwhenshewasborn”and“Aneyeforaneyeandatoothforatooth”correcttranslationshouldbe“一報還一報”or“以其人之道，還治其人之身”,butliteraltranslationisreally“以眼還眼，以牙還牙”.Thisproverbreferstousethemeansofotherstopunishothers.Inthetranslationofproverbs,freetranslationisalsoverycommon,suchas:(1)theChineseproverb“莫要班門弄斧”translatedintoEnglishshouldbe“Don’tteachafishhowtoswim”.Accordingtothisproverb,donotplayaroundwiththeaxeinfrontofLuBan'sdoor.Italsomeanstourgepeopletopresentthemselvescourageouslyanddaretodisplaytheirskillssincethereiscomparisontohavediscriminationandthereiscomparisontohaveimprovement.Itmeansdonotshowoffyourskillsinfrontofconnoisseursbecausethatisasymptomofinsouciance.(2)theChineseproverb“不能在一棵樹上吊死”translatesto“Don’tputallyoureggsinonebasket”.Thisproverbmeanstobeflexibleandnottosticktooneparticularplanofaction.(3)the“Romewasnotbuiltinaday”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“冰凍三尺非一日之寒”.Itreferstothefactthattheicehasfrozenforthreefeetandisnottheeffectofonedayofcold.Itisametaphorforasituationthathasdevelopedoveralongtime.(4)theEnglishproverb“Wemustbenotliedown,andcry,Godhelpsme”istranslatedintoChineseshouldbe“我們一定不能躺下和哭泣，上帝幫助我們”or“求人不如求己”.Ofcourse,theChinesetranslationofthesentenceisaliteraltranslationoftheformerandaparaphraseofthelatter.Youshouldbeproactiveandself-actualizetogetthedesiredresultsratherthanpassivelyexpectingpeopletobehaveinaccordancewithyourstandardsandpunishingthebuckto

others.Whentranslatedintoanotherlanguage,someproverbsnotonlyretaintheiroriginalmeaningbutalsoeffectivelytransmittheirsocialmessage,makingthemunderstandableandacceptabletothosewhodonotspeakthelanguage.3.2.3CombinationofLiteralTranslationandFreeTranslationTocarryonChina’sandtheWest’shistoryandculture,wecanuse

acombinationofliteralandfree

translationwhentranslatingEnglishandChineseproverbsthatincludedanumberof

historicalallusions,mythsandlegends,fablesandfolktales

firsttransplantingthemliterally,andthenaddingalittlebitofexplanatorywordstoclarifytheirmeaningsaccordingtotheirmeaningsandcontexts.

EnglishlacksanunderstandingofChinesehistoryandcultureandisgoingtolookunchangeableintranslation,forexample,if“東施效顰”onlytothetranslationis“DongShi,anuglywoman,knittinghereyebrowsinimitationofthefamousbeautyXiShionlytomakeherselfuglier”,forforeignreaderswhodonotknowwhatkindofcharacterXiShiis,theystilldonotunderstandwhatitmeansafterreadingthistranslation.Ifyouaddalittleexplanation“blindimitationwithludicrouseffect”aftertheabovetranslation,themeaningwillbeclearataglance.Andforexample,inthetranslationofaproverbintheRomanceoftheThreeKingdoms,theChineseproverb“事后諸葛亮”istranslatedintoa“tobeZhugeLiangaftertheevent,tobewiseaftertheevent”,inwhichnotonlyliteraltranslationbutalsofreetranslationisusedtoexplainthatZhugeLiangisawiseandlearnedperson,andthe“wise”canalsobeusedtoexplain“諸葛亮”.InEnglish,whentranslatingEnglishproverbsintoChinese,bothliteralandliteraltranslationapproachesmayfailtocapturetheoriginalEnglishmeaningcorrectlyandeffectively,suggestingacombinationofliteralandfree

translation.Suchas:(1)iftheEnglishproverb“polishtheapple”onlytranslatedinto“擦蘋果”,thatcontinuestoleaveChinesereadersinastateofuncertaintyastowhatitmeans.Ifyouaddthephrase“討好，拍馬屁”aftertheabovetranslation,themeaningwillbeclearataglance.ThatisbecauseteachershavegreatrespectaccordingtotheUnitedStates.Americankindergartenyoungstudentswereveryappreciativeoftheirteachersnearlyacenturyago.Someprimaryschoolpupilslovetoplaceabrightandshinypolishedappleontheteacher'sdeskinaconcertedefforttomakefriendswiththematalltimes.Thisproverbisusedtosatirizethebehaviorofthosewhopleaseotherswithoutregardtoobjectivereality.(2)theEnglishproverb“EvenHomersometimesnods”istranslatedintoChineseshouldbe“荷馬也有瞌睡的時候”.Thistranslationalsoisunsuccessfultoaccuratelyconveytheproverb’soriginalmeaning.Ifyouaddthephrase“智者千慮必有一失”aftertheabovetranslation,themeaningwillbeclearataglance.BecauseHomerwasanancientGreekpoetwhohelpedtoestablishWesternliterature.Homerisusedasametaphorforanelderlygentlemanintheadage.Thisproverbrelatestotherealitythatthemajorityofpeopleareneither

saint

orsages,andwhoiswithoutshortcomings?Mostlyusedtoencouragepeopleingeneral.Intheprocessoftranslation,itisnecessaryforustograspthecontextoftheoriginalproverbandthetruemeaningtobeexpressed;inaddition,theliteraltranslationandthefreetranslationshouldbecloselyrelatedandbasedononeanother.Therefore,forsomespecialproverbs,whentranslatingproverbs,neitherliteraltranslationnorparaphrasecanexpressthemeaningoftheoriginalsentenceexactlyandeffectively.Andatthemoment,avarietyofliteraltranslationandfreetranslationcanbemadeuseoftocompensatefortheshortcomingthatfreetranslationstrugglestoexpressthespiritandliteraltranslationstrugglestoreachthemeaning.ThismethodofCombinationofliteraltranslationandfreetranslationnotonlycanmakethetranslationreasonableandmeaningful,butalsocanintroduceEnglishandChineseculturetoforeigncountriestoacertainextent.ChapterFourFactorsAffectingtheTranslationofProverbsWeareallawareofthatdifferentpeoplefromavarietyofbackgroundsspeakvariouslanguages,upholdvariousvaluesystems,andhavevariousperspectivesonavarietyofsubjects,whichresultsinculturaldisparities.However,manypeoplefinditdifficulttocommunicateeffectivelywithoneanotherbecausetheyareunawareofculturaldifferences.Traditionallanguagesareinextricablylinkedtoanation’sgeographicconditions,religiousbeliefs,historicalallusions,customs,andsoon.Asaresult,therearecertainunquestionabledistinctionsbetweenEnglishandChinese.Differentanglescanbetakentodiscussthesedistinctions.4.1GeographicalConditionsGeographicalfactorscannotbeunderestimatedintheformationofnationalcultures.Geographicalculturaldifferences,whichreferstotheculturaldifferencescausedbydifferentgeographicalenvironmentsandtheirwaysoflife.Differentcountriesandpeoplesusedifferentformsoflanguagethatreflecttheirownculturetorecordtheirowncustomsandhabits.Forexample,Britainisanislandnation,sotherearemanyproverbsaboutlifeatsea.Inhistory,themaritimeindustrywasonceaworldleader,andthemaritimetransportindustryandfishingindustrywereparticularlydevelopedhere,sotherearemanyproverbsrelatedtothemaritimeindustryandfishingindustryinBritain,suchas:(1)theEnglishproverb“tobeinthesea”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“不知所措”.（2）the“tokeepone’sheadabovewater”translatedinto“奮力圖存”.However,theChinesemainlandisvastandChinahasalwaysbeenanagriculturalcountry,livingmainlyonfarmlandsinceancienttimes,andagricultureisthebasisofChina'sdevelopmentandestablishment.Suchas:（1）theEnglishproverb“Yougetwhatyousow,yougetwhatyoubean”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆”.（2）theEnglishproverb“Askthecommonfolkifyouwanttoknowhowthecountryisfaring”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“要知朝中事，鄉間問老農”.Thus,whentranslating,wehavetotakeintoaccountthedifferencesinculturebetweenthegeographicalconditionsofChinaandtheWest.4.2ReligiousBeliefsReligionisaculturalphenomenonwhosemaincomponentsarethereligiousconsciousnessandbeliefsofthenation,whicharecloselyrelatedtoproverbs.InthecountryofChina,numerousreligionshavebeendeeplyrootedintraditionalChinesethinkingandsociety.InChina,BuddhismandTaoismareessentialpartsofChineseculture.AllreligionshaveequalstandinginChinaandstaypeacefully.BuddhismusedtobethenationalreligionofChina.ItstillhasagreatinfluenceonChineseculture,sothereareproverbsrelatedtoBuddhism,suchasthe“notburningincenseatleisure,butholdingtheBuddha'sfeettemporarily”translatedintoChineseshouldbe“閑時不燒香，臨時抱佛腳”.Thisproverbmakesreferencetothefactthatpeoplerarelycommunicatewithoneanotherallthetimeandonlyaskforhelpinghandsinanemergency.Italsoreferstothefactthatpeopleareoftenpoorlypreparedandhurriedtodealwithsituations.InBritishandAmericancountries,Christianityplaysaverybigrole,theBibleisaveryimportantworkofChristianity,butalsoanimportantcarrierofWesternculture,manyproverbsarefromtheBibleorrelatedtoChristianity,sointheproverbsoftenappearGod,heavenandotherrelatedwords,GodcarriesthespiritualworldofWesterners,usingittoexpressblessings,happy,angryorpain.AndThereisnodoubtthat,therearemanyEnglishproverbshaveappeared,forexample:(1)the“Godsendsfortunetofools”istranslatedinto“蠢人有蠢福”.(2)the“Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves”istranslatedinto“自助者天助之”.Therefore,whentranslatingChineseandWesternproverbs,wehavetotakeintoaccountthedifferencesinculturebetweentheofreligiousbeliefsChinaandtheWest.4.3HistoricalAllusionsProverbswillpresentdifferentcolorsofproverbsindifferentperiods.InbothEnglishandChineselanguages,therearealsoalargenumberofproverbsformedbyhistoricalallusions,andmostoftheproverbsappearinpoems,booksandlegends.Theseproverbshavearelativelysimpleorganizationyetapowerfulmessagethatawakensandeducatespeople.Forexample,inTheRomanceoftheThreeKingdoms:the“ThreestinkerstopaZhuGeliang”translatedinto“三個臭皮匠頂個諸葛亮”.Thisproverbmeansthatthreepeoplewithaveragetalents,iftheycanworktogetherandcombinetheirknowledge,cancomeupwithmorethoughtfulplansthanZhugeLiang.Itactsasanexampleforthecollectiveknowledgeofthepeople,whowillcomeupwithgoodsuggestionswhenanythinggoeswrong.InTheAnalectsofConfucius,therearefamouslinessuchas:the“Tohavefriendsfromafar,isitnotalsoapleasure”translatedinto“有朋自遠方來，不亦樂乎”.Thisproverbpointsthatisn’titamazingtohavelike-mindedclosefriendswhotravellongdistancestostudyandlearnwithyou?Nowadays,thisproverbisoftenusedtowelcometheacquaintancesofhighlyeducatedandknowledgeableindividualswhocomefromlongdistances,aswellastoshowthehappinessofmeetingoldfriends.Inaddition,thetherearelotsofreferencestotheoriginsofEnglishproverbsratherthanjustasingleone.TheBible,ancientGreco-Romanmythology,Aesop'sfables,andotherWesternallusionsareafewexamples,suchastheproverbsfromGreco-Romanmythology,forexample:the“Pandora’sbox”translatedinto“潘多拉之盒①”.ThethirdisfromAesop’sFables,suchastheEnglishproverb“adoginthemanger”translatedinto“狗占馬槽”.Thus,whentranslatingEnglishandChineseproverbs,wehavetotakeintoaccountthedifferencesinculturebetweentheofhistoricalallusionsChinaandtheWest.ChapterFiveConclusionAsmoreandmorepeopleofdifferentculturalbackgroundscommunicatewitheachother,webecomemoreawareoftheimportanceofthewaycross-culturalcommunicationisconducted.Thestrongestformsoflanguage,proverbs,reflectparticularhumancivilizationsandeffectivelycommunicateconceptsabouthumanexperiences.UnderstandingEnglishandChineseproverbscanbehelpfulforagreatdealmorethantheabilitytospeakthelanguages;italsofacilitatesbettercommunicationwithindividualsfromvariousculturesandhelpstopreventlinguisticandculturalmisunderstandings.Thisculturalbarrierneedstobeovercomebythetranslator.Tomakeushaveadeeperunderstandingandkn