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Almost all languages consist of plenty of idioms.They are the wisdom of human beings.Idioms are peculiar and fixed conventionalized multiword expressions in a language.In 1925，Smith gave the definition of idioms as，“We use ‘idioms’ for those forms of expression，of grammatical construction，or of phrasing，which are peculiar to a language，and approved by its usage，although the meanings they convey are often different from their grammatical or logical signification.”（Smith 1925）
Idioms are the gems of languages，and they best mirror a national characteristics and cultural connotation.Language is the most important part of culture and it is the carrier of culture.Therefore it is necessary to know language and culture first when we do research on idioms.A translation must give the words of the original.A translation must give the ideas of the original.A translation should read like an original work.
In China，the most typical writer of foreignizing translation was Lu Xun who completed many translation works according to this strategy.“A translation should preserve the exotic color of the target text，which we call the foreign flavor.There is no 100 percent domesticated translation in the world.If there is this kind of translation，it is not faithful and far away from the target text which is not translation at all.”
Foreignizing translation is source-oriented.That is to say，most of a translator’s efforts are centered on linguistic and cultural peculiarities of a source text.
First of all，a translator who privileges foreignizing translation can make target-language readers travel abroad.For Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere，the most important function of translation is to create images in another culture.Foreignizing translation is able to preserve foreign flavors of a source text.
Secondly，foreignizing translation plays an important part in building and developing languages.All human languages have been undergoing a great number of changes from the ancient times up to now，which is also a process of perfecting of languages.“The translator should act not as a guardian but as a host（ess），welcoming new words with open arms，neologisms representing as they do new blood for the language （on condition，however，that it is not ‘contaminated’ blood）.”（Tosi，2003）Unsurprisingly，foreignizing translation is one of the best strategies to the development of languages.Accordingly，Chinese language is enriched by means of translation，borrowing many new words，such as，沙发（sofa），沙龙（salon），幽默（humor），and such phrases as，救人一命胜造七级浮屠（to save a man’s life is as good as building a seven-story pagoda），菩萨心肠（as kind as a Bodhisattva），丈二金刚摸不着头脑（as dumfounded as Buddha’s warrior attendants），to name just a few. Thirdly，as Lawrence Venuti mentioned，“But foreignizing translation is also an attempt to recognize and allow those differences to shape cultural discourses in the target language.”（2004）Each nation，small or big，strong or weak，has equal rights to participate in international affairs.Thus，cultural exchanges should be fair and square.Foreignizing translation is one of powerful tools to fulfill and justify these demands.
In this paper，literal translation is divided into three ways： complete-literal translation，literal and paraphrasing translation and literal and annotating translation.
Complete-literal translation
Complete-literal translation isn’t equal to word-to-word translation.It refers to translating idioms according to their literal forms.Complete-literal translation is in favor of keeping the original form and foreign flavor of the source language.Some idioms in Chinese are quite similar to English idioms.They almost correspond to each other both in form and in meaning.For these idioms，complete-literal translation is most appropriate.Examples
隔墙有耳——Walls have ears；浑水摸鱼 ——to fish in troubled water；欲速则不达 ——More haste，less speed.
Some idioms don’t have corresponding ones in target language.Literal translation can retain their original images as well as the foreign expressions so as to enrich the target language.Example
男男女女都七嘴八舌的说出他们的惦记和盼念。（The Hurricane）——With seven mouths and eight tongues，all were talking together.They tried to tell Hsiao how they had missed him.（ Zhang Peiji，1979）
He laughs best who laughs last.——谁笑在最后，谁笑得最好。
到什么山唱什么歌。——Sing different songs on different mountains.
Literal translation plus paraphrasing
Some idioms are hard to understand or to get the meaning if the reader is not familiar with the culture in the source language.Therefore，in foreignization translation，it must give some explanations after the literal translation.
Example
“三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮”，这就是说群众有伟大的创造力。——The old saying，“Three cobblers with their wits combined would equal Chukeh liang，the master mind，simply means that the masses have great creative power.
Paint the lily （to embellish excessively，to add ornament where none is needed）——给百合镀金（锦上添花，画蛇添足）
Literal translation plus annotating
Some idioms come from literary quotations，historical events or fables.They are often simple in form，but rich in meaning.Annotation can be given when we translate them. Example
司马昭之心，路人皆知。——This Sima Zhao trick is obvious to every man in the street.（Sima Zhao was prime minister of Wei who nursed a secret ambition to usurp the throne.The emperor once remarked，“Sima Zhao’s intention is obvious to every man in the street”.
穷棒子闹翻身，是八仙过海，各显其能——（The Hurricane）——The way we poor folks try to emancipate ourselves，is just like the way The Eight Fairies crossed the sea each displaying his own talent---.（The Eight Fairies refers to“the eight immortals of Taoism in Chinese folklore”.）
Though it is inconvenient to give annotation when we translate these idioms，it’s worth doing.It can introduce the cultural background of the source language in translation.With the increasingly using of annotation，people will be familiar with their cultural background and the annotation can be removed.
Idioms are often rich in cultural factors.Moreover，few idioms in one culture can coordinate to idioms in another culture.There are always some differences between them.They may differ in connotation meaning，in emotional color，in literary quotation，in religious background，and so on.Therefore，this paper advocates foreignization strategy，which aims primarily at reproducing as much as possible the foreignness in the original，including the foreign cultural features and the foreign formal features.Foreignization will also benefit the development of the target language and accelerate the communication among nations.
Idioms are the gems of languages，and they best mirror a national characteristics and cultural connotation.Language is the most important part of culture and it is the carrier of culture.Therefore it is necessary to know language and culture first when we do research on idioms.A translation must give the words of the original.A translation must give the ideas of the original.A translation should read like an original work.
In China，the most typical writer of foreignizing translation was Lu Xun who completed many translation works according to this strategy.“A translation should preserve the exotic color of the target text，which we call the foreign flavor.There is no 100 percent domesticated translation in the world.If there is this kind of translation，it is not faithful and far away from the target text which is not translation at all.”
Foreignizing translation is source-oriented.That is to say，most of a translator’s efforts are centered on linguistic and cultural peculiarities of a source text.
First of all，a translator who privileges foreignizing translation can make target-language readers travel abroad.For Susan Bassnett and Andre Lefevere，the most important function of translation is to create images in another culture.Foreignizing translation is able to preserve foreign flavors of a source text.
Secondly，foreignizing translation plays an important part in building and developing languages.All human languages have been undergoing a great number of changes from the ancient times up to now，which is also a process of perfecting of languages.“The translator should act not as a guardian but as a host（ess），welcoming new words with open arms，neologisms representing as they do new blood for the language （on condition，however，that it is not ‘contaminated’ blood）.”（Tosi，2003）Unsurprisingly，foreignizing translation is one of the best strategies to the development of languages.Accordingly，Chinese language is enriched by means of translation，borrowing many new words，such as，沙发（sofa），沙龙（salon），幽默（humor），and such phrases as，救人一命胜造七级浮屠（to save a man’s life is as good as building a seven-story pagoda），菩萨心肠（as kind as a Bodhisattva），丈二金刚摸不着头脑（as dumfounded as Buddha’s warrior attendants），to name just a few. Thirdly，as Lawrence Venuti mentioned，“But foreignizing translation is also an attempt to recognize and allow those differences to shape cultural discourses in the target language.”（2004）Each nation，small or big，strong or weak，has equal rights to participate in international affairs.Thus，cultural exchanges should be fair and square.Foreignizing translation is one of powerful tools to fulfill and justify these demands.
In this paper，literal translation is divided into three ways： complete-literal translation，literal and paraphrasing translation and literal and annotating translation.
Complete-literal translation
Complete-literal translation isn’t equal to word-to-word translation.It refers to translating idioms according to their literal forms.Complete-literal translation is in favor of keeping the original form and foreign flavor of the source language.Some idioms in Chinese are quite similar to English idioms.They almost correspond to each other both in form and in meaning.For these idioms，complete-literal translation is most appropriate.Examples
隔墙有耳——Walls have ears；浑水摸鱼 ——to fish in troubled water；欲速则不达 ——More haste，less speed.
Some idioms don’t have corresponding ones in target language.Literal translation can retain their original images as well as the foreign expressions so as to enrich the target language.Example
男男女女都七嘴八舌的说出他们的惦记和盼念。（The Hurricane）——With seven mouths and eight tongues，all were talking together.They tried to tell Hsiao how they had missed him.（ Zhang Peiji，1979）
He laughs best who laughs last.——谁笑在最后，谁笑得最好。
到什么山唱什么歌。——Sing different songs on different mountains.
Literal translation plus paraphrasing
Some idioms are hard to understand or to get the meaning if the reader is not familiar with the culture in the source language.Therefore，in foreignization translation，it must give some explanations after the literal translation.
Example
“三个臭皮匠，合成一个诸葛亮”，这就是说群众有伟大的创造力。——The old saying，“Three cobblers with their wits combined would equal Chukeh liang，the master mind，simply means that the masses have great creative power.
Paint the lily （to embellish excessively，to add ornament where none is needed）——给百合镀金（锦上添花，画蛇添足）
Literal translation plus annotating
Some idioms come from literary quotations，historical events or fables.They are often simple in form，but rich in meaning.Annotation can be given when we translate them. Example
司马昭之心，路人皆知。——This Sima Zhao trick is obvious to every man in the street.（Sima Zhao was prime minister of Wei who nursed a secret ambition to usurp the throne.The emperor once remarked，“Sima Zhao’s intention is obvious to every man in the street”.
穷棒子闹翻身，是八仙过海，各显其能——（The Hurricane）——The way we poor folks try to emancipate ourselves，is just like the way The Eight Fairies crossed the sea each displaying his own talent---.（The Eight Fairies refers to“the eight immortals of Taoism in Chinese folklore”.）
Though it is inconvenient to give annotation when we translate these idioms，it’s worth doing.It can introduce the cultural background of the source language in translation.With the increasingly using of annotation，people will be familiar with their cultural background and the annotation can be removed.
Idioms are often rich in cultural factors.Moreover，few idioms in one culture can coordinate to idioms in another culture.There are always some differences between them.They may differ in connotation meaning，in emotional color，in literary quotation，in religious background，and so on.Therefore，this paper advocates foreignization strategy，which aims primarily at reproducing as much as possible the foreignness in the original，including the foreign cultural features and the foreign formal features.Foreignization will also benefit the development of the target language and accelerate the communication among nations.