An Exploration of Reader Reception and Improvement Path Based on the Kano Model: Taking Jin Ping Mei’s English Translations as an Example

The innovation in the mechanism of reading feedback facilitates the transition of readers from allocative audiences to conversational ones. Examining readers’ reviews helps to evaluate the effectiveness of translation dissemination and promotes the optimization of the content, form, and strategies of translation dissemination. The application of Kano model to refine the types of needs for translations can expand the interpretive space of readers’ reviews and accurately grasp the effectiveness of the external reception of translated works. This study conducts a fine-grained mining of reader reviews on the English translations of Jin Ping Mei based on Kano model, constructing a “needs-satisfaction” model for readers of English translations of Jin Ping Mei, thereby examining its overall acceptance in the English-speaking world. The research finds that Jin Ping Mei enjoys a good overall acceptance in the English-speaking world, with readers’ needs specifically divided into text content, translation quality, aesthetic value, moral ethics, and purchasing experience, covering 16 core indicators. The improvement priority ranking based on the degree of attention and satisfaction for each type of need is: moral ethics > text content > translation quality > aesthetic value > purchasing experience. Therefore, identifying readers’ needs and the optimal path for improvement for translated products based on Kano model helps to evaluate and enhance the reception of English translations of Chinese literature.