A Study On The Literature Of The Russian Emigrants Living In China 20～(th) Century

The literature of the Russian emigrants refers to, in this thesis, the literary works created by the Russian emigrants living in China.The era of emigration from Russia to China was started by the construction of the Middle East railway in early 20^th century and the mass emigration from Russia around the October Revolution. Harbin, a central station on the Middle East railway, in Russia's neighboring country China, became the first ideal gathering spot of the Russian emigrants. Their settlement and development during half a century until 1950's in Harbin and Shanghai was a solemn and beautiful melody of their cultural activities in China. They left to their descendants abundant and priceless spiritual heritage. However, this heritage has been unknown to the readers for various historical reasons until 1980's. Only by 1980's, especially after the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1990's, did the "Return" of "emigrants' literature" and the exploration of its heritage stand in the limelight of the cultural and literary fields of Russia as well as of the whole world. And then the literature of the overseas Russian in China, capturing extensive attention from the whole world, became a new land for an active exploration.The literature of the overseas Russian in China indicates the works composed in Russian language by the overseas Russian in Harbin, China. As a whole, it remained the distinct literary characteristics of Silver Era, and bore a strong impression of the outstanding features of advocating persistence and strong will, of local colors, homesickness complex, national sentiments and special styles. It is an important part of world literature in 20^th century, as well as a special component of contemporary Chinese literature.Emigrants' literature has recently received more and more attention and has been reevaluated in academic field at home and abroad. The phenomenon of "the literature of the overseas Russian" has been studied worldwide. A full-scale research was called on in a round-table conference "The Literature of the Overseas Russian and the Soviet Union Yesterday and Today", which was initiated by Russia and America altogether in 1992. Since 1990, many Russian literature journals have started special columns devoting to the literature of the overseas Russian and many colleges and research institutes began to offer the course of the literature of the overseas Russian. The works of the overseas Russian writers for the first time received its positive commentary. They have gained so much attention of scholars and writers in Russia, Britain, America, Japan and Australia during these years, that the literature became popular worldwide and was incorporated as an independent chapter for the first time in "A History of the Literature of Overseas Russian", which was published in 1998 in Moscow. It must be pointed out that there are differences between the literature of the overseas Russian in West and the one in China. Many overseas Russian writers in Europe and the United States were praised as messenger of culture exchange, such asНабоков,Поплавскийand etc. They translated and introduced Russian literary works into the West, while their fellowmen in China brought Chinese culture into Russia.However, their works have not been studied in China at present, so there are few systematic achievements. We are still outlining the history of their literary works. So we can say that the domestic researchers have not yet begun a concrete and systemic analysis on this subject which leaves much room for the research in this dissertation.This thesis, with the five-volumed translation edition of "The literature of Overseas Russian in China" being its study subject and with the combination of the rare available material aboard and at home , will analyze and discuss with nine chapters the memoirs, poems and novels in the above-named book.First, it will make a careful analysis and a clear classification of the literature of the overseas Russian in Harbin and its social, regional and cultural environment. It will analyze the creation background of the literature of the overseas Russian in China, the particularity of Harbin and Shanghai which caused the Russian emigrants to choose these two cities as their early destination, the origination of the literature of the overseas Russian in Harbin, etc.Second, it will reveal the ideology and main artistic features of the literature of overseas Russian in Harbin and make an evaluation of them. It will also analyze the general literary forms and specific cases of the memoirs, poems and novels.Third, it will demonstrate that literature of the overseas Russian in China is a part of modern Chinese literature and has its own particularity and significance to the history of literature. It will analyze the ideology of the literature of the overseas Russian in China under the circumstances of cultural exchange. By doing so, the dissertation will expand the field of modern Chinese literature, supply it with new academic support of achievements and demonstrate further the irreplaceable role and special values of the literature of the overseas Russian.The literature of the overseas Russian in China emerged as a special existence both in the history of contemporary Chinese literature and the history of Russian literature. It embodies its uniqueness as being a phenomenon of regional literature, as well as being a cross-cultural case. It is an incardination of special collective emotion against the background of different cultural patterns in Russia and northeast China. It shows in depth the different cultural essences and national ideologies reflected in the minds of the overseas Russian writers and their works. All of the works were so much under the influence of Chinese culture .Some of the works are even accounts and explanations of the customs in northeast China and of the customs of minority nationalities. So it is of great cultural and academic values to analyze the contents and spirits of this literary phenomenon.There are more differences than similarities in the breadth and the depth between the works of the overseas Russian writers in China and the works of contemporary local Chinese writers, and this ensures a continuity and a broad extension to the research on the literature of the overseas RussiaThis thesis will study completely and systematically the literature of the overseas Russian in Harbin, which enriched modern Chinese literature, analyze its different styles, reveal its profundity and its relationship with Russian and Chinese culture according to different literal forms of this literature, and generalize its importance as a special regional literature in modern Chinese literature. It will fill a gap in the research on the modern Chinese literature, and because the literature of the overseas Russian is a special and regional one, the study of it has a nature of intersection and marginality. Owing to the academic innovation, originality and uniqueness of this thesis, it is hoped that it will have an irreplaceable value in the academic and theoretic study of the history of literature of both Russia-Soviet and China.