On Translation Strategy of Culture-loaded Words from the Perspective of the Eco-translatology—A Case Study of the English Translation of The Story of the Stone

Abstract

Culture-loaded words serve as vital carriers of cultural meaning and pose significant challenges in literary translation. This study investigates the English translation of The Story of the Stone by David Hawkes through the lens of Eco-translatology, focusing on the translation strategies employed for rendering culture-loaded terms. Guided by the three-dimensional transformation model—comprising linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions—the paper examines how Hawkes skillfully balances fidelity to the source text with adaptation to the target cultural context. Through detailed textual analysis, it reveals his flexible use of strategies such as transliteration, literal translation, free translation, annotation and transcreation. These choices reflect an ecological approach to translation, where the translator mediates between the source and target environments to achieve optimal communicative effect. This research deepens our understanding of the ecological nature of translation practice and offers valuable insights into the cross-cultural transmission of Chinese classical literature.