James Joyce's Ulysses is considered by many scholars as one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century, and it has been translated into many other languages. However, it was not until 1994 that the first complete Chinese translation was published. Before Ulysses was translated into Chinese, very few Chinese readers had ever attempted to read it. This article discusses the Chinese translation by Xiao and Wen. By focusing on two of the translators' strategies—namely, annotation and adaptation—the paper examines how the translators turned this "unreadable" book into a readable one for ordinary Chinese readers, and discusses the role of literary translation in challenging or reinforcing cultural differences.