ИСТИНА

Through an analysis of the interaction between Chinese poetry and its Russian translation, current research explores the functioning of poetic text, the cognitive framework of reading, and the principles whereby an alien tradition is assimilated. In Russia, China was often viewed within the framework of the classical chinoiserie tradition. Poets of the early 20th century set the tone for this kind of interaction through their fascination with China as the exotic Other exemplified by Nikolai Gumilev. Gumilev interpreted classical Chinese tradition as perceived by the French translator Judith Gautier. The cult of the artificial and the idea of art imitating nature, typical of French Parnassianism, deeply influenced both Gumilev and Gautier. These concepts also happen to be highly relevant to traditional Chinese poetics. Presenting a part of the significant avant-garde trend of reinterpreting the cryptic “East,” this tradition of using Chinese imagery and poetic principles was further reinforced by the many translations of traditional and contemporary Chinese literature by Russian Sinologists who published most actively during the 1940s-1960s. In the 20th century Russia, social order was inscribed within the translation of classical Chinese poetry. A translation was addressed to a reader who acted within the framework of the national/cultural tradition, and who was forced to reckon with this tradition. The task posed to the translators of classical Chinese poetic texts was not poetic; it was instead a cultural one. Contemporary Russian translations of traditional Chinese poetry were based on the necessity to continue reflecting on the translatability of linguistic structures even when they seem to be untranslatable.