翻译题目

自古以来黄颜色就与中国传统文化有着紧密联系。中国的第一个皇帝称为“黄帝”(Yellow Emperor)；中华民族的母亲河为“黄河”；中国人的皮肤为“黄皮肤”。五行学说(the theory of five elements)认为黄颜色位居五行的中央，居于诸色之上，最为贵，黄色也因此被定为皇帝服装的颜色。明清两朝(the Ming and Qing Dynasties)，黄色为皇家专用色彩，是权力的象征。直到现在，黄色仍然是中国人最喜爱的颜色之一。

表达难点

1.在第1句中，时间状语“自古以来”可译为since the ancient times，翻译时应根据英语的表达习惯和句子的结构置于句首或句末，也可置于句中，但不常用。

2.第3句包含了多个中文短句，翻译时可把“最为贵，黄色也因此……”拆译为另一个句子，以避免译文过于累赘冗长。“居于诸色之上”可将其处理成伴随状语，用分词短语coming first of all colors来表达。“被定为皇帝服装的颜色”可处理为同位语，译作a color for the clothing of emperors。

3.在倒数第2句中，如果把“黄色为皇家专用色彩，是权力的象征”译为并列结构the color yellow was... and was a...使译文显得平淡，可将“是权力的象征”处理成一个非限制性定语从句which was a symbol of power，这样一来句子主次分明、形式丰富。

4.在最后一句中，“中国人最喜爱的颜色之可译为oneof the Chinese favorite colors。单词favorite表达了“最喜爱(like best)”之义，故不必在favorite前面再加上最高级形式the most。

参考译文

Since the ancient times, the color yellow has a close relationship with the Chinese traditional culture. The first emperor in China was called "Yellow Emperor"；the Mother River of the Chinese nation is the "Yellow River"；the Chinese people have "yellow skin". According to the theory of five elements, yellow was in the middle of the five elements, coming first of all colors. Therefore, it was viewed as the noblest color, a color for the clothing of emperors. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, yellow was the exclusive color for the Emperor families, which was a symbol of power. Until now, yellow is still one of the Chinese favorite colors.