Interpretation of the image of Tatiana Larina in Chinese Pushkin studies 1978 - 2010 .

Chzhu Yan' Postgraduate student, Department of History of Russian Literature, Faculty of Philology, University of Moscow State University-SPI in Shenzhen, Lomonosov Moscow State University 518100, Kitai, provintsiya Guandun, g. Shen'chzhen', ul. Gotszidasyueyuan', 1, of. 827 zhuyan5148@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

In modern Pushkin studies, a lot of attention has been paid to the perception of A. S. Pushkin's work outside the homeland, especially in China, to a greater extent it concerns translation interpretation. And the analysis of Chinese literary works about a particular character — in this work about Tatiana Larina — is carried out for the first time.

Chinese readers first learned about the novel "Eugene Onegin" in the early twentieth century. At that time, the translation of Pushkin's novel in verse in Chinese had not yet appeared, only a few simple introductory essays were written about this work. In the 1930s and 40s. "Eugene Onegin" was regarded as Pushkin's greatest work, and the main character was interpreted by Chinese literary critics as an object of criticism in the poet's work. A complete translation of the novel in verse in Chinese appeared in the 1940s: in 1942, the first translation made by Su Fu from the Nekrasov text into Esperanto (translation of "Eugene Onegin", made by N.V. Nekrasov in 1931); and in 1944 — the first translation from the Russian original, carried out by Lu Ying. After the formation of New China in 1949, due to the friendly relationship between China and the USSR, different versions of the translation of "Eugene Onegin" and a number of scientific works devoted to his study, especially the study of the image of Onegin as an "extra person" appeared.

From the first acquaintance with Pushkin's novel in verse until the 1970s, his research focused on the main character - Onegin. And Tatiana Larina, on the contrary, did not attract much attention from Chinese literary critics. She was mentioned in passing and, in contrast to Onegin, was perceived as a reflection of the Russian national character. The image of Tatiana attracted the attention of the Chinese interpreters of Eugene Onegin relatively late, only after the policy of "reform and openness" (1978), which stimulated interest in the study and rethinking of Russian literature in general and the work of A.S. Pushkin in particular.

The main part

Tatiana's image is highly appreciated not only in Russia, but also in modern China. Pushkin's heroine is admired among the Chinese audience for her close connection with the people, her firm defense of moral principles and self-sacrifice. The Pushkin scholar Wang Zhiliang has repeatedly praised Pushkin's heroine: "Tatiana is as innocent, simple and deep as the wives of the Decembrists. She is a rare and beautiful flower that blooms on the land of Russia" ^{[8, p. 45]}; "Tatiana is the standard of life that Pushkin showed to Russians and all mankind at the historical height that a poet can reach" ^{[9, p. 89]}. Russian Russian literary critic He Maozheng considers Tatiana as "the most charming image of a Russian woman in Russian literature" ^{[2, p. 148]}.

In addition, Chinese scientists unanimously expressed their gratitude to Tatiana for the courage with which she declared her love to Onegin. For example, teacher Long Xiang believes that "this is a challenge Tatiana has thrown to traditional society. She seeks to combine love and marriage in order to overcome the inherent ideological limitations of women. Such courage is commendable. We see that Tatiana has the features of a modern woman" ^{[16, p. 133]}. Another Chinese scientist, Li Yuanjing, evaluates Tatiana as "a pioneer woman who dares to strive for love and has great courage" ^{[15, p. 40]}.

In the research literature of China, when comprehending the image of Tatiana, close attention is paid to the final scene of the novel: each interpreter seeks to explain the reason for Tatiana's refusal to Onegin.

Translator Wang Shise in the article "Criticism of Tatiana" names three reasons for Tatiana's final rejection of Onegin: firstly, according to the poet's original plan, Onegin was to become a Decembrist. And Tatiana serves only as a minor character. Her fate and life choice should depend on the needs of Onegin's character development. Therefore, Tatiana must reject Onegin so that he, because of an unhappy love, joins the Decembrist uprising. The second reason, according to the translator, is due to Pushkin's moral values: given his rich love experience and the very free behavior of many aristocrats, he felt that social mores were deteriorating. Therefore, the poet created Tatiana, who is faithful to her husband. In this regard, the author claims that Tatiana is a romantic image of an ideal woman. And this is just the third reason — the creative method of creating Tatiana. The author of the article offers the following arguments: "Tatiana's contradiction between the ideal and reality, her desire for rural idyll — all this meets the requirements of Romanticism. Therefore, she represents a romantic image, and, rather, is an “ideal woman". It's just that there is no such despair and such bright colors of traditional romanticism in her image" ^{[10, p. 148]}.

Having considered the historical background of the creation of the work, having studied the character and life experience of Pushkin, having analyzed the structure of the novel in verse, Van Shise offered, in our opinion, a very convincing interpretation of the image of Tatiana. His article "Criticism about Tatiana" became an important tool for future research on the interpretation of Tatiana. His argument that Tatiana represents a romantic image has also influenced many Chinese scientists.

Translator Wang Zhiliang in the article "On the imaginative system and creative method"Eugene Onegin"" held the opinion of Van Shise, considering Tatiana the ideal of a Russian woman, a romantic image. Tatiana's final rejection of Onegin's love is considered by Wang Zhiliang to be the ideal way to solve the contradiction between the individual and the collective. The author also emphasizes that Tatiana is faithful to her unloved husband, this does not mean that she intends to observe the rules of patriarchal morality, she is rather faithful to her pure and noble nature, insisting on her critical attitude to the reality of that time. "At that time and in her position, she could only express her rejection of social reality, sacrificing personal happiness in order to obtain spiritual satisfaction to the highest degree. We should also see that her refusal hides an abiding love for Onegin. Precisely because she values their love, she should turn away from the depraved lifestyle of high society" ^{[9, p. 89]}.

However, literary critic Diao Shaohua in the article "Eugene Onegin and the formation of realism in Russian literature" does not consider the image of Tatiana romantic. Pushkin's heroine finally married an unloved general, turned from a timid, innocent maiden into an unapproachable goddess on the banks of the Neva. Such a change, emphasizes Diao Shaohua, made the image of Tatiana more realistic. Rejecting Onegin's courtship, Tatiana, according to the author of the article, does not want to compromise with her aristocratic environment; rather, she resolutely refuses to be unfaithful to her husband in contrast to what was accepted among women in high society ^{[3, p. 205]}.

In fact, the opinions of Wang Zhiliang and Diao Shaohua coincide. They both consider Tatiana's refusal highly moral. In addition to Wang Zhiliang and Diao Shaohua, many other interpreters of Pushkin's novel in verse, when analyzing the image of Tatiana, give a high assessment of her spiritual qualities: moral strength, honesty and nobility. However, some express opposite opinions. We will give a typical example: an article by Qiu Xinmin, a teacher of the Faculty of Russian at Nanjing Agricultural University, "Unchangeable Fate. An attempt to analyze the image of Tatiana in "Eugene Onegin"".

Talking about the character development of the heroine, Qiu Xinmin divides her life into three periods: 1) the period of girlish fantasies, which ends with Onegin's rebuke; 2) the transition period — from acquaintance with Onegin's library to marrying the famous general; 3) the period of formation — the formation of an impregnable goddess on the banks of the Neva. At the same time, the author proves in detail that the spiritual gap between Tatiana and Onegin increased and eventually became the main cause of their love tragedy. In addition, Qiu Xinmin adheres to a positive assessment of Onegin, but at the same time — a completely negative assessment of Tatiana. For example, she believes that Tatiana is withdrawn, gloomy, silent and she fell in love with Onegin in order to get rid of the "boring village" and "harsh environment" ^{[13, p. 39]}; "Onegin is looking for the right way of life", and "Tatiana passionately longs for personal love and family happiness" ^{[13, p. 39]}. p. 39]; Onegin respects Tatiana, refuses her love like a gentleman, and Tatiana's refusal demonstrates that she fully assimilates the habits of high society and refuses with the same skill as Onegin.

Tatiana was indeed a somewhat limited provincial girl, but Qiu Xinmin completely denies Tatiana's virtues and does not see her purity, kindness, close connection with the people and other good qualities. We believe that this is too one-sided and unfair to Pushkin's heroine.

Of course, interpreters offering a negative assessment of Tatiana belong to the minority. Most scientists appreciate her noble morality and express their love for the heroine.

 With the advent of the XXI century, when studying the image of Tatiana, more attention is paid to feminist issues, which Chinese literary critics find with more or less success in Pushkin's novel.

With the rapid political and economic development of China in the 1980s and 1990s, the ideological and cultural sphere began to react very actively to social changes. At this time, feminist literary criticism from Western Europe and the United States began to come to the forefront of Chinese literary criticism and literary criticism. "The task of women's criticism is to teach a woman to read like a woman. Basically, it boils down to rethinking the role and meaning of female characters and images, to "exposing" male "psychological tyranny" ^{[1, p. 419]}. This theory has been applied to the interpretation of Pushkin's heroine since 2000. Let's note some interpretations of the feminist sense.

Researcher Sun Jinmei in the article "Interpretation of the image of Tatiana: a Re-reading of "Eugene Onegin"" from a feminist point of view reveals the "cultural connotations of gender" reflected in the image of Tatiana as an ideal woman in a patriarchal society. On the one hand, Sun Jinmei points to good qualities in the character of the heroine: when Tatiana became a socialite, she still had a love feeling for Onegin, but at the same time was devoted to her husband. "Her spirit and body were completely separated, there was no 'lust' in her heart anymore. She was no longer a real woman, but a "goddess"" ^{[5, p. 75]}; in the face of Onegin's recognition, according to the researcher, Tatiana becomes the embodiment of morality and shows self-sacrifice. "With her selfless nature, she finally achieved her own moral perfection, while retaining her spiritual nobility" ^{[5, p. 75]}. But, on the other hand, the author of the article believes that Tatiana's self-sacrifice contradicts human nature, it cannot be innate, but is simply the result of the invisible enslavement of women by patriarchal society with the help of its cultural traditions for a long time. Sun Jinmei also emphasizes that "patriarchal society supports the ethics and morality of society, suppressing the nature of women in order to preserve the basis of their existence. This is the source of the spirit of self-sacrifice" ^{[5, p. 76]}.

Finally, Sun Jinmei disputes Wang Zhilyan's interpretation, according to which Tatiana is a standard of life for all mankind, arguing that it cannot be a standard for a man, "more precisely, Tatiana is a standard of life for a woman, created by Pushkin, who represented a patriarchal culture. This is the flag of women waving in the hearts of men" ^{[5, p. 78]}. The author concludes: "The idea of patriarchy penetrates into the image of Tatiana. Through the image of Tatiana, we see the shackles of civilization imposed on women by patriarchal society, as well as the dilemma of women's survival in patriarchal culture" ^{[5, p. 78]}.

It must be said that Sun Jinmei was the first to interpret the image of Tatiana from a feminist point of view. She viewed Tatiana (especially after her marriage) not as a real woman, but rather as an abstraction, an ideal goddess created by an adherent of male chauvinism.

In addition to Sun Jinmei's article, after 2000, more than ten articles were published on the interpretation of Tatiana's image from the point of view of feminist criticism. We list some of them: "Between Tradition and Modernity: The Study of Pushkin's Concept of Femininity in Eugene Onegin" by Zhou Ying ^[4]; "Feminist Reflection on Tatiana" by Xiao Shufen ^[11]; "Interpretation of Tatiana's Female Subjective Consciousness" by Xu Yan ^[7]; "The Image of Tatiana in a Feminist Perspective" by Chen Fan ^[14]; "Gender and cultural interpretation of Tatiana's image" by Zhang Cunxia ^[6], etc. In these articles, Tatiana is only a "product of patriarchal society", and all the previously recognized good qualities of Tatiana, such as self-sacrifice and purity, are considered by feminists as the result of "male tyranny".

It must be said that feminist ideology can have far-reaching consequences for moral and intellectual enlightenment in China: it provides a perspective for a deep understanding of the relationship between Tatiana and Onegin, as well as Pushkin's concept of femininity. However, most feminists blindly accept the feminist theory and clumsily attach it to artistic images. We can reduce the reasons to the following.

Western feminist literary criticism is a product of the feminist movement in the literary field that has developed in Western society for hundreds of years. And there was actually no feminist movement in China. The reception of the theory of feminism by modern Chinese scientists is dominated by uncritical borrowing (borrowism). So some scientists very clumsily apply feminist criticism in the interpretation of Pushkin's heroine, sharply criticizing Pushkin's "male chauvinism" and, finally, reach the extreme of gender antagonism. As a result, a similar conclusion can often be found: judging by Tatiana's tragedy, we see the shackles imposed on women by male chauvinism ^{[5, p. 78; 14, p. 58]}. In the understanding of feminists, all the tragic collisions of women with life come from men, but they do not take into account the possible problems of women, and in this case they completely ignore the women's own initiative.

In addition, some "interpreters" blindly seek to apply the "fresh" teaching, while ignoring both the principle of historicism and common sense: blaming the author of a work of art for his gender. When rethinking the classics, they are not looking for the meaning laid down by the author in the work, but for evidence confirming their teaching. Thus, the article becomes not a scientific study, but a demonstration of a certain theory. Here is a typical example.

In 1998, a complete translation of the book "The Second Sex" by the French writer was published in Chinese Simone de Beauvoir, in which there was the phrase "A woman is not born, she becomes" ^{[12, p. 309]}. This interpretation is accepted as the ultimate truth. The Chinese "interpreter" Xiao Shufen in the article "Feminist reflection on Tatiana" attached it to the image of Tatiana. She claimed: Onegin rejected Tatiana because she had not yet become a woman; then he fell in love with Tatiana because she had turned into a real woman. Xiao Shufen explained that due to pressure from her parents and society, she became a socialite. She knew how to treat men so that "Men would bow lower, /Catch the gaze of her eyes" (7, XV); she knew "No matter how much she was /Surprised, amazed, / But nothing changed her..." (7, XVIII). According to Xiao Shufen, Tatiana fully possessed the femininity recognized by high society. "She has completed the transformation from a 'human' to a 'woman'. Onegin, who grew up in a secular society and adhered to aesthetic preferences peculiar to the aristocracy, of course, fell madly in love with her" ^{[11, p. 22]}. And the process of turning a girl into a woman, in the opinion of the "author", "in fact, it is a process of identification with a society dominated by men" ^{[11, p. 22]}.

Conclusion

Considering the above, the following conclusions can be drawn regarding the peculiarities of the interpretation of Tatiana's image in China. Most of Pushkin's works are characterized by a passion for assessing the moral image of Tatiana and disregard for the artistic nature of Pushkin's heroine. It is interpreted from different ideological positions and with different assessments, and it is written about as a living person, a social type, but not as an artistic image.

In modern China, most scientists are influenced by Russian critics and highly appreciate the image of Tatiana. Her courage, purity, loyalty, closeness to nature and close connection with the people attracted the love of the Chinese audience to her. In Chinese Pushkin studies from 1978 to the 2010s, there were two approaches to the moral problem that the Pushkin heroine solved.

According to the first, Chinese Pushkin scholars, superficially familiar with Russian culture and history, naively believed that almost all noble women of the early XIX century were libertines. And Tatiana's rejection of Onegin's love, in their opinion, demonstrates her loyalty and purity, as if it did not correspond to the reality of that time. This is the ideal of a Russian woman, a romantic image that the poet created. According to another, Tatiana refused Onegin's love because she wanted to be true to her heart and conform to the norms of high society. Both approaches ultimately confirm Tatiana's moral qualities.

At the same time, there are also negative assessments of the heroine. It is believed that she does not understand Onegin's desire for a new life. Although such an opinion does not occupy a dominant position, and some points still need to be discussed, it must be taken into account.

After the beginning of the XXI century, the doctrines of feminist criticism began to be applied to the image of Tatiana. Moreover, Tatiana's previous high assessment was severely criticized by Chinese feminists, who in their opuses are engaged not so much in literary analysis as in bad journalism, which sharpens questions about the gender requirements of women. Chinese supporters of feminist doctrines believe that Pushkin's views on the representatives of the best part of humanity are due to some kind of "patriarchal ideology". In a blind pursuit of novelty, they clumsily apply Western theory when interpreting Pushkin's heroine, while demonstrating a lack of aesthetic flair, disregard for the principle of historicism and the artistic nature of literary heroes (not to mention the meanings that the "chauvinist" Pushkin put into his images).