读者接受视角下的谜语英译策略——以《谢小娥传》中的字谜英译为例
English Translation Strategy of Chinese Riddles under the Perspective of Readers Reception—A Case Study of Chinese Character Riddle Translation from an Account of Xie Xiao’e

字谜传递出中华民族独有的观察和理解世界的思维方式。想让西方世界了解中华民族如何认识和理解世界，则对其英译的探索颇具必要性。本文从读者接受理论视角出发，以《谢小娥传》中的字谜英译为例，从谜面形式的保留、解谜过程中的字谜意义的呈现及中西文化差异的弥合三个方面，分析译者如何缩小读者与译文的“审美距离”，从而帮助读者理解汉字背后所传递出的对于世界的解读。研究发现，为了完成上述目标，译者在谜面形式上，要关注词数、音节和语言语法属性的保留。字谜意义呈现时，译者可以将汉字当成图形，按照笔画顺序拆解。与此同时，译者通过加注释的方式，增加信息，弥合中英文化差异。
The study of English translation of Chinese character riddles emerges as a necessity as these rid-dles manifest the unique cognitive framework of the Chinese people in observing and under-standing the world. Taking the English translation of Chinese character riddles in the novel “An Account of Xie Xiao’e” as a case study from the perspective of reader reception theory, this study examines how translators narrow the “aesthetic distance” between readers and the translated text by preserving the form of riddles, presenting the underlying meanings of riddles during the process of deciphering, and bridging the cultural disparities between Chinese and Western societies. By doing so, it aims to facilitate readers’ comprehension of the understanding of the world conveyed through Chinese characters. The research reveals that in order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, translators need to focus on preserving number of words, syllabic structure, and linguistic grammar in the form of riddles. Furthermore, when presenting the meanings of riddles, translators can treat Chinese characters as visual symbols and deconstruct them according to stroke order. Simultaneously, translators should employ explanatory annotations to bridge the cultural gaps between Chinese and English. The collective efforts in these three dimensions enable translators to minimize the “aesthetic distance” between readers and the translated text.