Modern Social Science Research

Costume imagery in Ming dynasty drama embodies social identity, emotional expression, and cultural symbolism, forming an essential part of theatrical narrative and aesthetics. When translated into English, these culturally embedded images often risk semantic reduction or symbolic loss. Through a comparison of translations by Cyril Birch and Xu Yuanchong, this study examines how differing translation philosophies and aesthetic aims shape the reconstruction of costume imagery across languages. The findings suggest that effective translation of such imagery requires balancing cultural preservation with target-reader accessibility, employing strategies such as explicitation and poetic re-creation to maintain the symbolic and aesthetic functions of costume in cross-cultural contexts.

Ming drama; Costume imagery; Cultural symbolism; Translation strategies