Author(s): Wang Wenjun

Abstract: In recent years, metaphor research on key Chinese political discourses has attracted extensive attention, especially works represented by The Governance of China. The metaphors adopted in such works help highlight national ethos and state governing philosophies. Drawing on Lakoff’s metaphor theory and Venuti’s domestication foreignization translation theory, this study employs Nvivo15 to analyze metaphorical expressions and translation strategies in the source text and its English translation. The findings reveal that the text contains 13 main types of metaphors, and foreignization is the dominant strategy adopted in the English translation, dominated by literal translation and word for word translation. This paper aims to explore how to convey the in depth implications of the source text in cross cultural communication and facilitate the effective international communication of Chinese political discourse.

Keywords: metaphor, domestication and foreignization, national image, international communication oriented translation

Article Info: Received: 04 Aug 2026; Received in revised form: 03 Sep 2026; Accepted: 07 Sep 2026; Available online: 11 Sep 2026

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.115.9