1 Introduction

Emphasizing the crucial role of translation in cross-cultural communication and cultural exchange, this article reviews the development of Chinese translation history and points out the importance of translation in promoting social progress. In the current global changes, the role of translation has become more prominent, shifting from "Western learning spreading to the East" to "Eastern learning spreading to the West", aiming to promote Chinese stories and voices to the world. The article proposes the concept of "national translation practice", emphasizing the core goals and value pursuits of Chinese cultural translation, aiming to enhance the international community's understanding and recognition of China. Taking the century long process of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English as a case study, this study explores the connection between the translation of classics and the construction of foreign discourse systems, introduces the theory of "thick translation", and provides theoretical guidance and methodological references for the translation of Chinese culture and national translation practices.

2 Theoretical Framework: Translation of Classics, Cultural Representation, and Discourse Construction

Explored the multiple dimensions of classic translation, emphasizing that it is not only language conversion, but also an important way for cultural dissemination, value output, and discourse construction. The challenges faced in translating classics include cultural differences, historical dimensions, and national dimensions in cross-cultural communication. Translation, as a cultural representation and discourse practice, is influenced by the translator's cultural stance, knowledge background, and translation purpose, and has subjective and constructive characteristics. Foucault's theory of discourse power points out that translation is a struggle for discourse power, a confrontation between the source language and the target language in the space of expression. The Western research on China has mainly gone through three peaks, and translation activities have promoted cultural exchange, which is an important way for the West to construct a discourse system about China. The theory of thick translation emphasizes the deep integration of the translation into language, culture, and specific context through precise annotations and comments, achieving multi-dimensional and accurate correspondence. Thick translation has significant potential in the construction of external discourse systems, helping target language readers to have a more comprehensive understanding of the source language culture, reducing cultural misunderstandings, and promoting cross-cultural communication. Based on the above theoretical discussions, this study constructs a comprehensive analytical framework to examine the translation strategies and their impact on the construction of China's foreign discourse system in the century long process of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English. This framework analyzes translation strategies, translator subjectivity, historical context, and discourse construction from four dimensions.

300 year trajectory: strategic evolution and discourse implications of the main English translations of 'The Plum in the Golden Vase'

In the century long process of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English, early translations such as Zhu Cuiren's "The Legend of Ximenqing" and Miol and Edgerton's translations often adopted domestication strategies, simplified the cultural background of the original work, highlighted romantic and thrilling elements, catered to the curiosity of Western readers, and strengthened the stereotype of the "mysterious East" in the West. In the mid-20th century, with the deepening of Western Sinology research, Western scholars began to reassess the literary status and cultural value of "The Plum in the Golden Vase", examining it in a broader historical and social context. English translations began to present the diverse value of "The Plum in the Golden Vase". Rui Xiaowei's five volume English translation adopts a strategy of alienation and literal translation, fully preserving the artistic style, linguistic subtlety, and cultural imagery of the original work. Through rich historical and cultural annotations, it provides Western readers with a knowledge framework for understanding traditional Chinese society and reconstructs Western understanding of classical Chinese novels. Since the 21st century, the English translation of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" has shown a new development trend. The reprinting and re evaluation of classic translations, as well as the dissemination of digital media, have further expanded the influence of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" in the Western academic community and ordinary readers, reflecting the new positioning of Chinese culture in the globalized language environment. The century long process of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English has witnessed the tortuous journey of Chinese literature in the international discourse system, from early Orientalist imagination to contemporary academic depth description, and has gone through a transformation from simplification to complexity, from one sidedness to comprehensiveness, and from others to interlocutors.

Discussion 4: Translation Strategies, Discourse Games, and Reflections on the Translation of Classics into Foreign Languages

Explored the evolution of translation strategies for the English translation of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" over the past century and its impact on cross-cultural representation of Chinese images. Early translations adopted domestication strategies, sacrificing cultural authenticity; The mid-term translation begins to balance domestication and foreignization, using auxiliary texts to help understand cultural differences; The later translation explicitly adopts the strategy of alienation and comprehensively reproduces the cultural context of the original work through extensive translation practice. As a deepening of the alienation strategy, thick translation not only preserves the cultural characteristics of the text, but also provides a knowledge framework for understanding these characteristics, providing a practical model worth learning from for the translation of classics. The discourse power relationship in the English translation history of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" has shifted from Western discourse dominance to the coexistence of diverse dialogues, reflecting the influence of the development of political and economic relations between China and the West and the deepening of Sinology research. Thick translation has demonstrated the value of promoting cross-cultural understanding, preserving cultural diversity, and emphasizing translator subjectivity in the practice of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English. However, there are also limitations such as interfering with reading fluency, being overly specialized, and requiring high translator quality. The century long process of translating "The Plum in the Golden Vase" into English provides inspiration for the current translation of Chinese classics and the construction of a foreign discourse system, emphasizing the unity of cultural confidence and cultural consciousness, valuing the construction of sub texts and the diverse composition of translator teams, and adhering to the long-term development of multi-level differentiated communication strategies.

5 Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the strategic evolution of the English translation of "The Plum in the Golden Vase" over the past century and the transformation of cross-cultural representation of Chinese images. The study reveals the development of translation strategies from abridged selection to comprehensive translation, from domestication to foreignization, from simplification to thick translation, as well as the transformation of cultural representation from curiosity to literary classics, and from one sidedness to multidimensionality. This process reflects the deepening of Western understanding of Chinese literature and the elevation of the status of Chinese culture in the international discourse system. The research provides inspiration for the translation of classical works, emphasizing the unity of cultural confidence and self-awareness, the construction of auxiliary texts, the diverse composition of translator teams, multi-level communication strategies, and long termism, laying the foundation for the international dissemination of Chinese culture.