The widespread transmission of information on the web has resulted in the online circulation of the English translations of Taoist divination verses, or qianshi 籤詩 , in Taiwan, making them easily accessible to international audiences. Due to this change in the location and language of the readership, qianshi translation must be examined. Drawing on two studies, namely a small quantitative analysis and register-based qualitative analysis, this study investigated the strategies used to translate idioms and metaphors in Matsu Qianshi 媽祖籤詩 . The results of the quantitative analysis indicate that the current translations of metaphors and idioms involves only paraphrasing and omission, with omission being more frequent than paraphrasing. The qualitative analysis reveals that current translations fail to clearly transmit the thematic message at the field level, lack stylistic variation at the mode level, and do not meet the expectations of online audiences at the tenor level. Thus, the translations should be revised to make them more flexible for the intended audiences. This study proposes a set of translations that juxtaposes detailed and concise versions. Those aiming to learn about Chinese culture and appreciate the poetic beauty of the qianshi can select the detailed version, whereas those aiming to seek the instructions of the gods can read the concise version. In terms of register, the two-in-one translation set conveys the thematic messages more clearly with variation in the linguistic style that will better suit the needs of diverse online audiences than the current single version of translation. The set of translations provided by this study challenges the static, fixed form of current online qianshi translation and adds a dynamic dimension to enrich the originally religious purpose with literary, cultural, and educational functions. This paper concludes with a call to translate qianshi to suit purposes other than its conventional, religious ones and to satisfy a diverse range of audiences online who might read these verses.
