A Comparative Study on English Translations of Culture-loaded Words in The Art of War

As the earliest and the most revered military treatise in ancient China, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War contains a great number of culture-loaded words. This paper analyzes the problems and solutions in translating culture-loaded words by comparing two influential English versions of The Art of War by the leading sinologist Dr. Lionel Giles and the contemporary Chinese translator Lin Wusun. The comparative study shows that the two translators with different culture backgrounds rendered the culture-loaded words in The Art of War in different ways. It is indicated that the study of culture-loaded words and expressions is of vital importance to cross-cultural communication.