I.IntroductionMost Chinese considerHongloumengas the grea-test work in the Chinese literature,a book that in somesense epitomizes the thousands of years of Chinese cul-ture.It is read and reread as people read and rereadShakespeare.Innumerable researchers devote them-selves to the study of this book and there comes theschool of Red Studies.Since the publication of two full translations of thisbook in the1970’s(The Story ofThe Stonetranslatedby David Hawkes in1973andA Dream ofRed Man-s…Translation is a decision-making process. From the right selection of the text to the publication of the translation, every decision made by the translator is confined by norms. David Hawkes’ selection of Hongloumeng is greatly influenced by the cultural status of ST and the target cultural norms. The inconsistency of text types determines his selection from different versions. Through the study of the preliminary norms beyond David Hawkes’ translation, this paper tends to point out that the translator is the real controller of the translational behaviour. By following the translational norms, the translator can free himself from some constraints. The decisions made to follow or break the norms both reveal the subjectivity of the translator