Study of the Works by Valery Pereleshin in China

In: Вестник Пермского университета. Российская и зарубежная филология, Volume 14, Issue 1, p. 142-152

Abstract

The article describes the history of research on the works by poet Valery Pereleshin in Chinese literary studies in the 2000s-2010s. Chinese literary critics Li Meng, Wang Yamin, Li Rennian, Li Yanling, Gu Yu, Wang Jianzhao, Rong Jie, Su Xiaotang, Zhao Ting, etc. studied his work in the context of Russian diaspora literature in interaction with the traditions of the Russian Silver Age and classical Chinese literature, paying special attention to the images and motifs associated with China. It is concluded that in the first two decades of the 21st century, Chinese scientists studied the works by Pereleshin in four directions: 1) collecting and publishing the poet's works and archives; 2) studying the poetics of his works (in particular, the principles of creating the image of China); 3) describing his work in the context of Chinese culture, Russian literature traditions of the 'golden' and 'silver' ages; 4) analyzing the principles of poetic translation implemented by him. As Chinese researchers show, Pereleshin's works combined the traditions of acmeism and symbolism associated with the names of Alexander Blok, Nikolay Gumilyov, and Osip Mandelstam, which organically combined with techniques characteristic of Chinese classical poetry. Of great importance for the understanding of the specific features of Harbin literary life were the concepts 'Harbin critical realism' and 'Harbin silver age', introduced by Professor Li Yanling, which contributed to the development of the ideas about the 'island' ('enclave') type of Russian culture's development in China. The article indicates the limited range of problems raised in modern literary research and suggests areas for further research: analysis of religious and philosophical motifs in Pereleshin's works, description of contradictions and paradoxes in his worldview, study of the impact that Chinese and Russian poetic traditions had on his works, which would make it possible to understand the innovative nature of the artistic forms used by him, as well as to draw conclusions about the general principles of intercultural interaction.