As such a great masterpiece, it has attracted not only Chinese readers, but also many translators to convey this through the world. Among those translated versions, two English versions are most famous: one is A Dream of the Red Mansions, translated by Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys Yang, and the other is The Story of the Stone, translated by David Hawkes and John Minford (the first 80 chapters is translated by D.Hawkes). When the two versions were announced one after another in 1970s, the whole translation circle was shaken dramatically. Both versions are very successful and are highly praised by other translators and translation theorists, most importantly, by the readers at home and abroad. Professor Zhou makes his comment on the two versions as follows: "the version by David Hawkes is distinguished for its elegance, while the Yangs' is remarkable for its accuracy. If people read them together, those who are interested in this novel" appreciate the original will acquire the real and complete picture

2. Literature Review

2.1 Views on the translations of A Dream of Red Mansions by several scholars

  Among those translated versions of A Dream of Red Mansions, two English versions are most influential: one is A Dream of the Red Mansions, translated by Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys Yang, and the other is translated by David Hawkes and John Minford (the first 80 chapters is translated by Hawkes) The Story of the Stone,. Many scholars have carried out comparative studies of these two versions from different perspectives since they were published. The following are some of their points of view:

  Ke states that the strategy employed in the Yangs' version makes the rendition more faithful to the original works. Though Hawkes' strategy makes his translation more acceptable to the target readers, it deviates from the original text, thus it is not a preferable method for the translator.文献综述

  Wang claims from the perspective of cultural translation that the Yangs' version is inclined to the foreignizing strategy whereas Hawkes' version has a domesticating tendency. She points out that Hawkes' version mainly obeys the norm of western culture, westernizing almost all those Chinese national flavor.

   Guo argues that both domestication and foreignization have their own merits and demerits. The two versions cater for different target readers in light of their different purposes and functions.

   Cui makes a specific analysis on the general tendency of Hawkes in translating A Dream of Red Mansions. He points out that a rendition should convey three kinds of messages of the original text: thematic message, artistic message and cultural message. He asserts that Hawkes' version is prominent in successful conveyance of the thematic and artistic messages of the original, especially in terms of artistic recreation. But in the transmission of cultural message, there is a domesticating tendency in Hawkes' version, which is mainly reflected in cultural substitution and omission of culture-specific names or expressions. He objectively attributes this domesticating tendency to the inequality of cultural communication, which is 'a common phenomenon betwee