Abstract: Swear words, which occupy a considerable proportion in literary works, are worth to be studied by academia. This paper compares the translation strategies of the swear words in two English versions of Dream of the Red Mansions from the perspective of the "going out" strategy of Chinese culture and with the theory of adaptation. The author finds out that the choice of translation strategies will influence foreign literature exchange. In general, the higher translator awareness results in more highly normative translation activities and the more appropriate choice of translation strategies. That means we should adopt different translation strategies in different situations given the advantages and disadvantages of domestication and foreignization. When China's cultural soft power is comparatively weak,we can use domestication strategy to attract the western readers whose culture has greater influence on others. When China's cultural soft power grows stronger, we need to employ foreignization strategy supplemented by domestication strategy in translation to promote the output and exchange of Chinese culture.

Key words: Chinese culture “Going Out” strategy, Dream of the Red Chamber, swear words, translation strategies, the theory of adaptation