How do these sentences sound to your native ears?
We are trying to improve our command of English by translation exercises. One of us wrote such a sentence and I'm not sure whether it sounds natural:

1. For many people in Chinese world, “The Dream of The Red Chamber” is not only favorable but also seen as an outstanding masterpiece of Chinese literature－even it’s not the only outstanding masterpiece.

First, does it sounds natural to use the word "favorable" to describe a literature work and its popularity? Second, how about changing "even" to "even though"? Do both of them sound okay? Does either of them make more sense?

Besides, is there any problem with the two sentences below:

2.For many in the Chinese world, Dream of the Red Chamber is not just loved, but deemed as a masterpiece of Chinese literature, though not the only masterpiece.

3.For many Chinese people, Dream of the Red Chamber is not only adored by people, but also regarded as a masterpiece of Chinese literature－despite not being the only masterpiece.

Thanks a lot.

Question

How do these sentences sound to your native ears?
We are trying to improve our command of English by translation exercises. One of us wrote such a sentence and I'm not sure whether it sounds natural:

1. For many people in Chinese world, “The Dream of The Red Chamber” is not only favorable but also seen as an outstanding masterpiece of Chinese literature－even it’s not the only outstanding masterpiece.

First, does it sounds natural to use the word "favorable" to describe a literature work and its popularity? Second, how about changing "even" to "even though"? Do both of them sound okay? Does either of them make more sense?

Besides, is there any problem with the two sentences below:

2.For many in the Chinese world, Dream of the Red Chamber is not just loved, but deemed as a masterpiece of Chinese literature, though not the only masterpiece.

3.For many Chinese people, Dream of the Red Chamber is not only adored by people, but also regarded as a masterpiece of Chinese literature－despite not being the only masterpiece.

Thanks a lot.

Answer

Here is a more natural English sentence:

For many people in the Chinese world, “The Dream of The Red Chamber” is not only well liked but is also seen as an outstanding example of Chinese literature.

I dropped the last phrase entirely because no one would ever think that it represented the only masterpiece of Chinese literature.

Answers · 1

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