This paper aims to analyze aposiopesis, a kind of rhetorical device, in Hong Lou Meng and David Hawkes’ corresponding English translations. It is found that Hawkes has adopted the strategies of faithfulness and flexibility to realize most of the aposiopesis in Hong Lou Meng and his translations have almost the same esthetic functions, such as shaping the image of characters, expressing their feelings, describing specific scenes vividly, and enhancing the implicitness of expression. In addition, Hawkes’ unusual sensitivity to rhetorical and linguistic beauty enables him to make best use of some characteristics of English and thus make some of his translations even more appropriate than the original, which might shed some light on future translations of Chinese literary works.