In 1978 and 1979, Foreign Language Press of China publishes the translation A Dream of Red Mansions-the complete English version in three volumes by the famous Chinese scholar Yang Xianyi and his wife Gladys Yang. This translation has been regarded as the most faithful one so far and is popular in China as well as accepted in English-speaking counties. Yang and his wife have devoted almost all their lives in the translating of Chinese classics and have made great contributions to the cultural exchange between China and the world. They take introducing the cultural heritage of China to the world as their responsibility and try their best to be faithful to the original works. Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang, the well-matched couple enjoys distinguished fame in the Chinese academia especially in the field of translation.
    David Hawkes is the British Sinologist at Oxford University. When studying as a postgraduate in Beijing University, he was greatly attracted by classical Chinese culture. In his research on classical Chinese literature, he was once under the guidance of the distinguished British sinologist Arthur Waley who successfully translated the classic of Daoism Tao Te Ching(《道德经》) into English. Hawkes was extremely fascinated by the glamorous Chinese culture, particularly the Chinese classics. He is also said to be able to write articles and even old-stylized Chinese poems. With great accomplishments in Chinese language and culture as a native English speakers, he was fascinated by the great artistic achievements of Hong Lou Meng. Hawkes’translation titled the Story of the Stone is a great success.
Despite different styles presented in these two versions, both of them achieved the goals set by their translations. The version by David Hawkes is famous for its elegance, while Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang’s is remarkable for accuracy. If reading them together, those who are unable to read the original will acquire the real and complete picture about this novel as they do read.

II.Culture and Cultural Image

2.1 Definition of Cultural Image
    Culture is ubiquitous, multidimensional, complex and all-pervasive. Cultural image is a relatively new coinage in literary translation studies, which first appeared in the 1990s and formally studied by Xie Tian-zhen in his book Medio-translatology. He has noted that cultural image is the essence of people’s wisdom and sediment of their history and many cultural images are closely related to the mythology and primordial totems of people(157). In the long history of evolvement, they continuously appeared in human languages and in literary works generation after generation(including oral works, produced by folk artists and artisans and written works created by men of letters) and gradually developed into a kind of cultural signage which contains relatively fixed unique cultural implications, some of which are even imbued with bountiful and thought provoking associations. Once mentioned among the in-groups, they all instantly understood and therefore serve to assist a smooth and easy mental communication. Therefore, people always compare cultural image to a mirror, which can best reflect the unique characteristics of a nation and its culture.
2.2 Difference of Culture Between West and East
    Different nations have formed respective featured cultures during the long history. Various cultural factors appear in different works and people’s real life. Locating in different geographic position and belonging to different origin of civilization, Chinese and westerners differ from each other in various ways including value, religion, food, color and so on. For value, the Chinese have a strong sense of community. They generally think first in terms of “we” rather than “I”, while westerners respect selves, wealth and achievement. For religion, most Chinese practices are related to religious and superstitious beliefs rooted in Confucianism, Buddhist and Taoist principles. The major Western religions (Christianity, Islam and Judaism) consider both material and non-material realities. For family and relationship, family is the fundamental element of Chinese society and members of a family generally live together or nearby. In Western countries, friendships don’t last long and they change a lot over time and young adults generally have their own lives after 18 years old and see their parents a few times a year on holidays. Of course, cultural difference exists in every aspect. 《红楼梦》杨译本与霍译本文化意象的翻译对比(2):http://www.youerw.com/yingyu/lunwen_8614.html