English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies ISSN 2640-9836 (Print) ISSN 2640-9844 (Online) Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls 171 Original Paper Application of Chinese Thinking in English Novel Translation—ACase Study of Wu Ningkun’s Translation of The Great Gatsby Xuerui Shao1 & Hui Liu2 1 Xi’an Shiyou University, Shanxi Province, China 2 Xi'an Shiyou University, Shanxi Province, China Received: May 27, 2024 Accepted: July 21, 2024 Online Published: August 01, 2024 doi:10.22158/eltls.v6n4p171 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eltls.v6n4p171 Abstract In the context of globalization, translation is needed as a medium to promote exchanges among various countries. But the different culture, geographical environment and other factors determine the different thinking modes and often cause misunderstandings in the novel translation. Therefore, for the purpose of enabling people to take corresponding measures to reduce or avoid the obscurity of translation when translating English novels and at the same time, accurately expressing what the original author wants to express, making the translation more authentic. The author explores the application of Chinese thinking in the translation of English novels by analyzing the translation of The Great Gatsby based on the differences between Chinese and English thinking. Keywords thinking differences, novel translation, Influence 1. Introduction A deep understanding of the differences between Chinese and English thinking will help avoid the obscurity of the novel translation, making the translation closer to the original context. Besides, a language changes quickly and reflects the situation of the economy, policy, technology and society of a certain culture. And In the era of globalization, there will inevitably be international cooperation and exchanges, so one culture will definitely affect another. On the other hand, Translation, as the re-creation of language art, is born out of the need of human communication. Because of it, human society has moved from isolation to communication, and it is also the transfer of information and culture exchanges between different nationalities and language. Therefore, given that the novel www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 172 translation helps other countries understand different cultures, it is important to study the application of Chinese thinking in English novel translation. The novel is characterized by complete story, vivid characters, profound theme, exquisite conception angle and pure genre. In addition, the novel is a literary genre that focuses on depicting characters and reflects social life through complete story plots and environmental descriptions. With the increasing frequency of cross-cultural communication, more and more English novels have been introduced into China. At the same time, how to translate English novels well has also attracted people�s attention. In order to resonate with the original author and translate novels well, translators need understand different cultures and then adopt corresponding translation strategies. Therefore, the author will analyze how to be faithful and innovative when translating novels under different cultural backgrounds between the East and the West. 2. Literature Review Many scholars have done a lot of research on Chinese thinking. The author briefly summarizes their views. Translation is actually the intercommunication of different cultures. It is the translator’s task to introduce the culture of the source language to the people of the target language. To obtain proper translation, it is necessary for the translator to keep track of the different thought patterns of the people who speak different languages and have cultural backgrounds. (Cheng, 2005, p. 1) translation by nature is a communication carried out between cultures through the medium of language. Therefore, there will be no perfect translation without taking the differences of the source and the target cultures into consideration. (Feng, 2008, p. 60) The essence of translation is the conversation of different thought patterns. Since thought determines language, Chinese and English thought patterns, no doubt, have great impact on the two languages. Therefore, in translation, in line with the thought pattern of target language speakers, sentence structure should be adjusted so as to conform to the expression habit of target language. (Jiang, 2003, p. 34) Thought embodies itself by some means, and reflects itself in some language. Different thought pattern is just an important reason for diversity in language. But the application of language incarnates the choice and creation of thought. Language and thought influence each other and reflect each other. (Kong, 2009, p. 14) There is no doubt in the author’s mind, however, that translation is the transformation of the thought patterns. Differences in languages come from the differences in cultures, or in this paper, the different thought patterns. Therefore, It is important that the C-E translator get acquainted with the thought patterns of the Chinese culture and English culture so as to fully understand the original text and make the target text accord with the thought patterns of the English-speaking people. (Jiang, 2008, p. 79) In short, under the guidance of “functional equivalence” theory, in the translation process, a translator should focus more on the meaning and spirit of the SL text but not be imprisoned in the SL structure and form. (Qian, 2012, p. 10) www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 173 3. Relationship between Thought and Translation On the one hand, E. A. Nida said that translation is to find the equivalent words in the target language as close and natural as possible, first of all, meaning equivalence, and second, style equivalence, and Barkhudarov said that translation is the process of changing the speech product of one language into the speech product of another language while keeping the content, that is, the meaning unchanged. On the other hand, thought is the indirect and general reflection of the human brain to objective things. Before talking about the relationship between thinking and translation, let’s talk about that between thinking and language firstly. We all know that thinking is closely related to language. Some scholars believe that thinking determines language while others deem that language determines thinking. Although these two views are reasonable, they also have limitations. In any case, thinking and language are interdependent and mutually promoting. In other words, the development of thinking promotes the development of language and the development of language promotes the development of thinking. But they are relatively independent too. Marx believes that language is the essential element of thinking itself and the life expression of thought, he also believes that language is the direct manifestation of thought. Translation is an activity that transforms one language into another language on the basis of accuracy and smoothness. Therefore, translation is not only a language activity, but also a process of thinking transformation. It is precisely because of translation that various countries can communicate better, but at the same time, different countries have different cultural and geographical environments. Under this background, the thinking patterns of people in different countries are also different. While a good translation should faithfully express the ideological contents, expression techniques, and meanings of the source language, so that readers can empathize with the author of the source language. Therefore, when translating, we must take into account the differences in thinking mode. 4. Differences in Chinese and English Thinking Each country has its own unique mode of thinking, which is formed in the long-term development, reflecting the economy, culture and history of a country. In the previous chapter, we discussed the translation between translation and thinking. It is understood that the differences between English and Chinese languages reflect the differences between Chinese and English thinking modes to a certain extent. In order to better understand the differences between these two modes of thinking, the author will explore them from four aspects in this chapter. 4.1 Subjective Thinking in Chinese VS. Objective Thinking in English Subjective thinking is people-centered, and it is obvious subjectivity to judge the significance and value of the object to the subject from the subjective feelings of people. Objective thinking emphasizes the essence and law of things from the objective world, which is obvious objectivity. Native English speakers regard nature as the objective object of human cognition, and believe that human beings should conquer nature and exert their subjectivity to nature. Since ancient Greece, their www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 174 philosophical thoughts have emphasized the individual as the center, rationality and struggle as the main manifestations, and the expansion of the world. The West has made great achievements in mechanical engineering, Darwin's theory of evolution, and Newtonian mechanics. Therefore, Westerners pay more attention to logicality and think more objectively and rationally. The plains in China are suitable for agriculture, but the agriculture in the Yellow River Basin is extremely dependent on nature, prompting Chinese ancestors to pay attention to the observation of celestial phenomena and think about the relationship between nature and man very early. Therefore, in the feudal history of more than two thousand years, China has always focused on agriculture and formed the idea of the unity of nature and man. It believed that heaven and man were not in a relationship between subject and object, but in a relationship between part and whole. The three most important thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism in ancient China all advocated the idea of the unity of nature and man, and believed that man and nature should live in harmony. Under this background, subjective thinking has gradually formed in Chinese while objective thinking has formed in English. Therefore, given that Chinese is subjective while English is objective, nouns or personal pronouns will be used as subjects in a Chinese sentence, which is usually called the animate subject to show the initiative of life when translating sentences, in contrast, English will use things as subjects, which are called inanimate subjects, showing the independence and existence of things. And the active voice is mostly used in Chinese, which expresses a kind of subjective consciousness and people are generally the performers of actions, while the passive voice is mostly used in English, which shows an objective consciousness. 4.2 Concrete Thinking in Chinese VS. Abstract Thinking in English Concrete thinking means that the subject consciously or unconsciously uses a certain thinking method and mode in the process of thinking. Abstract thinking refers to the process of indirect and general reflection of objective reality by using concepts, judgments, reasoning and other thinking modes in cognitive activities. In ancient times, the complex and variable climatic conditions, diverse landforms and the relatively rich species of animals and plants derived from them in the East Asian monsoon region provided relatively rich objects that can be observed for the Chinese ancestors. Therefore, the ancient Chinese focused on observing objects and capturing images, grasping abstract meanings from specific image symbols, and reflecting objective objects vividly. This philosophical concept led to the formation of concrete thinking in China, and Chinese characters were created in pictographic ways. Furthermore, Chinese characters have their specific meanings and origins, achieving the unity of sound, form, and meaning, and embodying the concrete thinking. On the country, in ancient Western society, people lived in coastal areas, and the surrounding areas were relatively scarce in natural resources, which made it impossible to support the development of human society by agriculture. Under this environment, Westerners developed abstract thinking and were also greatly affected by the geographical environment in the process of transmitting information. Therefore, the Phoenicians invented letters, and these letters www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 175 are the embodiment of Western abstract thinking. Chinese features concrete thinking while English is characterized by abstract thinking. Therefore, concrete nouns and verbs are used in Chinese while abstract nouns and prepositions are used in English when translating. 4.3 Synthetic Thinking in Chinese VS. Analytic Thinking in English Synthetic thinking regards externally objective things as an organic wholeness with multiple elements interconnected and interacted. And taking the whole of related things as the premise and starting point of understanding, it analyzes the whole of things to achieve a grasp of the whole of things. Analytical thinking is to decompose and inspect various attributes, parts or aspects of things to understand the essence and laws of things. And it refers to the way of thinking that has been carefully studied and analyzed step by step, and finally reached a clear conclusion. Lao-Tzu said that the law of human existence is subject to the running law of the earth, which follows the running law of heaven, which is subject to the law of Tao, while which follows its own laws and is regulated by its own state of existence. Therefore, man and nature are interlinked in essence, and the whole world is a harmonious and unified whole. China advocates benevolence and holds that people should respect and conform to nature and live harmoniously with nature. Under the influence of the philosophical thought, Chinese people focus on grasping the organic connection from the whole, forming a synthetic thinking. However, English-speakers emphasize the individual and duality. What�s more, they advocate that humans should conquer nature and divide the world into parts. Under the influence of this philosophical thought, Westerners have gradually formed an analytical thinking. Chinese is characterized by synthetic thinking while English features analytical thinking. Therefore, Chinese emphasizes parataxis and its structure is relatively loose, that means the combination among components of a sentence or the combination among sentences depends on semantic coherence. Besides, less connectives are used and most of the parts that the author wants to highlight are at the end of a sentence in Chinese. English emphasizes hypotaxis and its structure is more compact, so appropriate connectives are often used to express the structural relationship between the various components of a sentence, and most of the parts that the author wants to highlight are at the front of a sentence in English. 4.4 Spiral Thinking in Chinese VS. Linear Thinking in English The development of things is not linear but wavy and spiral and the helicity of the existence and development of things determines the spirality of cognition. That means spiral thinking is the reflection of the spiral of existence and development of things on people�s thinking mode. As an important way of thinking, it plays an important role in the survival and development of mankind. The so-called spiral thinking, first of all, is undulating thinking, that is, when recognizing a process, you should pay attention to its possible fluctuations and grasp the positions of its high and low points and the timing of their mutual transformation; secondly, it is partial thinking, that is, when understanding a process, it is necessary to pay attention to the possible deviation from the center, and www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 176 grasp the position, size and symmetry of the deviation; the third is similarity and expansibility, that is, it seems to repeat between different cycles, but it has the characteristics of development. Linear thinking refers to a one-dimensional and directional thinking mode with limited vision, narrow thinking and lack of dialectical, but it is also considered as a thinking mode that reaches the deepest level of the content of things with the most concise thinking process and the shortest thinking distance. China has always respected the doctrine of the mean, which was put forward by Confucius and Mencius. During the Warring States Period, Kong Ji (Zi Zisi, the grandson of Confucius) further developed his grandfather�s thought of �the mean. The concept is raised from the methodology of doing things according to different circumstances and taking the appropriate approach to the height of the world view. When the joy, anger, sorrow, are not expressed, it is called �medium; when it is expressed, it is called �harmony. Harmony�is the principle that everyone follows. When you reach the state of �neutralization, the world will be in its place, and everything will grow and multiply. He believes that "medium" and "harmony" are the most fundamental and universal laws in the universe. Following them and allowing things to develop harmoniously will enable the world and all things to get their place and prosper. Therefore, under the influence of this kind of thinking, the Chinese people express more implicitly and indirectly, and their thinking activities are spiral. While Westerners are influenced by Christianity and believe that God is omnipotent and unique, and nothing can surpass him. Therefore, Westerners�thinking is dualistic. They believe that things are absolute, and there are only two sides: absolutely good and absolutely bad. Under the influence of this thinking, English-speakers express more directly, and their thinking activities are linear. Because the traits of Chinese are spiral thinking while English linear thinking, when there are both narrative and stance parts in a sentence, English usually expresses the position first and the narration follows, while Chinese narrates first and the expression comes after. Secondly, when expressing, Westerners generally state the results first, and then the reasons, while Chinese people generally first explain the reasons and then the results. Finally, Westerners like to state important information first, and then explain the time, place, and other secondary information of the incident while Chinese like to state the time and place of the incident and other secondary information first, and then explain the important information. 5. Case Study of Translation of The Great Gatsby Based on the Application of Chinese Thinking Mode The novella "The Great Gatsby," as the representative work of American writer Fitzgerald, established his position as a spokesperson for the "Jazz Age" and a representative writer of the "lost generation" in the 1920s. The Great Gatsby narrated that Nick, a bank clerk, left his hometown and came to New York and Gatsby's luxurious life and mysterious personal background aroused his curiosity. It turned out that this wealthy businessman who was born in poverty fell in love with her lady Daisy, but the outbreak of the www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 177 World War broke up the lovers. Subsequently, Gatsby returned from the battlefield with meritorious service, but what was waiting for him was the news that his sweetheart had married someone else. Heartbroken, he became a rich man by any means, spending money like dirt, and playing flute all night, in order to attract Daisy's attention and redeem the lost love. Nick was impressed by Gatsby's infatuation and acted as a go-between. But he didn�t know that Daisy is no longer what she used to be, but a face of gold worship. She just took her affair with Gatsby as a stimulus. Nick finally noticed that, but it was too late. Once Daisy drove her husband's mistress to death while she was upset and Gatsby took the responsibility of driving to protect Daisy, but Daisy has made up her mind to abandon Gatsby. Then Daisy's husband Tom provoked her mistress's husband to shoot Gatsby and he eventually became a victim. Gatsby's tragedy is that he dedicated everything to his beautiful dreams, while Daisy, as the incarnation of his ideal, only has a beautiful body. Although Gatsby knew that Daisy had already shifted her love to another person and clearly heard that "her voice is full of money", he still did not change his original intention and stubbornly wanted to be with Daisy again. People held a funeral for Gatsby, but Daisy and her husband had already traveled in Europe. The love is finally over. And Nick, who has witnessed the fickleness in the world, also left the noisy, indifferent, empty, and false New York and returned to his hometown sadly. There are many translators who have translated The Great Gatsby, but the time-tested versions include those translated by Wu Ningkun, Yao Naiqiang, Qiao Zhigao and Deng Ruoxu. However, the earliest translation in mainland China was translated by Wu Ningkun. The author analyzes the translation of The Great Gatsby translated by Wu Ningkun on the basis of the differences between Chinese and English thinking. Wu (1920.9-2019.8), a native of Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, studied at Southwest Associated University and later went to the United States to study for a PhD. After returning to China, he served as a professor of English and American literature at Yenching University and the School of International Relations. As a translator, Wu Ningkun has translated "The Great Gatsby" and "The Story of Bethune" and other works, as well as novels and poems of famous British and American artists such as Salman Rushdie, Henry James, and Dylan Thomas. In addition, Wu Ningkun also wrote memoirs "A Drop of Tears" and a collection of essays "The Lonely Piano" in his later years. "Don't walk gently into that good night", "Death will not be defeated" and other classic phrases can be regarded as the models of Chinese translation. 5.1 Application of Subjective Thinking in the Translation of The Great Gatsby In the fourth chapter, it is discussed that due to various reasons, Chinese features subjective thinking, so when translating sentences, Chinese will naturally use nouns or personal pronouns representing people's concepts as subjects, while English will use things as subjects. Secondly, the active voice is mostly used in Chinese, people are generally the performers of actions, and the passive voice is mostly used in English. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 178 Based on the above discussion, this section discusses the influence of subjective thinking on the translation of The Great Gatsby. Examples: It had occurred to me that this shadow of a garage must be a blind and that sumptuous and romantic apartments were concealed overhead when the proprietor himself appeared in the door of an office, wiping his hands on a piece of waste. (Fitzgerald 21) 我忽然想到，这间有名无实的车行莫不是个幌子，而楼上却掩藏着豪华温馨的房间，这时老板出 现在一间办公室门口，不停地在一块抹布上擦着手。（巫 22) In the original text, the author uses “it” as the formal subject, and the real subject is the subject clause guided by that, while in the translation, the author uses "我" as the subject, which shows that English is more objective, while Chinese is generally human-centered and subjective. ‘My memory goes back to when I first met him, ’he said.’ A young major just out of the army and covered over with medals he got in the war.(Fitzgerald 150) “我还记得我第一次见到他的情景，”他说，“刚刚离开军队的一名年轻的少校，胸口挂满了在战 场上赢得的勋章。”（巫 143) In the original text, the author uses “memory” as the subject, while the translator uses the first person “我 ” as the subject, which shows the subjective thinking in Chinese and the objective thinking in English. There was so much to read for one thing and so much fine health to be pulled down out of the young breath-giving air. (Fitzgerald 4) 有那么多书要读，这是一点，同时从清新宜人的空气中也有那么多营养要汲取。（巫 5) In the original text, the author uses the passive voice to show an objective fact, which shows that the way of thinking of native English speakers is more objective and rational. While in the translation, the author uses the active voice, which shows that when translating English novels, the Orientals generally tend to start from the human point of view, highlighting the subjective role of human beings. And if the passive voice is used when translating this sentence, for one thing, it will cause the translation to be obscure and difficult to understand, for another, it does not in line with the Chinese way of speaking. The front was broken by a line of French windows, glowing now with reflected gold, and wide open to the warm windy afternoon, and Tom Buchanan in riding clothes was standing with his legs apart on the front porch. (Fitzgerald 6) 房子正面有一溜法国式的落地长窗，此刻在夕照中金光闪闪，迎着午后的暖风敞开着。汤姆·布 坎农身穿骑装，两腿叉开，站在前门阳台上。（巫 7) In the original text, the author uses “was broken”, the passive voice to describe the scene of the room, reflecting its objectivity, while the translation uses the active voice to make the translation more authentic. From the above discussion, it can be seen that when translating English novels, Chinese is more subjective, tending to start from people's subjective feelings, taking people as the center, and generally www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 179 using the active voice. 5.2 Application of Concrete Thinking in the Translation of The Great Gatsby The core of concrete thinking is to express conceptual things in special cases or similar things, which is a process from general to special. From the perspective of concrete thinking, the objective world is composed of individual entities, which is the essence. Any abstract concept is a generalization of these entities, not real existence, but those entities that really exist. Abstract thinking is the cognition of the hierarchical connections between things. And it is believed that objective things have hierarchical connections, and higher-level elements reveal the essence of lower-level elements, which is a more general manifestation. In the previous chapter, we discussed that due to different geographical environment, culture and other factors, Chinese features concrete thinking, while English features abstract thinking. Therefore, when translating English novels, concrete nouns and verbs are used in Chinese, while abstract nouns and prepositions are used in English. Examples: It was a matter of chance that I should have rented a house in one of the strangest communities in North America. (Fitzgerald 4) 纯粹出于偶然，我租的这所房子在北美最离奇的一个村镇。（巫 6） In this sentence, the translator translates the abstract noun “chance” as“出于偶然 ,” the concrete and objective fact , which reflects the concrete thinking in Chinese and the abstract thinking in English. I looked back at my cousin who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. (Fitzgerald 8) 我掉过头去看我的表妹，她开始用她那低低的、令人激动的声音向我提问题。(巫 9) In this sentence, the translator translates the preposition “in” into the verb “用，”showing that verbs are used in Chinese while prepositions are frequently used in English. ‘whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’ (Fitzgerald 1) “每逢你想要批评任何人的时候，”他对我说，“你就记住，这个世界上所有的人并不是个个都有 过你那些优越条件。”（巫 3） In this sentence, the translator translates the abstract noun “advantages” into “优越条件,”which shows that Chinese likes to obtain the essence of things by analyzing specific things when translating the English novel. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it—indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. (Fitzgerald 8) 如果她从眼角中看到了我，她可毫无表示——其实我倒吃了一惊，差一点要张口向她道歉，因为 我进来惊动了她。（巫 9） In this sentence, the translator translates the abstract noun “apology” as“向她道歉 , ”indicating that dynamic verbs are often used in Chinese to express the specific state of an individual, reflecting the Concrete thinking of Chinese. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 180 From the above discussion, we can see that when translating English novels, Chinese thinking is more concrete, and more concrete nouns and verbs are usually used. Therefore, in order to make the translation more authentic, we should pay more attention to the translation of abstract nouns and static verbs in English. 5.3 Application of Synthetic Thinking in the Translation of The Great Gatsby China�s values with Confucianism as the core emphasize the interconnection and overall function of things, pursue the harmonious unity of man and nature, and put collective interests above personal interests. Western philosophy emphasizes the individual and believes that man must conquer nature. Therefore, As mentioned in the previous chapter, Chinese features comprehensive thinking while English features analytical thinking. So Chinese attaches importance to parataxis, and its structure is relatively loose, that means the combination among components of a sentence or the combination among sentences depends on semantic coherence. Besides, connectives are rarely used and most of the parts that the author wants to highlight are at the end of a sentence in Chinese. While English emphasizes hypotaxis and its structure is more compact, so appropriate connectives are often used to express the structural relationship between the various components of a sentence, and most of the parts that the author wants to highlight are at the front of a sentence in English. Examples: She laughed again, as if she said something very witty, and held my hand for a moment, looking up into my face, promising that there was no one in the world she so much wanted to see. (Fitzgerald 8) 她又笑了一次，好像她说了一句非常俏皮的话，接着就拉住我的手，仰起脸看着我，表示世界上 没有第二个人她更高兴见到的了。（巫 9） In this sentence, the author uses the conjunction “and” and two participles “looking” and “promising” to express the relationship between sentences, which is relatively compact in structure, while the translator relies on semantic connectivity to integrate the various components, which is relatively loose in structure. “It�ll show you how I�ve gotten to feel about�things. Well, she was less than an hour old and Tom was God knows where. I woke up out of the ether with an utterly abandoned feeling and asked the nurse right away if it was a boy or a girl. She told me it was a girl, and so I turned my head away and wept. ‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’” (Fitzgerald 15) “你听了就会明白我为什么会这样看待——一切事物。她出世还不到一个钟头，汤姆就天晓得跑 到哪里去了。我从乙醚麻醉中醒过来，有一种孤苦伶仃的感觉，马上问护士是男孩还是女孩。她 告诉我是个女孩，我就转过脸哭了起来。‘好吧，’我说，‘我很高兴是个女孩。而且我希望她将来 是个傻瓜——这就是女孩子在这种世界上最好的出路，当一个美丽的小傻瓜。’”（巫 16） In this paragraph, the author of the original text uses connectives “and” and “so” to connect sentences. These connectives show the relationship between sentences, which are structured and advanced layer www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 181 by layer, indicating that English is hypotactic. However, the translation seldom uses connectives, which means that Chinese is paratactic. And if the connectives are translated forcibly, the translation will be blunt and idiomatic. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women ballooned slowly to the floor. (Fitzgerald 7) 忽然怦然一声，汤姆·布坎农关上了后面的落地窗，室内的余风才渐渐平息，窗帘、地毯和两位 少妇也都慢慢地降落地面。（巫 9） In this sentence, the author of the original text uses the conjunction “then,” “and,” “as” to show the relationship between sentences, while the translator relies on semantic coherence to connect sentences, which shows the synthetic thinking of Chinese and the analytical thinking of English. From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Chinese features synthetic thinking, so we should pay attention to the translation of English conjunctives and the differences of the expression of emphasis in sentences when translating English novels. 5.4 Application of Spiral Thinking in the Translation of The Great Gatsby Chinese people express implicitly and indirectly, and their thinking activities are spiral, while English-speakers express directly, and their thinking activities are linear. Therefore, As mentioned in the previous chapter, when there are both narrative and stance parts in a sentence, English usually expresses the position first and the narration follows, while Chinese narrates first and the expression comes after. Secondly, when expressing, Westerners generally state the results first, and then the reasons, while Chinese people generally first explain the reasons and then the results. Finally, Westerners like to state important information first, and then explain the time, place, and other secondary information of the incident while Chinese like to state the time and place of the incident and other secondary information first, and then explain the important information. Examples: His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy�s white face came up to his own. (Fitzgerald 97) 当黛西洁白的脸贴近他自己的脸时，他的心越跳越快。（巫 93） In this sentence, the original author first explains the result that his heart beat faster and faster, and then States the reasons for this result, while the translator first states the reasons for his heart beat faster, and then explains the results, which shows that Chinese features spiral thinking and the general results will be expressed at the end. This absorbing information about my neighbor was interrupted by Mrs. McKee�s pointing suddenly at Catherine. (Fitzgerald 29) 关于我邻居的这段引人入胜的报道，由于麦基太太突然伸手指着凯瑟琳而被打断了。（巫 29） In this sentence, the original author first states the result of the interruption of this report, and the translator first states the reason for the interruption of this report, indicating that the Chinese first explains the reason and then explains the result. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 182 For some time confused and intriguing sounds had issued from a long many-windowed room which overhung the terrace. (Fitzgerald 45) 有好一会儿，从阳台上面一间长长的、有许多窗户的房间里传来了一阵阵杂乱而引人入胜的声音。 （巫 43） In this sentence, the original author states the important information first, then explain the place and other secondary information, while the translator explains the important information in the end. From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Chinese features spiral thinking, which tends to show the reasons first, then the results, and what the general author wants to emphasize will be placed at the back of the sentences. Therefore, when translating English novels, attention should be paid to the structural order of sentences. 6. Conclusion On the surface, translation is to transform one language into another on the basis of accuracy and fluency. But in essence, it is the transformation of thinking mode or the two ideological tendencies. Thinking, that is, the reflection process of the human brain to the objective reality, is a unique spiritual activity of human beings arising from social practice. For one thing, Language and thinking influence each other, and language is the main tool and result of thinking. For another, thinking is the foundation of language, and language depends on thinking to have better content and expression. Different cultures, historical backgrounds and customs lead to different ways of thinking. Under the influence of their different ideological tendencies, the Chinese pay attention to synthetic and concrete thinking, and are used to everything from the whole to the specific or partial, from large to small-first consider comprehensively, then narrow the thinking and consider the specific details; the English-speakers focus on analysis and abstract thinking, and get used to thinking from concrete or part to whole, which is a line-like way of thinking from point to line. When expressing ideas, native English speakers pay attention to linear thinking, which is straightforward, while Chinese people focus on spiral thinking and are accustomed to explaining and expounding the external environment from the side, and finally point out the central message of the discourse. At the same time, Chinese features subjective thinking, people-oriented, and tends to start from people's subjective feelings, while English is characterized by objective thinking, paying more attention to logic, and the sentence structure is more compact. The different ways of thinking between the East and the West lead to differences in language. When Chinese people talk about a problem, there is always a development process from related information to topic, from secondary to primary and from background to task. However, The English-speakers are used to talking or writing articles straight to the point, putting the topic at the forefront to attract the attention of listeners or readers. Besides, they are also used to "effect" in the front and "cause" in the back, which contrasts sharply with the "cause" and "effect" in Chinese culture. www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 183 Understanding Chinese thinking helps to avoid the obscurity of the translation and makes the translation closer to the original. Therefore, when translating English novels, we must pay attention to fostering the thinking mode of native English speakers and changing the thinking mode frequently, so that the translation conforms to the grammar and customary expression of the target language, thus accurately expressing what the original author wants to express. References Fitzgerald, F. S. (2013). The Great Gatsby. Shenyang: Liaoning People�s Publishing House, China. Geng, Y. L. (2018). 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Linguistics Embodiment of the Difference in Chinese and English Thinking Patterns and Chinese - English Translation. Sichuan Normal University. Kong, N. (2009). The Difference between Chinese and English Thinking Styles and Their Impact on www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eltls English Language Teaching and Linguistics Studies Vol. 6, No. 4, 2024 Published by SCHOLINK INC. 184 Language Expression. Shandong University. Qian, Z. Y. (2012). A study on the Translation of Wu Ningkun's The Great Gatsby from the perspective of Functional Equivalence. Nanjing Agricultural University. Wu, A. H. (2008). Syntactic Errors in Chinese- English Technology Translation from the perspective of Differences in Chinese-English Thinking. Northwest Normal University. Wu, N. K. (2011). The Great Gatsby. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House. 1. Introduction 2. Literature Review 4.1 Subjective Thinking in Chinese VS. Objective T 4.2 Concrete Thinking in Chinese VS. Abstract Thin 4.3 Synthetic Thinking in Chinese VS. Analytic Thi 4.4 Spiral Thinking in Chinese VS. Linear Thinking 5.1 Application of Subjective Thinking in the Tran 5.2 Application of Concrete Thinking in the Transl 5.3 Application of Synthetic Thinking in the Trans