习近平总书记在二十大报告中指出，要讲好中国故事，增强中华文明传播力影响力，推动中华文化更好走向世界。神话是古代中国人民的智慧结晶，是中华文化之魂。中国神话外译对推动中国文化走出去，加深西方读者对中国的人文风貌和历史文化的了解有重要作用。一直以来，中国神话英译的相关研究未曾停止，然而效果却不尽人意。究其原因，除西方读者对中国存在固有偏见外，译者在翻译过程中缺乏读者意识、重原文轻效果也是关键。在此背景下，通过回译的方式研究他者视域下的中国神话作品的重要性不言而喻。

本报告另辟蹊径，站在讲好中国故事的角度，以西方汉学家沃纳创作的《中国神话与传说》（第四章）为语料进行回译实践，重点关注物质文化、宗教文化、称谓文化等专有名词的回译及回译过程中行文风格的转换，旨在强调读者作为传播受众的重要性，从而探索中国神话的最佳翻译策略，同时检验西方汉学家沃纳对中国神话外译的准确性，以期为日后相关文本的外译提供借鉴。报告以读者接受理论为指导，在此次回译实践的基础上提出了中国神话的外译策略：（1）中国神话多以文言文著成，成语、典故比比皆是。外译时需转换文化形式，保留文化意义。（2）翻译中国特色的专有名词（人名、地名、官职名）时，可采用异化的翻译策略。（3）针对文化内涵较为复杂的文本，应考虑采用译注结合的方式，同时参考平行文本，保证译文准确性。（4）中国神话源远流长，内容庞杂。确保译文符合史实是打造高质量译文的重要前提。研究认为，以回译方式研究他者视域下创作的中国神话，可以为探索中国神话的外译策略提供新的研究角度。

According to the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s stories should be spread to the world in a better way. Myth is the epitome of Chinese culture and the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancients. It has a distinctive national character and is a treasure of Chinese civilization. The translation of Chinese myths into English plays an important role in promoting the internationalization of Chinese culture and deepening the understanding of Western readers about China’s cultural and historical features. Research on the English translation of Chinese mythology has been conducted for a long time, but the results are not satisfactory. The reason is that, in addition to the inherent prejudice of Western readers towards China, the lack of reader awareness and the emphasis on the original text over the effect are also key factors in the translation process. In this context, the importance of studying Chinese mythological works from the perspective of others through back-translation is self-evident.

This report takes a different approach from the perspective of better telling China’s stories to back-translate the Myths and Legends of China (Chapter Four) composed by Edward Theodore Chalmers Werner, a Western sinologist. It focuses on the back-translation of proper nouns in material culture, religious culture, and appellation culture, as well as the transformation of writing style during the back-translation process. The purpose is to emphasize the importance of readers as the communicative audience. At the same time, the accuracy of Werner’s translation of traditional Chinese culture will be checked, with a view to providing a reference for future work related to the translation of myths. Guided by the reception theory, this report proposes corresponding translation strategies of Chinese mythology on the basis of this back-translation practice. (1) Chinese myths and legends are mostly written in classical Chinese, with idioms and allusions everywhere. When translating, it is necessary to transform cultural forms and preserve cultural significance. (2) When translating proper nouns with Chinese characteristics (names of persons, places and official positions), foreignization translation strategies can be used. (3) When translating texts with complex cultural connotations, the combination of translation and annotation should be taken into consideration. And parallel texts ought to be referred to strive for accurate back-translation which can not only reflect the Chinese characteristics in the Western perspective but also create a reading experience suitable for Chinese readers. (4) Chinese myths are of great antiquity with miscellaneous content. Ensuring that the translation conforms to historical facts is a vital prerequisite for creating high-quality translations. The report indicates that studying Chinese myths created from the perspective of others through back-translation can provide a new research dimension for exploring the translation strategies of Chinese mythology.