BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 363 On English Translation of Metaphors in Government White Papers Under the “Political Equivalence” Theory: A Case Study of Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions (2021) Ruxin Pang a, Ruyi Pang b School of Foreign Languages, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China a pang_ruxin0617@163.com, b pang_ruyi1706@163.com Abstract. With the increasing development of China’s economy and society, the government white paper has attracted more attention from the international community. In addition to promoting cross- cultural cognitive communication, appropriate metaphor translation is also of great significance to skillfully conveying attitudes and enhancing the effect of public opinion guidance. Metaphors in the white paper can be divided into metaphors shared and not shared by the Chinese and the West. Based on the translation principle of “political equivalence” proposed by Yang Mingxing, and taking the English version of Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions as an example, this study not only makes quantitative statistics on the metaphors in this White Paper on Climate by establishing a bilingual parallel corpus, but also qualitatively analyzes its metaphor translation, which summarizes the strategies of translating metaphors into English, so as to provide some reference for the translation of political metaphors with Chinese characteristics in the future. Keywords: Government White Paper; Metaphor; Translation Strategy; Political Equivalence; Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions. 1. Introduction In recent years, the Chinese government has published various white papers about human rights, national defense, the rule of law, the environment, and many other fields. As an internationally recognized official document for the government to answer international concerns and convey the government philosophy and policy trends, the white paper has been a vital medium for China’s foreign publicity (Li, 2020), which is often translated into many languages and published. To a great extent, its translation quality determines the effect of external publicity, which is crucial to establishing the national image and the right to speak in the international community. In 2020, extreme weather and COVID-19 pandemic not only dealt a heavy blow to millions of people around the world, but also decreased the pace of humanitarian assistance. On October 27, 2021, the Information Office of the State Council published the Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions (hereinafter referred to as White Paper on Climate) and its English version. White Paper on Climate records China’s outstanding contribution to global climate governance in an objective and true manner, which provides the world with a Chinese climate governance manual and guides the international community to have a positive understanding of the “community of common destiny”. The metaphors in it project the abstract concept domains of arduous and severe climate governance into specific concept domains such as engineering, human beings, and diseases, which convey China’s determination and will to control climate and presents the international image of a major country, creating a public opinion beneficial to China. Animating abstract and complex politics, metaphor is the best choice for political participants to persuade the public, stimulate public emotions, and shape public image (Sheng, 2020). Metaphors used to express some policies and propositions in white papers can improve language expression and make the text more convincing and persuasive. In recent years, many scholars have studied metaphor translation in white papers. From the perspective of research texts, the existing research is mainly white papers on anti-epidemic (Li & Zhang, 2020; Zhang, 2021), energy (Zhang, 2023), and poverty alleviation (Xue, 2022; Feng & Liu, 2023). From the perspective of research objects, the existing BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 364 research mainly focuses on the translation strategies of a certain metaphor category in the white paper, such as Wang Jie (2021) putting forward three translation strategies according to whether there are differences between the images of the source language and the target language. Feng Zhengbin and Liu Zhenqing (2022) collected the scientific and technological metaphors in the white paper on epidemic summarized three translation strategies, including equivalence transfer, alternative transfer, and paraphrasing. Generally speaking, few scholars pay attention to metaphor translation in white papers on climate at present, which lacks systematic and comprehensive analysis and summary of metaphor translation strategies. The translation principle of “political equivalence” was proposed by Yang Mingxing specifically for the translation in political diplomacy, which critically inherits Nida’s equivalence theory with a reference value for international publicity translation. Therefore, based on the principle of “political equivalence”, taking the English version of the White Paper on Climate as the research object, this thesis builds an English-Chinese bilingual parallel corpus and conducts a case study with quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the translation strategies of metaphor in the white papers, aiming to enlighten the research and practice of metaphor translation in political discourse in the future. 2. Development Overview of the Application of “Political Equivalence” Theory in Political Discourse Translation Nida (1964), a famous American translation theorist, first proposed the translation theory of “dynamic equivalence” (afterwards changed to “functional equivalence”) in Toward a Science of Translating. He later systematically defined that “dynamic equivalence means the response of the target language’s recipients is basically the same as that of the source language’s recipient” (Nida, 1969). This universally applicable theory provides a convincing answer to the long-standing translation controversy about free translation vs. literal translation. However, as for international publicity translation, more and more translators find that even if Nida’s standard of “equivalence” is adopted, it is still difficult to achieve the ideal equivalence. In 2008, Yang Mingxing, a Chinese scholar, critically inherited Nida’s equivalence theory and put forward the “political equivalence” for foreign publicity translation. It refers to that “on the one hand, diplomatic translation must accurately and faithfully reflect the political thought and context of the source language and the speaker; on the other hand, it should be understood by the target language’s recipient so that the political meaning of both parties is equivalent, and the translation can play the same role and communicative function as the source language” (Yang, 2008). “Political equivalence” explains three translation characteristics, which are, political orientation, dynamics, and equilibrium. Political orientation is its most prominent feature, which emphasizes that foreign publicity translation should prioritize the cultural mindsets and ideological differences between the source language and the target language, and between the speaker and the audience, so as to accurately convey the speaker’s political standpoints and political connotation. Based on “the same reader’s response” in Eugene Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory, dynamics proposes to emphasize the speaker’s background of the times, politics, and state relations. Requiring the “double identity and faithfulness” of translation to the communicative subject, equilibrium seeks the balance between foreignization and domestication to equal the political and cultural connotations as much as possible, so as to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding (Yang & Yan, 2012). After more than ten years of development, the theoretical framework of “political equivalence” has taken shape and been increasingly mature. The related study is no longer confined to the theoretical perspective and the study of translation strategies based on this theory has been widely conducted in different fields. From the aspect of political discourse translation, Wang Feiyun (2021) summarized the translation strategies adopted in the English version of Xi Jinping: Wit and Vision, and analyzed the translation effect from three perspectives including “political orientation”, “dynamics”, and “equilibrium”. Taking China’s Role in the Era of Change: Theory and Practice as the translation text, Wu Zhenze (2021) found that “political equivalence” can guide diplomatic BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 365 academic texts. In the translation of political discourse with Chinese characteristics, Li Zhidan (2015), who comparatively analyzed more than 20 translations of “cracking down on both tigers and flies”, summarized that “literal translation + explanation” was the best translation method from the perspective of “political equivalence”. Taking “community of common destiny” as an example, Kang Yifei (2022) selected its translation methods in 20 languages of countries along the Belt and Road Initiative and put forward the strategy of “demassified translation” under the framework of “political equivalence”. It can be concluded that although the research on translation strategies based on the “political equivalence” theory has been conducted extensively, research on metaphor translation strategies in political texts is rare. However, metaphor is a critical feature of the diplomatic discourse system, which is widely used in political white papers. Thus, based on the translation principle of “political equivalence”, this paper analyzes the translation strategies of metaphor in Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions from aspects of political orientation, dynamics, and equilibrium, so as to enrich the application of “political equivalence” theory and help build China’s international discourse system. 3. Research Design 3.1 Research Questions (1) What are the types of metaphors in the White Paper on Climate? (2) What is the proportion of each type of metaphor? (3) What strategies should be adopted to translate metaphors in the White Paper on Climate under the “political equivalence” theory? 3.2 Research Tools The Chinese and English versions of Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies and Actions are obtained from www.gov.cn and http://english.www.gov.cn/ respectively, which are saved in the format of txt to establish two small sub-corpora. After using the online alignment tool of Tmxmall with manual adjustment, the two sub-corpora finished Chinese-English bilingual alignment at the sentence level. Then, this paper uses CorpusWordParser 3.0 to segment the Chinese sub-database. After the word segmentation, the Chinese sub-database contains 20738 words, and that of English contains 12036 words. Finally, translation strategies in texts are studied with the help of ParaConc 1.2.1, a parallel corpus. Given there is no computer software that can intelligently recognize metaphors in the corpus, this paper uses the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP) proposed by the team of Pragglejaz. 3.3 Research Process Firstly, read the Chinese text carefully to recognize metaphors through MIP. Secondly, an English- Chinese parallel corpus is established, and the frequency and proportion of different types of metaphors are counted by ParaConc. Thirdly, the author collects all the corpus of metaphors and makes case studies based on the theory of “political equivalence” to conclude strategies of translating metaphors into English. 4. Translation Strategies of Metaphors of Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies Under the Guidance of “Political Equivalence” Based on the metaphors’ classification (Dagut, 1976; Yang & Zhao, 2020; Ren & Ji, 2021), this study divides the metaphors in the white papers into two categories, which are metaphors shared and not shared by the Chinese and the West. Metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West refer to a kind of metaphor in which the vehicles in the source language have no cognitive barriers in the target language because of the same embodied experience towards the world. Metaphors not shared by the BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 366 Chinese and the West refer to a kind of metaphor that is not shared by the two languages and cultures because the recipient has a low perception of a certain vehicle and the two sides cannot achieve cognitive equivalence. As for the metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West, the target domains of the two languages are the same, but due to the differences in culture and language, the same conceptual mapping may be carried out through various origination domains. Therefore, they can be divided into metaphors with the same source domain and metaphors with different source domains. Meanwhile, metaphors not shared by the Chinese and the West can be divided into unfamiliar conflicting metaphors and those featuring familiar words with new meanings. Unfamiliar conflicting metaphors mean that some metaphors have distinct national characteristics and cannot arouse the readers’ “image schema” and “semantic association” under different cultural backgrounds. Metaphors featuring familiar words with new meanings emphasize the dynamics of some metaphors in the context of the times and this dynamics is out of sync in both languages, which is transformed from the metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West. Table 1. Data Statistics of Metaphors in Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies 2021 Metaphor Types Metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West Metaphors not shared by the Chinese and the West Metaphors with the same source domain Metaphors with different source domains Unfamiliar conflicting metaphors Metaphors featuring familiar words with new meanings Metaphor Examples 基石 (cornerstone, Ji Shi) 家园 (home, Jia Yuan) 征程 (journey, Zheng Cheng) 红线 (redlines, Hong Xian) 携手 (work with, Xie Shou) 领跑者 (frontrunners, Lin Pao Zhe) 顶层设计 (top-level degisn, Ding Ceng She Ji) 独善其身 (make itself immune from the impact, Du Shan Qi Shen) 休养生息 (rehabilitate, Xiu Yang Sheng Xi) 一刀切 (one-size-fits-all standards, Yi Dao Qie) 如火如荼 (sweep the nation, Ru Huo Ru Tu) 看得见、摸得着(yield real and tangible results, Kan De Jian Mo De Zhao) 授人以渔 (provide assistance and support within its means, Shou Ren Yi Yu) 行稳致远 (deliver steady and lasting results, Xing Wen Zhi Yuan) 戮力同心 (work together, Lu Li Tong Xin) 轻而易举 (be easy, Qing Er Yi Ju) 道法自然 (follow the laws of nature, Dao Fa Zi Ran) 牛鼻子 (Niu Bi Zi) 亮丽底色 (integral component, Liang Li Di Se) 抓手 (important part, Zhua Shou) 牵头 (take the lead in, Qian Tou) 造血能力 (capacity, Zao Xie Neng Li) Occurrences 246 7 8 6 Keyword Type 30 5 8 5 Proportion 92.13% 2.62% 3.00% 2.25% The results in Table 1 are obtained by counting the metaphors in the 2021 White Paper on Climate. According to Table 1, most metaphors in the White Paper on Climate belong to metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West, accounting for 94.75%, while those not shared by the Chinese and the West only account for 5.25%. Among the four types of metaphors, metaphors with the same source domain are the most, far exceeding the other three types, accounting for 92.13%, followed by unfamiliar conflicting metaphors (3.00%), metaphors with different source domains (2.62%), metaphors featuring familiar words with new meanings (2.25%). In the following part, the translation strategies of four types of metaphors will be analyzed from aspects of “political equivalence” including political orientation, dynamics, and equilibrium. BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 367 4.1 Metaphors Shared by the Chinese and the West 4.1.1 Metaphors with the Same Source Domain (1) Literal Translation Preserving Images For metaphors with the same source domain, literal translation can realize the equivalent conversion between the source language and the target language and do not hinder readers’ reading comprehension. Therefore, translators should manage to use English metaphors with the same images to preserve the original metaphorical ones. Example 1 Source Text: 中国主动作为，精准施策，科学有序统筹布局农业、生态、城镇等功能空间， 开展永久基本农田、生态保护红线、城镇开发边界“三条控制线”划定试点工作。 Target Text: It has piloted the policy of designating permanent basic cropland areas, drawing redlines for protecting ecosystems, and delineating boundaries for urban development. “红线” (Hong Xian) refers to “the boundaries of the forbidden zone” (Dictionary Editorial Office in Institute of Linguistics at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2016). In the source text, the Chinese government compares the boundary of the ecological protection area to Hong Xian, which makes readers intuitively feel its strictness and warning, thus reflecting the unshakable determination of the Chinese government for ecological protection. Redlines are explained in Oxford English Dictionary as “a line marked in red on a map, presenting a geopolitical boundary.” Thus, Chinese and English readers have a common cognitive basis for this metaphor. In the translation, the translator chooses to literally translate “红线划定” (Hong Xian Hua Ding) into “drawing red lines”. From the perspective of equilibrium, this metaphor is common in the Chinese and the West, and reserving it is not only faithful to the source language, but also helps the recipients of the target language understand, thus achieving the “double identity” of the communicative subjects. From the perspective of political orientation and dynamics, this translation fully figures out the ideological connotation and political intention of Chinese government discourse. General Secretary President Xi Jinping (2007) mentioned in China: A New Version for Development that “various systems must be established and strictly implemented with practical actions once they are formulated, instead of making no difference.” The translator does not choose “setting redlines” and “defining redlines” because the meanings conveyed by these two phrases are limited to the system formulation, but do not cover the system implementation. However, “drawing” not only makes the action of “划定” (Hua Ding) concrete and vivid, but also emphasizes that the setting of ecological protection areas is not the ultimate goal, which reproduces the image of the Chinese government’s process of implementing the plan based on field investigation and practice, further closing to China’s political position. (2) Image Omission The repetition of parallelism and the synonyms stacking are the usual expressions in Chinese style. If the image of the metaphor with the same source domain has already appeared in the context, the translator should omit the original metaphor based on English preference for simplicity and cut down the complex elements, so as to help foreign readers understand the original text and realize “political equivalence”. Example 2 Source Text: 世界各国应该加强团结、推进合作，携手共建人类命运共同体。 Target Text: Therefore, all countries should strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and build a global community of shared future together. The word “携手” (Xie Shou) comes from “惠而好我，携手同行” (Ye who love and regard me, Let us join hands and go together) in the Poetry·Wind·North Wind, which means holding hands with close relatives and friends. In Example 2, the word “Xie Shou” means that all countries in the world should cooperate to jointly cope with climate change. In Oxford English Dictionary, “Xie Shou” is interpreted as “side by side, together”, so Chinese and English readers have a common cognitive basis for this metaphor. However, the translator chooses not to translate the word “Xie Shou”. From the perspectives of political orientation and dynamics, “strong solidity”, “cooperation”, and “together” BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 368 in the translation all contain the meaning of “Xie Shou”, which has already expressed the Chinese government’s longing for all countries to participate in climate governance. Therefore, the role of the word “Xie Shou” is to strengthen emotions without another meaning. Even if it is not translated, it can fully convey Chinese political position and political connotation. From the perspective of equilibrium, the usual ways of expression in Chinese and English are different. Unless they can create rhythm or have great significance in English, repetitive English words are generally regarded as abnormal to some extent (Fowler, 1951). Therefore, if the word “Xie Shou” is translated into English, it does not conform to English expression habits, which fails to achieve the desirable effect in Chinese and triggers foreign readers’ aversion. Thus, omitting the translation of “Xie Shou” can realize the communication effect of “political equivalence”. 4.1.2 Metaphors with Different Source Domains Free Translation with Image Transformation When the same target domain is mapped across different source domains in English and Chinese, translators should, according to their cognitive hypothesis and the context of the original text, reason the communicative intention and political context behind the explicit information of the original text. In addition, to seek the best cultural transformation effect, they should boldly use English metaphors with different images to transform the original metaphorical images, which conforms to the cognitive ability and psychological expectation of the target readers, achieving “political equivalence”. Example 3 Source Text: 地球是人类唯一赖以生存的家园，面对全球气候挑战，人类是一荣俱荣、一 损俱损的命运共同体，没有哪个国家能独善其身。 Target Text: The earth is the only home we have. Human beings share a common future in the face of the challenges presented by global climate change, and no country can make itself immune from the impact. “独善其身” (Du Shan Qi Shen) originated from Mencius that “穷则独善其身,达则兼济天下” (preserve your dignity as a nobody; promote the social welfare as a somebody). It means that “when a person is frustrated, he must maintain integrity and noble conduct; when he is successful, he should serve the public and contribute to society”, which conveys the integrated relationship between man and society. In the source text, the relationship between man and society is mapped to the relationship between countries and the climate environment, so its semantic connotation is that no country can be immune from the impact of climate disasters. Translators should combine the original context and assume themselves to be the target readers to realize that such cognitive reserves are unique to collectivist cultural countries. In individualistic Western countries, the relationship between people and society is relatively loose, so the target language readers cannot generate correct semantic associations through the explicit information of the original text. President Xi Jinping also often uses this metaphor, for example in his speech at the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the legitimate seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations, he said that “no person or country can thrive in isolation” (China Daily, 2021). The interpreter of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs abandoned the image of “Du Shan Qi Shen” and paraphrased it as “thrive in isolation” so that English readers can intuitively grasp the truth that countries can achieve economic development and social progress through win-win cooperation up against unprecedented changes in a hundred years. However, in the White Paper on Climate, the core metaphorical meaning of “Du Shan Qi Shen” is not mutual benefit and win-win to achieve economic prosperity, but to stimulate the sense of mission and responsibility of all countries for climate governance. Therefore, the translation of “thrive in isolation” cannot realize the equivalent semantic connotation. From the perspective of equilibrium, the translator transforms “the relationship between man and society” into “the relationship between individual and disease” in the translation, which directly manifests the original metaphorical image and realizes similar reproduction in the target language, bridging the defect of cultural image and conforming to the cognitive ability and psychological expectation of target readers. From the perspective of political orientation and dynamics, the transformed disease metaphor completely conveys the original BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 369 metaphor connotation with Chinese native elements to the readers, which highlights the serious threat of climate problems and emphasizes the urgency of participating in “treatment”, following the political intention of the source language. 4.2 Metaphors Shared by the Chinese and the West 4.2.1 Unfamiliar Conflicting Metaphors Free Translation with Image Abandonment Unfamiliar conflicting metaphor refers to a metaphor difficult to find a suitable metaphorical concept corresponding to it in the target language. At this time, to express the meaning clearly with the misleading literal meaning, it is more beneficial to convey the political connotation and meet the requirement of “political equivalence” by free translation with image abandonment to unshackle the original metaphor. Example 4 Source Text: 中国秉持“授人以渔”理念，积极同广大发展中国家开展应对气候变化南南合 作，尽己所能帮助发展中国家特别是小岛屿国家、非洲国家和最不发达国家提高应对气候变 化能力，减少气候变化带来的不利影响。 Target Text: It has done its best to help those countries—in particular small island states, the least developed countries, and African countries—to build capacity to fight climate change and reduce the adverse impact of climate change. “授人以渔” (Shou Ren Yi Yu) is sourced from Huainan Tzu Shuolin Xun that “临河而羡鱼，不 如归家织网” (near to a river to envy the fish, better go back home to weave net). Its original version is “授人以鱼不如授人以渔” (better teach to fish than to give fish), which means to teach people methods of learning knowledge is better than imparting knowledge. Originating from the truth of fishing practice, this metaphor is now widely cited as a new type of education, that is, teachers are required to change the past cramming education mode, stimulate students’ autonomous learning initiative, and improve their creativity. In the original text, the semantic connotation of “Shou Ren Yi Yu” is that China is willing to share its methods and experiences in tackling climate change with developing countries without reservation, so as to build an image of a friendly, united, and responsible major country. Given this metaphor has a unique connotation in Chinese culture, it is difficult to find a suitable metaphorical concept corresponding to it in the target language, and the literal translation may block the understanding of target language readers. Thus, the translator abandons the original metaphorical image and paraphrases it as “build capacity”. From a perspective of political orientation, this translation is not only faithful to the political connotation of the original text, but also takes into account the emotional position of the reader. If the translator blindly paraphrases it as “learn”, it constructs China as a teacher, widens the distance from English readers, and may even be misunderstood by foreign media as self-flattery and arrogance. However, “build capacity” will not bring negative semantic association, so this translation is appropriate and fits its original connotation in the political context. From the perspective of dynamics and equilibrium, although a note that “As the Chinese saying goes, “It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish” can be added at the end of the sentence to reproduce the image, the author thinks that the White Paper on Climate is essentially a political report with strong generality, solemnity, and seriousness. Translators should pursue conciseness and clarity in language based on “political orientation”. Therefore, as for translating unfamiliar conflicting metaphors, the length should be minimized and images should be used to abandon free translation, so as to keep the harmony in style and enhance the readability of the white paper to the greatest extent. 4.2.2 Metaphor Featuring Familiar Words with New Meanings (1) Free Translation with Image Abandonment Some seemingly daily and familiar words often have different meanings in the political field. To avoid ambiguity in the cross-domain mapping of metaphor, the translator can abandon the image of BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 370 the original metaphor and make free translation according to the original text’s context, embodying the internal information of the original text. Example 5 Source Text: 中国把应对气候变化作为推进生态文明建设、实现高质量发展的重要抓手。 Target Text: China’s responses to climate change are an important part of its efforts to achieve eco-environmental progress and high-quality development. Example 6 Source Text: 中国实施能源扶贫工程，通过合理开发利用贫困地区能源资源，有效提升了 贫困地区自身造血能力，为贫困地区经济发展增添新动能。 Target Text: China has implemented a project to alleviate poverty through the rational development and utilization of energy resources in poor areas, effectively boosting their economic development capacity. “抓手” (Zhua Shou) is a metaphor featuring familiar words with new meanings, whose original meaning refers to the part of machinery and tools that can be grasped by human hands, corresponding to “handle” and “knob” in English. However, in recent years, its meaning has expanded in China, where official media, party administrators, and government officials have repeatedly used it to map important work or breakthroughs in news and political speeches. However, the word “Zhua Shou” still refers to the related concepts in machinery and tools in the Western countries, if it is translated into “handle” or “knob”, the target readers will refract or even misunderstand the core meaning in the original text. Yu Xiangrong, the chief economist of China, once used this metaphor in an interview on promoting economic recovery in China “Infrastructure investment is becoming a strong foothold for China to stable growth”. (China Daily, 2022). The official interpreter abandoned the image of “Zhua Shou” and paraphrased it as a “foothold”, which accurately conveyed to English readers the political connotation that the Chinese government will take infrastructure financing as a breakthrough to promote economic recovery. In Example 5, according to the context, the semantic connotation of “Zhua Shou” is that China regards coping with climate change as a critical work to achieve high- quality development, so the official interpreter paraphrased it as “an important part”, which accurately conveys its dynamic connotation in this context and meet the original intention, realizing political equivalence. In Example 6, “造血能力” (Zao Xue Neng Li) originally means the body’s ability to produce blood by itself, which corresponds to the medical term “hematopoiesis” in English. In recent years, its meaning in the political field has also expanded, which refers to the ability of departments, agencies, and organizations to tap potential from within. Here, the official interpreter paraphrased it as “capacity”. From the perspective of equilibrium and dynamics, free translation with image abandonment transfers the extended meaning of the original metaphor to the target readers in the closest and most natural way. From a perspective of political orientation, it precisely expresses the political connotation that the Chinese government assists poor areas in finding the internal motivation to alleviate poverty and get rich. (2) Image Omission When the metaphor featuring familiar words with new meanings forms a meaning group closely connected with the context, the translator should not be far-fetched or insist on translating the metaphor, otherwise it will bring barriers to the target readers. Thus, the translator omit the metaphors to achieve a smooth understanding of the translated text. Example 7 Source Text: 中国围绕打好污染防治攻坚战，重点把蓝天保卫战、柴油货车治理、长江保护 修复、渤海综合治理、城市黑臭水体治理、水源地保护、农业农村污染治理七场标志性重大 战役作为突破口和“牛鼻子”，制定作战计划和方案，细化目标任务、重点举措和保障条件， 以重点突破带动整体推进，推动生态环境质量明显改善。 Target Text: China has invested a major effort in seven landmark campaigns to keep the skies blue, control pollution caused by diesel trucks, protect and restore the Yangtze River ecosystem, improve BCP Education & Psychology ESPS 2023 Volume 10 (2023) 371 the water environment of the Bohai Sea region, improve black and fetid water bodies in cities, protect water sources, and control pollution in agriculture and rural areas. “牛鼻子” (Niu Bi Zi) originally refers to the “ox nose” in English. Its new metaphorical meaning originates from the practice of farming labor, which is a metaphor for the main contradiction of things or the key to affecting the overall situation. In 1982, People's Daily pointed out “To implement the responsibility system of operation and management is to hold the ‘Niu Bi Zi’ of commercial work”, thus this new metaphor is widely used in the political field. “Ox” was the main farming animal in ancient China. Western countries dominated by marine civilization have almost no relevant experience cognition, so it is hard for them to understand this new metaphorical meaning. From the perspective of equilibrium and dynamics, the meaning of “Niu Bi Zi” is the same as that of “突破口” (Tu Po Kou). Regarding “Tu Po Kou” and “Niu Bi Zi” as a whole without translating “Niu Bi Zi” can help the target language readers understand and accept the semantic connotation of the original text to the greatest extent. From the aspect of political orientation, colloquial and grounded words such as “Niu Bi Zi” have narrowed the distance between the Chinese government and the common people, leaving the common people a concrete sense of substitution for the abstract national mission. Therefore, the author thinks that the main role of “Niu Bi Zi” in the white paper is to publicize domestically, rather than for foreign publicity, so it does not matter whether translators reserve it or not. 5. Conclusion The metaphor translation in Responding to Climate Change: China’s Policies 2021 is flexible. The author believes that the translation principle of “political equivalence” provides an important thinking framework for metaphor translation. It not only requires translators to consider the cultural differences between the two languages and heed the target readers, but also focuses on the particularity of political discourse and convey the concept of climate governance with Chinese characteristics in a rigorous manner. For metaphors shared by the Chinese and the West, translators should be aware of the similarities between the two languages and cultures as well as the differences in stylistic expressions. Besides, literal translation with image retention, image omission, or free translation with image transformation all can be adopted. As for metaphors not shared by the Chinese and the West, translators should pay more attention to the equivalence of political connotations and grasp the dynamic connotations of metaphors in the context of the times, using free translation with image abandonment or omission. In addition, due to the limited length of this paper, the author only selects some representative translation examples, which is far from exhausting the contents related to metaphor and “political equivalence” in the White Paper on Climate. Thus, the author hopes to further promote the combination of “political equivalence” theory and political metaphor translation in the future, so as to disseminate the excellent Chinese concept and road to the world. References [1] Li, Y. (2020). Translation and publication of white paper. Chinese Translators Journal, 41(01), 49-53. [2] Sheng, D. D. (2020). Reconstructing metaphors in press conference interpreting: A case study of journey metaphors. East Journal of Translation, (01), 24-29. [3] Li, X. & Zhang, X. (2020). A study on conceptual metaphors in Chinese epidemic prevention discourse from the culture context perspective. 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