Abstract

This paper firstly focuses on the comparison of the development of the dragon in the aspects of culture and history. Then it draws a conclusion that, although dragon is an imaginary animal both in West and China, the Chinese “long” is not absolutely equal to the western dragon, because each has its own cultural origin, image, connotation as well as position in ancient myths. Therefore, due to the important role the “long” plays in Chinese and western social culture and the great influence it has on the ethnic and cultural life, it is necessary to discuss how to translate “long” into English in a most suitable way in order ensure effective intercultural communication.

Key words: “long” culture, differences between China and West, translation

摘要

本文通过比较中西方“龙”在文化与历史发展上的不同，从而得出这样一个结论，虽然“龙”都是想象中虚拟的动物，但它们之间并不对等，不仅文化渊源不同，形象各异，在神话中的职责有别，就连象征意义也大相径庭。因此，正因为“龙”在中西方文化中所占的重要地位以及其在民族精神和文化生活中的不同影响，如何正确地翻译“龙”，从而达到准确进行跨文化交流的目的，这是本文研究的重点。

关键词：“龙”文化；中西方差异；翻译

1. Introduction
As we all know, “long” is the symbol of China. In the west, the dragon is an aggressive monster that can breathe fire. There are many legends about how dragons killed brave knights and the innocent residents. However, for Chinese people, the “long” is not an evil monster but a cultural and spiritual symbol for harmony and good luck. Since the ancient time, people started to worship and appease the “long” because the Chinese believe that “long” is related to the rain which is vital to harvest. There are many famous ceremonies to celebrate “long”, such as the “long” dance, dragon boat race and so on. Lots of parents use the word “long” to name their children.