In a translational context, soft conflicts often derive from cultural differences in value systems, social conventions and ways of thinking. If the target culture is dominant, then the translator will have to handle the target text carefully to minimise potential problems of miscomprehension, cultural discomfort or resistance on the part of the receiver. Notwithstanding the fact that the source text may appear to be purpose-free, the translating act and target text are purpose-bound, and any translation must fulfill specific functions. Cultural discomfort, uneasiness or misunderstandings and unnecessary hatred or enmity are to be minimized in the target version.

In most cases translators who work from Chinese to English normally attempt to bridge or eliminate soft conflicts, but in contrast their peers who perform English-Chinese translations tend to maintain soft conflicts for Chinese culture to digest. I wish to discuss the challenges, possibilities and opportunities of the removal of soft conflicts, and consequently the present section will only deal with Chinese-English translations.

In 2002 I was asked by a friend to translate her application form for immigration to Canada. She hoped to join her husband there, who had been a Canadian citizen for several years by that time. The problem was that their case bore little resemblance to the Western concept of marriage for love's sake, if the translation was 'faithful*, as required. I would like to cite a 'truthful' presentation of her answers to some of the questions on the form:

Q1:Did anyone introduce you to your sponsor? Describe the circumstances of this introduction.

A1:She was an old friend of our parents, and had been their colleague for more than 30 years. She knew the two families very well so that she introduced my husband in person to me with our parents' permission

Q2: Was there a formal engagement ceremony?

A2: China has no tradition that requires a formal engagement ceremony. When our parents learned of our mariage plan, they arranged a gathering of the two families on September 22 (photos are enclosed).But we did celebrate our engagement and went out with his pareats on October 222 tos are encoaeade whe my husand flew in from Canada in October.

Q3: Was there a traditional/customary marriage ceremony?

A3: Since my husband was too busy and only had two weeks for holiday, we did not have enough time to prepare for a traditional mariage ceremony,which should be held both at my husband's hometown-Tai'an, Shandong Province, and at my hometown-Shanghai. Besides, my husband's brother, who lives in Singapore, and my sister, who lives in Australia, wish to attend our wedding ceremony.Therefore, we decided to withhold the ceremony until September, next year, since our brother and sister will be able to come back then, and my husband will get a long holiday at that time.

Q4: Did you and your sponsor live together?

A4: We took our marriage certificate on November 1",2002 to become a lawful married couple. But because my husband had to go back to Canada on November 3d, we didn't have much time to live together. But we do wish to be together again as soon as Possible.

The details she was asked to provide gave the impression that they had only been together for a very short period of time before they got married, and the marriage was the result of mutual approval on the part of her and her husband's parents. Though this marriage may be understood by an immigration officer as a marriage of convenience, the case is anything but a rarity for a young Chinese person.

Lin Yutang (2000: 173), a famous writer of the 1920s, wrote about the traditional Chinese view of marriage as follows:

It [The traditional sense of family honour in China] takes the right of contracting marriage from our hands and gives it to those of our parents; it makes us marry, not wives but 'daughters-in-law,'and it makes our wives give birth, not to children but to 'grandchildren'.

A marriage in China is not a matter concerning just two people: it also involves both families. Chinese young people have had the final say about marriage since 1949, but to marry against their parents' will is still regarded by the majority of the population as unblessed and unnatural. This fact simply reflects what is considered natural and acceptable in a culture where the word love had been almost always replaced by like until a little more than two decades ago. Those born since the 1980s react differently to the word, and are no longer too shy or conservative to avoid its usage. But there are many who stick to tradition and shrink from explicit expressions of love. My friend does love her husband, despite the fact that they haven't known each other for long, nor have been together long enough in the eyes of Westerners, and she believes that the permission and support of their parents legitimises their love. Parental opinion regarding marriage is highly regarded, as both wise and reliable, taking into account character, disposition, and background.

Given the difference between the Western and Chinese views about love and marriage, I realised that there would be much less chance of her fulfilling her dream of a reunion with her husband if the translation was performed 'faithfully'. So I explained the situation to her, discussing the conflicts in values and ideas between the two cultures, and I rewrote her answers according to Western style. This was the final version: