Abstract: The names of characters in A Dream in Red Mansion，the literary masterpiece are a highlight of the novel. Because the
names of servants often reveal the masters' characters，preferences，living conditions，and even imply the masters' fates，which has
become a major difficulty in translating this novel. From the perspective of multimodal translation theory，this paper analyzes the
translation of the masters and their servant names in the English versions of Yang Xianyi and Gladys B. Tayler，David Hawkes and
John Minford，and then discusses the English translation strategies of names. It points out that when translating a name，it should be
considered four aspects：culture，context，content and expression. If the name has a certain cultural image，transliteration with
annotation，literal translation with annotation and free translation with annotation are ideal translation compensation strategies.

Key words: multimodal translation theory, the names of the masters and their servants in A Dream in Red Mansion, a study on the
English translation