摘要：The allusion is an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing or to a part of another text. In The Peony Pavilion, Tang Xianzu adopts 323 allusions from the ancient quotations, historical records, scientific works etc, which makes the play precise and vivid with cultural and historical connotation. Proposed by Jef Verschueren, the Adaptation Theory stresses the properties of variability, negotiability and adaptability in language. The translator’s initiative is greatly underlined in Cyril Birch’s English version of The Peony Pavilion in view of the adaptation theory. The translator has to adopt linguistic, structural and cultural adaptability to achieve satisfactory communication effects.
关键词：allusion; adaptation theory; linguistic adaptation; structural adaptation; cultural adaptation
