Modern Social Science Research

Imagery, refined from concrete experiences, constitutes the impressions retained within an individuals mind. It represents the essence of a translators “embodied interaction” with reality and subsequent “cognitive processing”. Laden with profound cultural significance and crystallizing human embodied wisdom, Tao Te Ching serves as an ideal exemplar for studying imagery translation. This paper examines the English translations of Tao Te Ching by James Legge, Lin Yutang, and John C. H. Wu. Employing cognitive approaches—such as sensory perception, image schemata, and construal—it analyzes the multifaceted background, discursive perspectives, semantic logic, and syntactic structures of the source text. Furthermore, through the mechanisms of “Mapping” (e.g., correspondence, selection) and “Creative Imitation” (e.g., addition, deletion, adaptation, and substitution), the study investigates the transformation and reconstruction evident in the target texts. It specifically analyzes how each translator handles the imagery encountered in Tao Te Ching. The aim is to elucidate both the theoretical and applied aspects of imagery “Mapping” and “Creative Imitation” in the translation of classical texts.

Embodied cognitive translatology; Tao Te Ching; Imagery; Mapping; Creative imitation