关键词: 中文标题, 明清小品文, 英译方法, 美学原则

Abstract: How to render titles is an unavoidable issue in translation. Translating Chinese titles into English, most especially literary titles, involves playing Chinese culture and literature on the global stage. With examples from The Short Essays of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the authors aim to sum up the basic methods of title translation. After a comparison with other English translations of the short essays, such as those from Lin Yutang's works, it is proposed that title translation should “take the original meaning of the source text as the fundamental core, with a concern for the understanding of readers and bringing into full play the translator's subjective initiative as important, but secondary considerations.” In title translation, translators should strive to identify themselves with native literary writers, translate creatively, and pursue “truth, goodness, and beauty to the greatest extent.”