红色在中西文化中的内涵差异及其翻译策略(9)

The Differences of the Connotation of the Color Red and Their Translation Strategies红色在中西文化中的内涵差异及其翻译策略

custom is still popular everywhere, every Spring Festival, many shops sell ―吉祥带‖、“吉祥结”,with red and yellow ribbons. This life year people will be fastened that on their waist and wrist for good wishes. In some countryside, many children die of poor medical health condition and poor nutrition in young time. For the sake of peace and health, parents will tie a red line on the neck of their children until the adults. Some places, a tree hung on red ribbons, people usually treat the tree as ―sacred tree‖, and hung a red ribbon to pray the peace of the whole family.

2.2 Western Culture and "Red"

2.2.1 The Main Reason for Hating Red

Western civilization pay attention to the exploration and application of science research method, people take pragmatic science attitude to the objective world and the objective understanding. so in Western culture the meanings of the color are less emotional and have become more rational; less mysterious and become more intuitive. Red in Western cultures can also mean festive (red-letter days), welcome (roll red-carpet for somebody ), Love (a Red Red Rose--Robert Burns) and so on, but derogatory sense is greater than commendatory sense.

2.2. 2 Specific Performance of Hate Red

2.2. 2.1 The Symbol of Blood and Violence

―Red‖ in Western culture is more representative of bad meanings. Because in the concept of the English culture, ―red‖ mainly refers to the color of the blood .Blood in the eyes of Westerners is Pentium in the body named ―fluid of life‖, and once blood flowed down, Human life will also end, so Westerners often associate red with ―dangerous‖, ―radical‖, ―bleed‖, which resulting in a color taboo. In addition, in ancient Rome and ancient Greece, red is commonly used in Western painting art to express religious beliefs. Red symbolizes fire and blood, while deep red is a symbol of brutality and killing, red also symbolizes slaughter and bloodshed, such as the red rules of tooth and claw (残杀和暴力统治), red revenge (血腥复仇),a red Battle (血战).

The 《Bible》 records：On the last supper, Jesus gave Saints sprinkled red grape and said: ―this is my blood of the Covenant, poured out for many to be exempt from sins.‖ Since then Christians regarded red wine as the Holy blood. In the English language, ―red‖ is the pronoun of the Communist party or Communism, sometimes containing insults, for example, the Red belt. Better red than dead refers to the cold war, American people would rather ruled by communist than dying of nuclear war. Red scare means a United States Government expel foreigners travel to the United States in 1919 and 1920, fearing that they were Communists. Red Brigade is a secret terrorist organization in Italy, engaging in kidnapping, murder, destruction and other terrorist activities. It is mainly representative of brutality and slaughter that is a pretty strong derogatory term.

2.2.2.2 The Symbol of Debauchery and Obscenity

―A red waste of his youth‖ means debauchery and wasted youth; A red light district（红灯区）means the hooker often appears in this place; ―Paint the town red ‖means overindulgence. In the 19 century, American romantic writers –Hawthorne, his novel (《The Scarlet Letter》) tells the heroine is forced to wear a red word ―A‖ in