Abstract: Ever since its introduction into the translation research at home in 2004, thick translation has been regarded as a translation strategy or just a phenomenon. However, this paper holds that the perspective from translation itself has undervalued the epistemic and theoretical significance of thick translation. Accordingly, the paper sets out to elaborate the cognitive value and conceptual operations of thick translation in meaning construction and intercultural communication from four aspects: 1) Filling in the gap between source and target in the idealized cognitive model for more accurate understanding; 2) Triggering off the cognitive frame for reference point; 3) Connecting the mental access to the implicit information behind the translation; 4) Specifying the context for the identification of the proper meaning encoded. The paper also demonstrates that the application of the principles and models of Cognitive Linguistics will shed light on classic issues in translation so as to upgrade theory building.