Features of the discursive representation of the image of the Chinese in the play «Zoyka’s Apartment» by M. A. Bulgakov

Bao Likhun ORCID: 0009-0004-1448-7056 Postgraduate student, Department of Russian and Foreign Literature, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6, of. - lihong.bao@yandex.ru

Introduction

M. A. Bulgakov refers to writers who became very famous during his lifetime. His work, in which the talent of a satirist is combined with the gift of seeing the spiritual essence of social phenomena, is one of the most striking symbols of early Soviet culture. The writer's literary text differs in that it includes a large number of allusions, is rich in context, and carries hidden subtexts that cause ambiguity of interpretations. The ambiguity of the text was obvious even for the lifetime of Soviet criticism created by figures of such associations of Soviet culture as RAPP, REF, Proletkult, etc. The writer found himself at the center of literary searches in the 1920s. The problems he developed and the artistic means used to outline and analyze them not only influenced the organization of the style of works, but also determined the development of Soviet historical and fantastic narrative for decades to come. In each work, the author posed a specific problem, localizing it with the help of historical and temporal coordinates, realizing philosophical or grotesque ideas, which was reflected in his play "Zoya's Apartment". The play was written in 1925 and first published in 1929. She embodies several stylistic plans, which is expressed in a mixture of satirical, vaudeville and comedy.

Literature review.

The play "Zoya's Apartment" is analyzed by philologists in various aspects. E. A. Ivanshina draws attention to the author's use of the motive of transitivity in it and calls the play a "threshold text" ^{[1, p. 599]}. A. A. Kiselyova considers the play as a tragic farce, in which "the funny, comedic conceals the tragic, is a way of survival for heroes forced to obey circumstances" ^{[2, p. 91]}. V. Liang analyzes the opposition "house – world" as a way of organizing the space of the play ^[3]. E. V. Belogurova sees in the play a comedic and satirical version of the "apartment question" ^[4]. S. V. Redkin notes the metonymic nature of the organization of the plot and the linguistic space of the play ^[5].

The images of people of a different culture and the Chinese, in particular, in the works of M. A. Bulgakov, also attract the attention of researchers. O. A. Kazmina analyzes the images of the Chinese in the works "Chinese History" and "Zoikin's Apartment" and notes their connection with the image of Lenin ^{[6, p. 122]}. Ch. Yao notes the accuracy of the image of China and the authenticity of the images the Chinese in M. A. Bulgakov's short story "Chinese History" ^{[7, p. 179]}. Cao Xuemei interprets the images of the Chinese in the works of M. A. Bulgakov as an element of mythologization and a manifestation of a peculiar literary myth about China ^{[8, p. 122]}. I. S. Uryupin characterizes the author's images of the Chinese as images of impostors, forming "the national-cultural archetype of the impostor in the work of M. A. Bulgakov," and imposture itself as a "plot–forming device" ^{[9, p. 15]}.

E. V. Gileva and P. V. Yuzhakov talk about the implementation of the "Chinese" theme in the play "Zoikin's Apartment", which is intertextual, "going beyond the limits of the artistic world of the play and serving as a kind of "entry point" into the space of the author's historiosophical thought" ^{[10, p. 70]}. I. S. Uryupin, also analyzing the "Chinese" theme in the works of M. A. Bulgakov, notes that it is a reflection of the foreign cultural element in Russian literature of the 1920s ^{[11, p. 132]}.

According to E.V. Belogurova, in the play "Zoikin's apartment" an attempt is made to interpret the author's apartment question ^{[4, p. 165]}. This problem was typical for Russian literature of the 1920s, which is associated with the social restructuring of Soviet society. This socio-historical context acquires a satirically reduced shade from the writer, which allows the author to create new literary types and images. The social motive of the housing issue, which can be traced in other Bulgakov's works ("The Heart of a Dog", "The Master and Margarita"), is associated in the play "Zoikin's Apartment" with the motive of discursive representation of foreign cultural specifics expressed in the images of the Chinese. This issue is relevant, but problematic in the aspect of studying the work of M. A. Bulgakov, as can be judged by the small number of scientific papers on the relevant subject. Therefore, it should be noted the importance of considering the work "Zoikin's apartment" by analyzing the foreign cultural discourse presented in it.

The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the image of the Chinese in M. A. Bulgakov's play "Zoikin's Apartment" from the point of view of the discursive representation of foreign cultural specificity expressed by these images.

The results of the study

For Russian culture, the image of China is generally a translation of the Asian type of worldview. China in the Russian literary text usually acts as "a symbol of the exotic, unusual, intricate, mysterious and therefore alluring" ^{[12, p. 234]}. In the center of the plot of the play "Zoikin's apartment" is the image of post-revolutionary Moscow, not yet equipped and rebellious. The images of the Chinese also have a touch of revolutionism in M. A. Bulgakov. The writer emphasizes that after the events of 1917, the Chinese people caught a wave of an "unconscious" revolutionary spirit associated with spontaneity rather than deliberation, which paradoxically resonated in the Chinese mentality. The play touches on the fate of Chinese adventurers who were brought to NEP Moscow by the revolutionary whirlwind. In "Zoika's Apartment", a domestic conflict between two Chinese people who fell in love with a Russian girl, Manyushka, the maid of the main character, is depicted. The images of the Chinese are revealed here by the example of two characters – Cherub and Gasoline, with the help of which the writer manages to reveal the peculiarities of the mentality and value orientations of the Chinese.

The Cherub's real name is Saint?Jin-Po. This name practically coincides in phonemic sound with the name of the hero of another Bulgakov's work "Chinese History", in which the character is called Saint-Zin-Po. The consonance of the names of the characters is not accidental: with its help, the writer manages to emphasize the characteristic features in the images of the Chinese, as well as the fact that, according to the established stereotype, all representatives of Asian peoples are perceived by a Russian person almost the same, all "on the same face". The name of Gasoline sounds in Chinese as follows: Gan-Za-linu. The semantics of Chinese names do not go back to their real names in China. It can be assumed that this is a parody interpretation, which is used by the writer to create an appropriate color in the play.

Both biblical and mythological motifs can be distinguished in the images of the Chinese. The image of a Cherub is associated with the idea of heavenly angels, the name of Gasoline refers the reader to the lexeme "gas". It is important that earlier gas in the form of gasoline was used to illuminate dark streets, thereby symbolizing light. Obviously, the images of Cherub and Gasoline embody a possible "light" for the residents of the "Zoika apartment". With their help, M. A. Bulgakov is trying to bring the inhabitants of the "house of dates" back to the light, at the level of context, interweaving the biblical quote "God is light". According to the famous Chinese researcher Li Seung Ok, in the play "Zoikin's Apartment" by M. A. Bulgakov, the central image of the "dating house" acts as an "antidome", unable to cultivate real human values. Therefore, the images of Cherubim and Gasoline appear here at the level of mythological and biblical discourse as representatives of the "anti-Jerusalem" ^{[13, p. 215]}.

The confrontation of these heroes makes it possible to highlight the numerous features in the character of the Chinese that distinguish them from the Russian people. For example, M. A. Bulgakov introduces the "challenge-duel" motif, which allows the reader to show that it is fundamentally important for the Chinese to demonstrate their strength and achieve a real result. At the same time, it is important for the Chinese in the concept of the play "Zoya's Apartment" not to soil his honor: it is easier for him to die than to show his weakness. This is expressed through the image of a Cherub who utters the following phrase: "I'll hang myself on the ropes for you!" ^{[14, p. 59]}. By illustrating the accent, the author achieves that this statement can be perceived by the reader in two ways, with completely different meanings: "I'll hang on your gate"; "I'll hang you on the gate". Both versions of the meaning demonstrate that the Cherub is ready to sacrifice in order to achieve his goal and protect his own honor.

The cherub goes on any adventures in order to reach the location of the Manyushka. The hero steals from the hostess and leaves the so-called "Zoya's apartment" forever. Cherub takes Manyushka with him to his homeland, thereby defeating his rival Gasoline in the "challenge-duel" motif: "You and I are dealing with Sanhai. We will trade opium. Joyfully. You will give birth to children in Chinese a little, a little, a lot of children, sit down, eight, ten" ^{[14, p. 56]}.

It is interesting that M. A. Bulgakov uses for naming the Chinese not his original Asian name, but the nickname Cherub, which creates a semantic indication of the angelic features of the hero's appearance. The writer, by using the nickname of this nickname, emphasizes the duality of the character's nature: his appearance really embodies angelic features, thanks to which Manyushka prefers this particular hero, but the character's behavior is not exemplary and angelic.

In the context of the play "Zoikin's Apartment", the images of the Chinese have the features of scammers and adventurers who are ready to do anything to achieve their goals and for their own well-being. In this way, M. A. Bulgakov plays with the artistic antithesis, introducing the motif of a curved mirror into the text: the so-called Cherub is the perfect opposite of an angel. The technique of a curved mirror is also manifested at the level of lexical means that realize the image of a Cherub. In addressing the hero, a distorted idiomatic expression "well, to God" is used, which is used in contrast to the usual saying for a Russian person, "well, to hell with you" ^{[14, p. 79]}. As we can see, in the image of a Cherub, a carnival debunking of the angelic subtext of the character is carried out: the hero's name is perceived grotesquely and paradoxically based on the reader's analysis of his behavior.

In our opinion, an important feature of the Cherubic image in the play "Zoikin's apartment" is also that the hero manages to set in motion all those around him, all the inhabitants of the new "Soviet apartment". Cherub supplies morphine to Zoey Peltz's apartment, thereby affecting not only the way of life of the apartment's residents, but also their lives in general. For example, Obolyaninov and Amethyst are imbued with respect for Cherubim due to the fact that he gives them the opportunity to get morphine. Obolyaninov's attitude towards the Chinese can be judged by his remarks: "Pay attention, Zoya, how he smiles! A perfect cherub! A talented Chinese!.." ^{[14, p. 87]}. Thus, M. A. Bulgakov emphasizes that in the image of a Cherub there is a feature of constant movement that can bring others into action. Naturally, the Cherubic adventurer is not an example of the righteousness of actions, but at the same time his positive quality is that he is constantly searching and in the process of achieving his own goals.

It is noteworthy that the whole life in Zoya Peltz's house is built according to specific laws of existence, which are beyond the logical explanation of ordinary people. M. A. Bulgakov manages to create a kind of mythological space in which various layers of existence are intertwined: in the plot of the play, the idea of reality is synthesized through the depiction of unreal entities devoid of moral categories.

Through this crooked mirror, the idea of the reality of the Chinese origin of Cherubim and Gasoline is also questioned. For example, a Cherub who arms himself with a knife in order to "cut" his opponent becomes more like a typical Russian robber than a stereotypical Chinese. An interesting detail is also the fact that both Chinese speak broken Russian to each other, which also casts doubt on the origin of the characters.

In the phantasmagoric world of the "antidome" everything becomes unreal, including the lives of the Chinese introduced into the plot of the play. It can be noted that at the level of semiotics of the images of Cherubim and Gasoline, it is impossible to develop a single perspective of understanding these characters. On the one hand, they are perceived as saving forces for some of the characters in the play, and on the other hand, they have the characteristics of murderers and adventurers. There is a conceptual fusion of high and low, moral and illegal.

The images of the Chinese in the work of M. A. Bulgakov acquire not only an original semantic form, but also a functional originality, expressed in the fact that the characters Cherub and Gasoline complement the overall picture of life in the "Zoika apartment". All the characters of the play, including the Chinese, can be characterized by a number of conceptual categories, among which the following are noted:

1. The illusory nature of the inner world.

2. The borderline of actions and behavioral motives.

3. Instability of the provisions ^{[10, p. 71]}.

All the characters of the work are characterized to one degree or another by kaleidoscopic nature, expressed in the fact that the behavior of the characters cannot be fixed in any one state, flows from one position to the next. The "Chinese" theme is perceived by the reader as an artistic accident, a stylistic element of exoticism and cultural eclecticism. The initial concentration of attention on a secondary paradoxical element determines its involvement in the semantic space of the work as a central component and leads to an understanding of the integrity of M. A. Bulgakov's artistic intention.

Conclusion

The images of the Chinese in the discursive representation of the play "Zoikin's Apartment" by M. A. Bulgakov are embodied through a whole range of cultural and historical motifs. For the writer, the Chinese depicted are, first of all, people who, by chance, got into revolutionary Russia, trying to earn bread on Soviet soil, while not always adhering to exclusively honest ways. Cherub and Gasoline dream of returning to their homeland, but choose the wrong path to achieve this goal. In our opinion, the play reflects the author's peculiar aesthetic attitude towards the Chinese characters. For the author, all Chinese who became Red Army soldiers or played other roles in revolutionary and post-revolutionary Russia are perceived as similar and portrayed with a greater degree of sarcasm and irony. M. A. Bulgakov tries to understand the original motives of those foreigners who found themselves in revolutionary Russia: he does not ascribe righteousness to them, on the contrary, he is skeptical about their actions and their life in Russia. Cao Xuemei, in a modern study devoted to "Chinese" motifs in the works of Russian literature of the 1920s, expresses an idea about the "eastern" roots of the revolution ^{[8, p. 125]}. According to this concept, this explains the consequence of the revolution – the invasion of Russia by the "barbaric masses" of fortune seekers from other countries, among whom were Chinese "unconscious revolutionaries", whose images are represented in the works of M. A. Bulgakov, in particular, in the play "Zoikin's Apartment".

Thus, the discursive context of considering the images of the Chinese in the play by M. A. Bulgakov is manifested in the mixing of Russian-Chinese flavor, as well as historical and social material of the time when the writer's work was created. At the same time, the introduction of Chinese images into the plot of the play is not accidental, but expresses the connection of cultures, as well as the writer's own idea of Asian flavor on the example of China. The images of the Chinese allow the author to depict in the play a complex connection between the tragic and the comic. The characters in question also play an important plot-forming role, participating in the creation of a single chronotope that holistically shows the life of the inhabitants of the Zoika Apartment.