Wenshuo Chen
School of Foreign Languages, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, Shandong, China.
*Corresponding author: Wenshuo Chen
Abstract
Xiehouyu, a unique Chinese rhetorical device, encode both perceptual experience (“Body”) and rational cognition (“Cognition”), embodying the Han Chinese mode of “image thinking.” Using Embodied-Cognitive Translatology as its framework, this paper compares the English translations of xiehouyu in Journey to the West by W. J. F. Jenner and Anthony C. Yu. Jenner tends to domesticate the “Body” while foreignizing the “Cognition,” prioritizing fluency. Yu tends to foreignize the “Body” while domesticating the “Cognition,” prioritizing cultural fidelity. Both strategies seek a dynamic balance in the “Body-Cognition” interplay, offering insights for translating Chinese-specific rhetoric into English.
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How to cite this paper
The Tension Between the Body and the Cognition: An Embodied-cognitive Study of the English Translation of Xiehouyu in Journey to the West—A Comparative Analysis of the Jenner and Yu Guofan Translations
How to cite this paper: Wenshuo Chen. (2026). The Tension Between the Body and the Cognition: An Embodied-cognitive Study of the English Translation of Xiehouyu in Journey to the West—A Comparative Analysis of the Jenner and Yu Guofan Translations. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 2(1), 60-65.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2026.01.011