1、 Introduction

The discussion of foreignization and domestication strategies in the translation academic community has a long history. Schleiermacher proposed two extremes of translation methods, while Venuti opposed domestication theory, advocated foreignization translation, and emphasized the presentation of cultural differences. Brecht's theory of foreignization and Venuti's concept of foreignization translation both aim to create a distance between the work and the recipient, rejecting the sense of immersion.

2、 Sichuan Good People "and its translation

Sichuan Good People "is a play created by Brecht in 1939, set in Sichuan and exploring the good and evil in society through the story of Shen Dai. Since the 1980s, there have been multiple translations of the drama in China, among which the translation by Huang Yongfan, Gao Gaofu, and Han Yaocheng in 1985 had a significant impact. These translations are based on Brecht's "writing in different languages" of Chinese culture, involving the issue of back translation of classic citations. Back translation refers to the process of returning a translated text to its original form. It is generally believed that domestication strategies should be adopted, but in actual translation, translators may choose foreignization strategies to showcase cultural differences. This article studies the practical effects of foreignization and domestication strategies in the back translation of classic literature citations, explores whether to provide Chinese readers with a unique reading experience, and how to reflect the differences between Chinese culture portrayed by foreign authors and the actual Chinese culture.

3、 The Back Translation of Bai Juyi's Poetry

Explored the application and effects of foreignization and domestication strategies in the process of translating Bai Juyi's poetry. Brecht quoted Bai Juyi's poetry in "Sichuan Good People", and his German translation belongs to the category of "original translation". Liu Aihua proposed that there are different texts in the back translation of citations from Chinese classics, challenging the views of uniqueness and directionality in the back translation. In Translation Example 1, there are differences in the back translation of Bai Juyi's poetry between the Huang translation and the Gao translation. The former is more faithful to the original text, while the latter has undergone domestication. There is controversy in the academic community over the original citation of German poetry from Bai Juyi. Wei Maoping and Zhang Li respectively believe that it may be an adaptation of "Newly Made Bu Qiu" or "Newly Made Ling Ao Cheng". Through comparative research, Shi Jie believes that Wei Li's translated poetry is more likely to refer to "Newly Made Lingao Cheng". The high translation ignored key information in the German poem during the back translation, while the yellow translation retained this information and maintained a questioning tone. The domestication strategy of the high translation eliminates the heterogeneous elements in Brecht's translation, while the foreignization strategy of the yellow translation preserves the differences between Brecht's translation style and Bai Juyi's original poetry, reflecting the transformation of Chinese culture after overseas dissemination. The two translation methods respectively demonstrate the conventional effects of domestication and foreignization strategies.

4、 Translation of Quotes from Mozi

Explored Brecht's use of Mozi in "Sichuan Good People" and the translation strategies of different translators for this reference. Brecht read the German translation of Mozi during his exile, and its citation appeared in "The Good Man in Sichuan". Wei Maoping pointed out that Brecht's citation comes from Falk's German translation, while the high and yellow translations adopted different strategies in their back translation. The high translation directly quotes the original text of Mozi with annotations, while the Huang translation deviates significantly from the German translation in the last two clauses, using expressions from the Records of the Grand Historian. This deviation may be intentional by the translator to adapt to the context and character identity. The domestication translation of the high translation retains Brecht's critical intention while producing a foreignization effect. The Huang translation is closer to the character's position and enhances the sense of immersion, but the literal translation of the first clause does not match the imagery in the following text, bringing a sense of conflict and unfamiliarity. At the end of the chapter, it is pointed out that domestication translation may have different effects from traditional domestication in the back translation of classic citations, and Brecht's limited interest and understanding of traditional Chinese culture have led to this special phenomenon.

5、 Translation of Citations from Zhuangzi

Explored the situation of back translation of quotations from Zhuangzi in Brecht's work 'Sichuan Good People'. Wei Maoping believes that Brecht was more influenced by Laozi than Mozi, and the theme of "good people suffering" in "Sichuan Good People" originates from "Zhuangzi: The Human World". When quoting Zhuangzi, Brecht made slight modifications to Wei Lixian's German translation. Both Chinese translations retained Brecht's changes during translation and indicated the source of the original text in the annotations. Huang Yongfan's translation style has also changed. He did not conduct foreignization translation like he did when translating Bai Juyi's poetry, nor did he naturalize sentences like he did when dealing with Mozi. Instead, he directly translated based on German. This type of back translation method results in differences between the sentences in the translated text and the original text, but it is more in line with the specific context, reducing the difficulty for readers to understand the text and bringing them closer to the work. Wang Ning pointed out that the tension between foreignization and domestication is an important idea in translation strategies, but in back translation, these two strategies sometimes exhibit a special "transformative power", making the translated text present the effect that should have been achieved by another translation strategy.

6、 Conclusion

The actual effect of foreignization and domestication strategies in the back translation of citations in the classic book "Sichuan Good People" is not completely consistent with the traditional meaning. Alienation strategy, while preserving heterogeneity, sometimes reduces the difficulty of understanding and brings the author and reader closer together. The domestication strategy may conceal exotic charm while preserving the characteristics of allusions and maintaining a distance between the work and readers. The actual effects of these two strategies are complex and require specific analysis.