【正文】 original cultural for reference. Lyell has taken into consideration the needs of readers and made detailed explanation in the translation. Lyell’s translation shows out the cultural background knowledge in Chinese tradition .He shakes off the language’s trammels and expresses the deep meaning.In the feudal society of China, there were strict rules for the contacts between male and female. It is mentioned in the forth chapter in The True Story of Ah Q:“啊Q本來(lái)也是正人，我們雖然不知道他蒙什么明師指授，但他對(duì)于‘男女之大防’卻也歷來(lái)非常嚴(yán)?！盬hat are the great barriers between men and women? If you ask a Chinese, he/she may soon think of a man and a woman should touch hands when giving or receiving things. But to the mon English readers, it is a mystery. By studying Chinese culture, Lyell introduced the traditional modes of thought to the readers.Footnote:Now our Ah Q started out as an upright man too. Though we don39。t know this was because he had been shown the way by some enlightened teacher, we do know that he rigorously observed the great barriers that should take more attention on it. (William A. Lyell) Footnote: According to the puritanical ethics of traditional Confucian morality, any contact between an unrelated man and woman was potentially, if not actually, immoral. A populous proverb decreed that a man and woman, unless related, should not touch hands when giving or receiving things (男女授受不親). (Lyell) The explanation made by Lyell is helpful for the understanding of western readers. The introduction of that background knowledge of Chinese culture surely will be favorable to get a deeper understanding. While translating texts in the native language, translators often take for granted that foreign readers should have the same general knowledge. As a result the necessity for noting is neglected.Lots of traditional Chinese modes of thoughts are about family. There is a typical instance in The Story of the Stone. Wang Xifeng said: ...竟不象老祖宗的外孫女，竟是嫡親的孫女似的。 In China, it is generally accepted that the ties of blood between the mother and her son39。s children is closer than those with her daughter39。s. Wang meant that Daiyu was fine in temperament. Yang Hsienyi and Gladys Yang, who are familiar with the Chinese tradition, translated it as: She doesn 39。t take after her father, soninlaw of our old Ancestress, but looks more like a Jia.[14] The translation revealed precisely the ulterior motive of Wang, to pliment Daiyu in order to win Grannie39。s favor. Thus, the traditional consciousness of feudal family was loyally transferred. The influence of knowledge of customs on translationSome general knowledge of the customs of the original culture will be good for our translation undertaking. Different languages have different history, cultural backgrounds and social situation. It is impossible for the readers to know all the details of a foreign works, especially those of social customs and way of life. The True Story of Ah Q is a novel full of national characteristics with many traditional Chinese customs.In the third chapter of the story, when Ah Q met the fake foreign devil, whom he hated most, Luxun wrote: 不料這禿兒卻拿了一支黃漆的棒子—就是啊Q所謂的哭喪棒大踏步走了過(guò)來(lái) People familiar with traditional Chinese culture should know that, in the past, son should have a filial stick on his hand while attending his parent39。 s funeral to show that he was overwhelmed with grief. （注：哭喪棒：舊時(shí)在為父母發(fā)喪時(shí)，孝子須手扶一根‘孝棒’以表示悲痛難支) Ah Q hated the fake foreign devil, so he cursed his stick to be 哭喪棒. Four translations of The True Story of Ah Q have four different ways to translate.the stick of wailsGeorge Kin Leungthe funeral stickChiChan Wang a staff carried by a mourner[15] Yang HsienGladys Yang a wailing stickLyell There are defects in all the 4 translations. Those of Leung and Lyell are similar to each other, but both of them did not translated the meaning of funeral。 the translation of Wang is in lack of the meaning of wailing。 Yang explained the use of 哭喪棒, but they did not point out why it39。s used. What39。s more, the translation of Yang is not proper also because哭喪棒 was generally used by a son, not by a mon mourner. However, with the help of Lyell39。s footnote, foreign readers can get a clear concept of 哭喪棒：Young foreign gentlemen of the time often carried canes and young Chinese who have studied abroad often emulate them even after returning home. The wailing stick(哭喪棒) had been traditionally carried by filial sons in funeral processions。 The idea it represented was that the son was so overwhelmed with grief that he would have been otherwise unable to walk. Lyell explained the Chinese tradition and at the same time pointed out the social background of the story. Meanwhile, he pared the situation in China with that in the western countries and pointed out that 哭喪棒 is like canes that carried by the foreign gentlemen.In the description of Ah Q39。s behavior on the execution ground (the 9 chapter), it is written:“‘過(guò)了二十年又是一……’阿Q在百忙之中，‘無(wú)師自通’地說(shuō)出從來(lái)不說(shuō)的話?！盕ootnotes of the three translations are as follows:Footnote: Common formula of defiance used by desperadoes on their way to the execution ground and signifying a sure return, in another incarnation, to carry on what they left off.( ChiChan Wang) In another twenty years I shall be another stout young fellow.” was a phrase often used by criminals, before execution, to show their scorn of death.(Leung)Footnote: To show contempt for authority and indifference to death, condemned criminals would shout just before execution. Twenty years from now, I39。ll e back as big and bad as ever. The idea, based on the Buddhist doctrine of rebirth, was that the criminal39。s spirit would enter a fetus ledged inside a pregnant mother39。s womb at the moment of his death.(Lyell)The original of what Ah Q said on the execution ground is explained in all the three footnotes. It will help the readers to overe the inconvenience caused by cultural gap and to get a de