I registered an account specifically for this matter and spent a lot of time writing down all the parts where I am personally dissatisfied with the modification of Chinese item names. I didn’t read all the changed sentences, so I will focus on the changes in nouns. Some parts may be personal opinions, and I hope to they can complement other player's opinion.
The changes in some nouns are unacceptable. When playing the game, we do not need to know the scientific names of vegetables. Some translations are too academic, while others are too tacky. For example, new Chinese translations of Spring Onion and Kale are academic words which nobody uses in daily life, even only agricultural professionals can realize what they are immediately by reading new translation. And the new Chinese translations of Mystery Box is 盲盒, which is the same name as a product with a bad reputation that stores sell without telling customers what’s inside. In Chinese Internet, 盲盒 almost has been the synonym for the trap of deceiving fools. I don’t think it is a good translation for Mystery Box.
What’s more, a large number of changes are unnecessary. I don't understand the logic behind the new Chinese localization team's modifications. A large number of nouns are replaced by words with the same meaning, some are shorter, and others are longer. Therefore, I cannot understand whether the modifications made by the new Chinese localization team are aimed at making them more concise or detailed. For example, new Chinese translation of Golden Walnut and Golden Coconut change from four Chinese characters to three Chinese characters, whereas new Chinesecc translation of Garlic and Stone Chest change from one Chinese character to two Chinese characters and two Chinese characters to four Chinese characters. More importantly, excepting the number of Chinese characters, their meanings are no different at all.
Stardew Valley is an old game. It’s great. There are many Chinese players love Stardew Valley, including me. Stardew Valley also has a very active Chinese community, but because of language differences, we are often only active in the Chinese Internet, like Bilibili. If it is not necessary, I think it is problematic to replace item names and texts unnecessarily in large quantities. This creates obstacles for communication between new and old players for no reason, and also makes a large number of past game guides or memes difficult to understand.
Some original Chinese translation of Stardew Valley have even become symbols of Stardew Valley. For example, all the players need to grow Parsnip on the first day of spring and Red Cabbage is necessary for Bulletin Board. Original translation of Parsnip is common name. Original translation of Red Cabbage is literal translation, and almost no one uses them to refer to vegetables in reality. So that they could be symbols of Stardew Valley. When someone mentions original Chinese translations of them, we can immediately realize that they are also a player of Stardew Valley. Can Pokémon players accept Pikachu's official translation as Thunderbolt Mouse? I'm not sure if my meaning is expressed clearly in English, but this is one of the important reasons why many Chinese players dislike the new translation. I hope this can be carefully considered.
By the way, the new Chinese translation was updated on 19th April. Today is 21st April. Two day later. I have found four mods to restore original Chinese translation (Total DLs: 671, 386, 20, 108) and one mod to restore original Chinese font (Total DLs: 191). I think this situation reflects the problems to some extent.
I listed some new translations of nouns that I think are problematic below, but they are not comprehensive, and some parts may be entirely personal opinions. I hope they can be combined with the opinions of other players to see together. I didn’t read all the changed texts, so I didn’t list them. Many other Chinese players have reflected the problems, I hope their opinions can be considered.
Spring Onion 大葱→带叶洋葱 Too academic, nobody use 带叶洋葱 in daily life. Nonagricultural professionals cannot even immediately realize what 带叶洋葱 is when they see it.
Kale 甘蓝菜→羽衣甘蓝 Too academic. Very limited use 羽衣甘蓝 in daily life.
Mystery Box 谜之盒→盲盒 The original translation 谜之盒 is a literal translation of Mystery Box. Good enough, no ambiguity in meaning, some Chinese players think this is very suitable for the atmosphere of Stardew Valley full of wizard and magical fantasies. The new Chinese translation 盲盒 means blind box. In recent years, on Chinese Internet, 盲盒 has been considered by many people to be something that traps money. There are comments on bilibili saying that “new translation 盲盒 gives a feeling that the fool bought a bunch of things that could only deceive the fool”.
The Mountains 山 or 山岭→山上 Worse. The original translation is totally correct, no ambiguity in meaning. New translation 山上 means on the mountain, wrong meaning, and it is less elegant than before in Chinese.
Modification: new announcement says translation of The Mountains is modified 山 or 山岭→后山 It is better than 山上, new translation 后山 means the mountain behind. But why not just revert back to the original translation? The original translation didn’t have any problem.
Backwoods 边远森林→郊外 Similar meaning, less elegant than before. Original translation 边远森林 is totally correct, you can even see almost the same thing on google translation. New translation 郊外 means outskirts. The meaning is similar, but not as elegant as original version.
Fairy Rose 玫瑰仙子→仙女玫瑰 Unnecessary. Original version 玫瑰仙子 means rose fairy, understandable and Chinese players have become accustomed to original Chinese version. What's more, the new Chinese translation use 仙女 to express fairy. In Chinese context, the original version 仙子 is closer to fairy in Fairy Tales and stories, 仙女 is close to goddess or woman with extraordinary abilities.
Sweet Pea 甜豌豆→香豌豆 Too academic. Original version 甜豌豆 is a literal translation and it is also a common name in Chinese. New translation 香豌豆 is just like Lathyrus odoratus. Why players need to know the academic name of vegetables from game?
Beach Farm 海滩农场→沙滩农场 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Heater 加热器→暖气片 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Emerald 绿宝石→祖母绿 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Topaz 黄水晶→黄玉 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Catfish 鲶鱼→鲇鱼 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. The original version 鲶鱼 is more common in daily life.
Dark Shrine 黑暗神殿→黑暗神龛 Unnecessary. I think new version is worse. New version use 神龛 to express Shrine, but I think 神龛 is less common than 神殿. Part of it may be because 龛 is a rare character, I believe many Chinese people, including me, are unsure how to read it. What’s more, in my opinion, new version 神龛 is more commonly used to describe the shrine of Eastern gods or Eastern religions, and Stardew Valley is believed to be located in the country which is similar to the United States.
Cactus Fruit 仙人掌果子→仙人掌果 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Golden Walnut 金色核桃→金核桃 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Golden Coconut 金色椰子→金椰子 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Blue Jazz 蓝爵→蓝爵士 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Apricot Sapling 杏子树苗→杏树苗 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. What’s more, the original version uses four Chinese characters to describe apricot sapling, all the other saplings also use four Chinese characters to describe. If using the original version, all the sampling use four Chinese characters, there will be a beauty of rhythm in Chinese. So, I think original version is better. This has been mentioned by previous reply.
Peach Sapling 桃子树苗→桃树苗 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. The same problem as I mentioned above.
Garlic 蒜→大蒜 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Trinkets 饰品→小饰品 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Survival Burger 救生汉堡→生存汉堡 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Pickaxe 十字镐→镐头 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. In my opinion, the original version 十字镐 is better. Excepting that pickaxe is a commonly used tool and Chinese players have become accustomed to the original translation, I think original version 十字镐 is more elegant than the new version 镐头 in Chinese.
The Summit 顶峰→山顶 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. I think original version is more elegant in Chinese.
Animal Products 动物制品→动物产品 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Roe 鱼籽→鱼子 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. The new version 鱼子 is a little bit formal than before. But overall, they are one thing.
Abby’s Planchette 阿比盖尔的占卜写板→阿比的占卜写板 They are the same thing. I think the original version is better. The original version 阿比盖尔的占卜写板 means Abigail’s Planchette. In Chinese, we are not familiar with abbreviations of English names. Although we can understand Abby is Abigail, I think the original version can reduce misunderstandings.
Collections 收集品→图鉴 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Bobber 浮标→浮漂 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Golden Scythe 金色的镰刀→金镰刀 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Treasure Appraisal Guide 古代珍宝鉴定指南→古董鉴定指南 The original version is better. The new version use 古董 express Treasure, 古董 means antique. Although they have the almost same meaning in game, Chinese people usually think of some precious ancient vases or containers during reading 古董, it relative not close to the true meaning of Treasure Appraisal Guide. The treasures in Stardew Valley are not only containers, so I think the original one, which uses 古代珍宝 (ancient treasure), is better.
Dark Sign 深色牌子→深色标牌 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Gold Ore 黄金矿石→金矿石 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Tomato 西红柿→番茄 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. I think the original version 西红柿 is used more commonly. The Chinese localization team say they change translation of tomato from 西红柿 to 番茄 to unify with the translation of Gourmet Tomato Salt, which uses 番茄 to express tomato. But why do they change a large number of commonly used crop related names just to unify the item that only appear once?
Darkness Suit 暗色西装→深色西装 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Bug Killer 虫子杀手→杀虫 Worse. The original translation is completely correct. The new translation 杀虫 means killing bug and it is wrong meaning. I don’t think change a noun to a verb would be better.
Golden Chicken 金色的鸡→金鸡 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Stone Chest 石箱→石制箱子 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Clam 蛤→蛤蜊 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Goat Milk 羊奶→山羊奶 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Rabbit’s Foot 兔子的脚→兔脚 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Earmuffs 护耳→耳罩 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. I think the original translation 护耳 is more elegant.
Stone Sign 石牌→石制标牌 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Wood Sign 木牌→木制标牌 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Opal 猫眼石→蛋白石 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Ring of Yoba 由巴的戒指→由巴之戒 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Dark Talisman 暗黑护身符→黑暗护身符 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
House Plant 家居植物→盆栽 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
Stool 板凳→凳子 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing. I think the original translation 板凳 is more elegant.
Stone Flooring 石砖地板→石砖地块 Unnecessary. They are completely the same thing.
New announcement says the translation of Dusty will be modified from 小灰 or 达斯迪 to 脏脏. In 1.6.4 version, the new translation of Dusty change from 小灰 to 达斯迪, the reason for modification is to unify. I didn’t say my opinions about this because I don’t remember the frequency and specific location of 小灰 and 达斯迪 in the original translation. But I dislike the new translation on announcement 脏脏, 脏脏 means dirty dirty in Chinese. It is worse than 小灰 (Little dust or little grey), 达斯迪 (Transliteration of dusty according to its English pronunciation). There is comment on Bilibili says “I prefer 小灰, because it is very cute and maybe a little dirty, but 脏脏 is……very dirty.”
