The paper consists of four parts. Part one describes the connotation of color terms in English and Chinese, giving a relatively detailed depiction of the relationship between color terms and cultures. Part two discusses the causes resulting in the different understandings among color terms in English and Chinese. It analyzes the factors from the perspectives of natural environment, historical background , traditions and customs and religions. Then, part three illuminates the importance and necessity of cross-cultural awareness in the process of translation, while the latter pays much attention to the solutions to the cultural differences in the process of translating color terms and provides some translating strategies. And the last section is a conclusion . 

2. Literature Review

We live in a colorful world. Color has been enthralling scientists for centuries. And language has always been the theme of social sciences’ researches. Because language has a close relationship with cultures, a lot of researches on the relationship between color terms and cultures have been conducted by human beings. Since centuries ago, many disciplines in science have made great contributions to color’s perception and color’s naming, such as cognitive science, physics, neurology, psychology, linguistics and anthropology. In terms of linguistics, some researchers like Bao huinan(2001), Luo feng(2003),Due Xuezeng(1999), Yang Defeng(1999) etc. have made a study of color terms in Chinese. They mainly discuss color terms in  Chinese and their connotations in Chinese culture. Some other researchers like Berlin and Kay(1969), Mcdaniel(1978), P.et.al(1997), Saeed(2000), Casson(1997),etc. have made a study of color terms in English. They have concerned the basic color terms, color naming across languages, color shift, etc. 

Along with the gradual intensification of globalization, interaction between eastern countries and western countries is getting stronger. Mutual comprehension has become the theme of the multicultural communication. Large numbers of theories  based on contrastive studies focusing on colors and cultures have sprung up during the lengthy historical periods. Since the beginning of the 19th centuries, we have gained a profound and penetrating insight into the characterized relationships between colors and cultures peculiarly to Chinese and English. Because of different geographic conditions, national customs, histories, politics and economy and national psychology, the same color terms usually have different cultural associations and meanings in these two languages. The debate centering on colors and cultures has gradually aroused the academic interest and attracted the attention of the masses at home and abroad. So it is important for learners to master different cultures in order to communicate with people abroad successfully.