Журнал «Филоlogos»

«POOR LIZA» BY KARAMZIN IN CHINA

Author: Pengfej Li

Complex analysis of the views of Chinese researchers, who referred to the study of poetics and problems of Karamzin’s story "Poor Liza", is given in the article. The applied key methods of literary analysis are comparative typological and historical functional ones. According to our study, Chinese recipients are mainly interested in psychological, mythological and axiological aspects of Karamzin's story poetics. New material on the theme under study is summed up in the article; scientific sources unknown in Russian study of Karamzin are introduced into scientific discourse. The story "Poor Liza" was seen and is seen in China as a major work of Russian sentimentalism, which influenced psychological literary discoveries of the following periods (from romanticism to Leo Tolstoy); one of the first vivid examples of new "natural philosophy" and ethics; a pattern of typological similarity with ancient Chinese mythological plots; a significant work of international humanistic social knowledge, which can help a modern reader as well morally, to cleanse and raise one's soul. Temporary and geographical distances between Russian literary culture of the 18-th century and modern Chinese culture allow Chinese recipients to analyze "Poor Liza" on the extensive historical and cultural background with drawing great complex parallels. Chinese philologists take objective position "from outside" avoiding the context of subjective, positive or negative evaluation of "Poor Liza", allowing to approach specifically consideration of the problem of international, psychological and general humanitarian significance of Karamzin's "sensitive stories". Constructive attempts to draw psychological-typological parallels between psychological world of Karamzin's stories and changing emotional-cultural Chinese context using "Poor Liza" as an example, particularly, are of importance. In a case of necessity to reflect the entire picture we draw for a comparison the data of Russian Karamzin studies. The key methods of literary analysis used in our paper are as follows: thecomparatively typological one, the historically typological one and the historically functional one. When reviewing the chosen problem our task is to show the interaction of three problematic and topical streams, i.e. the writer's social and historical views and their connection with his "sentimental stories"; the nature "mythopoetics" in "Poor Liza"; and the general originality of the Karamzin's psychological discoveries. In a case of necessity to reflect the entire picture we draw for a comparison the data of Russian Karamzin studies. The key methods of literary analysis used in our paper are as follows: the comparatively typological one, the historically typological one and the historically functional one. When reviewing the chosen problem our task is to show the interaction of three problematic and topical streams, i.e. the writer's social and historical views and their connection with his "sentimental stories"; the nature "mythopoetics" in "Poor Liza"; and the general originality of the Karamzin's psychological discoveries.