Scientific Development Research

This paper investigates English translation strategies for “natural metaphors” in China’s rural revitalization discourse, aiming to enhance the international appeal of Chinese political discourse. Grounded in Lakoff and Johnson’s Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the study analyzes the white paper China’s Green Development in the New Era by categorizing natural metaphors into structural, ontological, and orientational types to examine their cross-cultural cognitive mapping. Results indicate that translating natural metaphors entails an interlingual conversion of ecological cognition. While translators favor literal translation for orientational metaphors based on shared human experiences, they employ flexible strategies—including free translation, reconstruction, and demetaphorization—for structural and ontological metaphors to bridge cultural gaps, preserving foreignization only for core, culturally-loaded images. The study concludes that successful political metaphor translation necessitates a dynamic balance between “cultural confidence” and “communicative effectiveness,” offering theoretical and practical insights for constructing a coherent global discourse system.

Natural metaphors; English translation strategies; Conceptual Metaphor Theory; Rural revitalization discourse; China’s Green Development in the New Era