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O Henry ’s novels contain many aspects of American society: daily life, religion, literature, diet and festivals and so on. Here are some examples:
Example 1: On his bench in Madison Square Soapy moved uneasily.
Translation 1 : 苏贝躺在麦迪逊广场的长凳上，辗转反侧。（Wang Yongnian）
In this sentence, Soapy was a vagrant, he slept on the bench in a square. It is a part of a vagrant’s daily life to slept on a bench in some public places.
Example 2: The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger.
Translation 2: 那三位麦琪，诸位知道，全是有智慧的人——非常有智慧的人——他们带来礼物，送给生在马槽里的圣子耶稣。
This sentence tells us that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in the manger. It is western religious tale.
Example 3: Madame, large, too white, chilly, hardly looked the “Sofronie”.
Translation 3: 那位夫人身躯肥大，肤色白得过分，一副冰冷的模样，同“莎弗朗妮”这个名字不大相称。
Sofronie is a figure in Italian poet Torquato Tasso’s epic Gerusalemme Liberata. And she is a heroine.
Example 4: At the table he sat and consumed beefsteak, flapjacks, doughnuts and pie.
Translation 4: 他挑了个位子坐下,吃了牛排、煎饼、炸面饼圈和馅饼。
Beefsteak, flapjacks, doughnuts and pie are American food.
1.3 The Reasons for Analyzing Wang Yongnian’s Chinese Versions and Li Wenjun’s Chinese Versions
Wang Yongnian, who started to translate O Henry’s works from 1952, is one of the most famous translators in China, and the novels of O Henry he translated are very popular among the researchers of European and American literature. The first novel of O Henry he translated is Cabbages and Kings.
Li Wenjun, a famous expert in translation, is famous for translating William Faulkner’s masterpieces and he has a good commend of American literature.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Cultural Difference
2.1.1 The Definition of Cultural Difference
Cultural difference is the variation in the quality of a society or person based on race, language, sexual orientation, religion and nationality. The term can also refer to persity regarding art, scholarly pursuit and manners among many other factors. Language is the carrier of culture and its meaning is greatly influenced by the background culture. As the history goes on, more and more differences between Chinese culture and western culture appear. It is impossible to understand some terms, such as idiom, allusion and slang without relevant cultural background. That is why attention must be paid to cultural difference.
2.1.2 The Difference of Religious Belief
The vast majority of Americans believe in Christianity. It has great influences on the politics, philosophy, art, architecture, music and literature and many other aspects of America. In China, some people are Buddhist, some believe in Taoism, some are Muslim, some believe in Christianity, also, there are many non-believers in China. And in the majority part of China, the most powerful religions are Taoism and Buddhism. Taoism is Chinese native religion and it has been developing in China for about 1800 years. That means it has influenced China greatly, not only in the fields of politics and economy, but also the philosophy, art, literature, science and technology, and national character. The Buddhism also has great influence on China, especially in the field of philosophy. Owing to the different religious belief, Chinese is different from American in many aspects, such as : the way they think, the way they deal with things.
2.1.3 The Difference of Historical Background 文献综述