The image of Moscow in modern Chinese textbooks of Russian as a Foreign language for higher education institutions

Barsukova Elena Aleksandrovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Area Sudies, Moscow State University 119234, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str. 1, pp. 13-14, office 209 tbarsukova@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

Chzhan Yan' Postgraduate Student, Department of Area Sudies, Moscow State University 119992, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Prospekt Vernadskogo str.37, 1610 916838821@qq.com Other publications by this author

Introduction

In the 21st century, the Russian-Chinese partnership is characterized by high dynamics of development and active relations at various levels. Russian Russian language and culture are becoming increasingly popular among Chinese students in the context of deepening political, economic, and cultural cooperation between the two countries. Currently, about 28,000 students study Russian at more than 180 universities in China ^[12], and the number of Chinese students in Russian universities is growing. As a result, the issues of forming the image of the country of the studied language – Russia – in the international educational discourse are becoming increasingly relevant.

For decades, there has been a growing interest in research in the field of imagology, a scientific discipline that studies images of "foreign", "other" countries and cultures that are foreign to the perceiving subject ^{[10, p. 11]}. The importance of a foreign language textbook, including Russian as a foreign language (hereinafter referred to as RCT), in the formation of the "external" image of Russia is widely recognized in the scientific community ^{[4, 8, 16]}. In this regard, the problem of selecting information about the history, culture, geography, and administrative structure of the country of the language being studied is of particular importance. The principles of selection and inclusion of linguistic and foreign studies information in teaching materials on foreign languages were developed in the fundamental works of such Russian scientists as E. M. Vereshchagin and V. G. Kostomarov, V. V. Safonova, S. G. Ter-Minasova ^{[1, 14, 15]}. In recent years, there has been a growing interest among researchers in studying the socio-cultural component of Russia in Chinese textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The object of the research is the axiological aspect of these didactic materials ^[2], the specifics of the representation of the image of the Soviet Union ^[13], ethnic stereotypes about Russia and Russians ^[6], the features of the image of Russia in school textbooks ^[9]. In their works, the researchers note that the image of Russia in Chinese textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences demonstrates different characteristics depending on the cultural and historical conditions and the educational materials studied. Of particular importance for this study is the article by E. V. Dzyuba, which highlights constructive strategies for the presentation of Russia in Russian language textbooks: a strategy for combining traditional and relevant in highlighting the facts of modern reality, a strategy for a reasonable combination of the language and culture of the country of the language being studied with the cultural phenomena of the area where the training is conducted, and a strategy for including Russian cultural phenomena in the world cultural fund ^{[5, p. 80]}. At the same time, it should be noted that to date there are no comprehensive cultural studies of individual components of the image of Russia, in particular the image of Moscow, in modern Chinese university textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

In the framework of this study, the image of Moscow in the textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences is considered as an integral component of the image of Russia and as a cultural phenomenon. The image of the city is not only a business card of the city, but also a way to get acquainted with the country of the language being studied. Back in the 1960s, the American sociologist K. Lynch in his monograph "The Image of the City" was the first to put forward the concept of the same name and drew a parallel between the physical and mental appearance of the city ^[7]. The German philosopher O. Spengler believed that the image of a city is an objective unity of the language of forms and the history of style, which is present in the entire life course of culture ^{[17, p. 93]}. Russian scientists N. D. Dembich and A. A. Fatkullina see a close connection between the image of the city and culture, and define the image of the city as a complex of visual, semantic and value elements ^{[3, p. 237]}. In their opinion, the image of a city is often based on local cultural, historical and traditional values, traditions and crafts, historical events or legends, as well as the achievements of significant personalities with whose name or creativity the city is associated. The image of a city may also reflect its geographical location, landscape, nature, or climate features ^{[3, p. 238]}. Chinese scientists have a similar point of view on understanding the image of a city, for example, according to Qiao Xianjin and Dong Xiaohua, the image of a city is a generalized and essential characteristic of a city, which is often reflected through a deeper level of culture ^[21]. According to Dong Xiaofeng and Niu Huiyen, the image of a city consists of both material and spiritual elements and reflects impressions and ideas about the city in the public's mind ^[19].

Based on the opinions of the above-mentioned scientists, we believe that there is an extremely close relationship between the image of the city and culture. The image of a city is, in fact, a complex manifestation of collective perceptions, impressions, attitudes and assessments of the city in multiple dimensions, containing a strong subjective emotional coloring. Its constituent elements are physical, historical, cultural, social and other aspects.

The purpose of this study is to establish the nature of the representation of the image of Moscow as an integral part of the image of Russia formed in the minds of the addressees of the Chinese textbooks of the RCT. Achieving the goal involves solving the following tasks: selecting text and illustrative material, the object of which is Moscow; identifying the components of the image of the city in these materials and highlighting the dominant component; defining strategies for representing the image of Moscow in the material under consideration; establishing the nature of the influence of the image of Moscow projected in the textbooks of the RCT on the image of Russia as a whole.

The methodology of the work combines elements of comparative and content analysis of source data, description and induction.

Russian Russian in Higher Education Institutions (New East) ^[18] and Russian Language (second edition) ^[20] are two modern Chinese educational and methodological complexes for philology students. Russian Russian in Universities textbook ("New East"), published by the Publishing House of Teaching and Research of Foreign Languages, was compiled by the Institute of the Russian Language of the Beijing University of Foreign Languages in 2020-2023. Russian Russian Language Educational Complex (second edition), published by the Peking University Press in 2010-2022, was compiled by the Institute of Russian Language at Heilongjiang University. Russian Russian Language Testing Each educational complex consists of eight volumes, volumes 1-4 correspond to the IV level of Chinese testing in the Russian language, volumes 5-8 correspond to the VIII level of Chinese testing in the Russian language for philologists. The choice of these textbooks is due to the fact that they are widely used in Chinese higher education institutions.

The scientific novelty of the work consists in establishing a number of features of the representation of the image of Moscow (as an integral part of the image of Russia) in modern Chinese textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which are particularly popular in Chinese universities and have not become the object of scientific understanding.

The theoretical significance of the research is to determine the imaginative potential of materials about Moscow in textbooks of Russian as a foreign language in the context of imagology, as well as in the theoretical development of constructive strategies for the presentation of the image of the city. The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that the results of the work can be in demand in the field of cultural linguistics and linguistics and used by both Chinese and Russian RCT teachers in the development of textbooks.

Moscow as a component of the socio-cultural component of the Chinese textbooks of the RCT

Professor S. K. Miloslavskaya points out that "the image of a country can be divided into components, [...] and such a division can characterize individual links of an integral image as a system of private images" ^{[8, p. 53]}. Thus, within the framework of this study, the image of the city in the scheme of imagological analysis of the RCT textbook can be inscribed in the macroimagotheme "country" ^{[8, p. 50]}. The image of Russian cities as part of the image of Russia is often used in didactic materials when teaching Russian abroad. The image of the largest cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), including information about history, sights, traditions, is directly reflected in textbooks and teaching aids of the Russian language as a foreign language ^[16]. The importance of Moscow as an object of learning is emphasized in the "Russian Language Curriculum for Higher Education Institutions" (second edition), published by the Publishing House of Teaching and Research of Foreign Languages of China in 2012 and includes recommendations to Chinese authors who compile RCT textbooks on the content of the designed textbooks. In this program, information about Moscow is included in the required fund of socio-cultural knowledge ^[22].

The empirical material of the study confirms that modern Chinese university textbooks of the RCT offer a wide range of information about Moscow, that is, they can be recognized as a means of forming and spreading the image of Moscow among Chinese students. Russian Russian studies examined the frequency of mentions of Russian city names in textbooks ("Russian language in universities" and "Russian language"), as well as the number of illustrations associated with these cities (see Table 1). In the analyzed materials, Moscow, occupying a leading position in terms of the number of mentions, appears as the main Russian city (180 and 146 mentions in these textbooks), significantly ahead of St. Petersburg, which ranks second (70 and 84 mentions). Although the authors of these didactic materials provide extensive information about the geographical and cultural image of Russia, introducing students to such Russian cities as Sochi, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Tomsk, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Yekaterinburg, compared with Moscow, the mention of these cities has a relatively low frequency (39). This principle applies to illustrations, 36 and 57 illustrations, respectively, in the two educational complexes are dedicated to Moscow, while the illustrative material intended for exploring other cities is much more modest.

Russian Russian in higher education institutions ("New East") and 9 lessons out of 87 (more than 10%) of the textbook "Russian Language", the analysis of the thematic content of textbooks (see Table 2) showed that Moscow becomes the object of study in 11 lessons out of 69 (approximately 16%) of the educational complex "Russian language in higher education institutions ("New East") and 9 lessons out of 87 (more than 10%) of the textbook "Russian language". Thus, it can be concluded that the sources under consideration demonstrate that Moscow is an important object of description in the studied educational materials.

Table 1. The frequency of mentions of Russian city names and the number of illustrations in the materials studied

The structural components of the image of Moscow in Chinese textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences

E. V. Pobedash notes that acquaintance with a different culture in the learning process occurs "with the help of culturally valuable texts, audio and video materials, exercises" ^{[11, p. 139]}. The methods of content analysis and induction were used to study the relevant educational materials with the Moscow component (see Table 2). As can be seen from the table, educational texts about the culture of Moscow demonstrate consistency at different stages of learning, they are carefully systematized. In terms of organizing the content of textbooks, both series follow a certain logical sequence, starting with the presentation of basic information about Moscow and gradually delving into cultural, social, historical and other dimensions, based on the principle of socio-cultural progression, they form a complete and systematic body of knowledge. At the same time, the educational texts of different volumes are linked to each other, they create a smooth transition from topic to topic, and ensure a holistic learning process. The lessons are devoted to various aspects: culture and history, culinary traditions and holidays, transport, education, trade, weather, etc. This demonstrates the breadth and versatility of Moscow's image projected in educational materials.

Table 2. Analysis of lessons with the "Moscow" component in the materials studied

The identity of Moscow as the capital of Russia is explained in the text "The capital of Russia is Moscow. Basic information": "Moscow is a city of federal significance, the capital of Russia, the administrative center of the Central Federal District and the Moscow Region, and a hero city. The largest city in Russia and Europe, the most important transport hub, as well as the political, economic, cultural and scientific center of the country ..." ^{[20, vol. 8, p. 11]}. A similar description can be found in the introduction to another lesson on this topic.: "Moscow, as one of the world's giant cities, is located in the center of the European part of Russia [...] Its territory in 2006 is 1081 km2. Moscow is the largest city in Russia and Europe in terms of population [...] Moscow is a major global cultural and scientific center [...] Moscow is the country's largest transport hub ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 24]}. It is worth noting that when describing Moscow, words such as "large", "giant", "largest", "important" and "center" are repeatedly found. Students will learn about the scale and significance of Moscow from the following lines: "You cannot tell about it [Moscow] in two words, because it is not just a city, it is a whole world, a whole story" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 24]}. Russian Russian identity The special importance of Moscow in the described material is expressed in the words of A. N. Ostrovsky ("In Moscow, everything Russian is becoming clearer and more expensive. The Great Russian national force is pouring into Russia through Moscow in waves" ^{[20, vol. 6, p. 125]}), V. G. Belinsky ("Nowhere does the heart beat so strongly, so joyfully as in Moscow" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 27]}) and A. S. Pushkin ("Moscow ... how much It's a sound that's been combined for the Russian heart!" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 27]}). Thus, in the materials under consideration, Moscow is described as a central Russian city with enormous size, significance and influence.

The historical image of Moscow is vividly represented on the pages of the studied textbooks. For example, the text "General information about Moscow" is dedicated to the history of Moscow. Consider a fragment: "for the first time Moscow became known in 1147, when the Suzdal Prince Yuri Dolgoruky invited his brother and ally, Prince Svyatoslav, to visit him in Moscow [...] The meeting of the two princes was the beginning of the history of the city [...] Folk wisdom says: "Moscow was not built immediately." ^{[18, vol. 4, pp. 25-26]}. The text depicts Moscow as a centuries-old capital.

In addition to the historical image of Moscow, these textbooks pay attention to the image of the city's social life, reflected in the aspects of customs, gastronomy and holidays, education, transport and trade. Thus, culinary and festive customs and traditions of Moscow are represented in both educational complexes. The dialogue about Maslenitsa in the Park of Culture depicts a scene of celebrating Maslenitsa and making pancakes: "Maslenitsa is a great national holiday. It is also called the winter send-off [...] Children and young people sledding down the hill. And everyone necessarily eats pancakes" ^{[18, vol. 3, pp. 264-265]}. Russian Russian Restaurant describes the atmosphere of a Moscow restaurant and Russian dishes (appetizers, salads, hot and cold dishes of vegetables, meat, fish, lots of soups and desserts). The text "How Muscovites drank tea" tells about the tea ceremony: "Muscovites drank tea in the morning, at noon and necessarily at four o'clock. At that time, samovars were boiling in every house in Moscow.…They drank with milk, lemon, jam, and most importantly, with pleasure, and Muscovites loved strong and hot tea [...] During the tea party, the Muscovite carefully watched how tea was poured for him. If the glass was not filled to the top, the guest immediately asked to top it up so that life would be fuller. If the samovar, crackling with coals, "sang songs," the superstitious Muscovite rejoiced: this is for good" ^{[20, vol. 7, pp. 19-20]}. These customs and traditions not only demonstrate a unique image of gastronomic and festive culture, but also reflect Muscovites' love and respect for life.

When studying Russian using the analyzed textbooks, Chinese students get acquainted with such prestigious universities as Lomonosov Moscow State University, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Moscow Pedagogical University, etc. A special place is given to MSU: "As the largest educational institution, MSU is the most prestigious, as the quality of education here is highly appreciated not only in Russia, but also abroad. According to UNESCO, MSU is one of the three best universities in the world" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 227]}. It can be said that the description of the Moscow State University uses a strategy of including the phenomena of Russian culture in the world cultural fund. The text also highlights the importance of Moscow as a center of science and education: "Up to 80% of Russia's scientific potential is concentrated in the capital and surrounding cities. Over a hundred of the best universities in the country are located here" ^{[20, vol. 6, p. 149]}.

Students will learn about Moscow's environmentally friendly modes of transport, such as metro, tram, trolleybus. The Moscow Metro is described by the words "Soviet romance", "underground palaces of old metro stations", the material contains a high assessment of the achievements of the metro builders: "Metrostroy is a technical revolution, a labor feat" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 29]}. The narrative about the metro implements a strategy of combining traditional and relevant: "Going down to the subway, we get the opportunity not only to move around the capital, but also to touch the history of the construction and development of the subway" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 30]}.

Two legendary department stores in Moscow are mentioned – GUM and TSUM, which are known for their high–quality goods and elegant furnishings. Socio-cultural information about the store can be found in the text: "There is a fountain on the ground floor in the GUM center, usually many people make appointments here" ^{[18, vol. 2, pp. 268-269]}.

When describing the features of Moscow's architecture, the authors resort to the above-mentioned strategy of combining traditional and relevant in highlighting the facts of reality: "In the architecture of Moscow – peculiar and unique – the past, present and future are combined together. The most ancient among modern times is evidence of the immortality of the talent of the people" ^{[18, vol. 4, pp. 26-27]}.

The weather in Moscow is described as an unstable and changeable phenomenon, the nature of which is difficult to grasp: "The weather in Moscow changes very often. For example, today it's plus twenty–seven, tomorrow it's plus fourteen [...] It's very difficult to say what the weather is like in Moscow" ^{[18, vol. 2, p. 177]}. Traditionally, there is an indication of a long winter: "Winter in Moscow is usually long, but not always cold" ^{[18, vol. 2, p. 176]}.

It should be noted that the materials about Moscow include some negative aspects concerning the pragmatic and everyday side of life. The selected texts mention "traffic jams in the city center from morning to evening" ^{[18, vol. 2, p. 154]}, an indication of the price of accommodation in metropolitan hotels: "the cost of a room does not always correspond to the quality of service, the owners of private apartments raise the rent too much as soon as they hear a foreign accent ^{[20, vol. 8, p. 13]}. However, even the presence of individual difficulties does not overshadow the tourists' stay in the city: "... in general, guests in Moscow feel comfortable" ^{[20, vol. 8, p. 13]}.

Thus, the representation of the image of Moscow is characterized by its multidimensional and versatile nature, and it can be argued that the authors followed a holistic strategy in selecting and presenting materials about the city.

The cultural aspect of the image of Moscow

An analysis of the corpus of selected texts has shown that the dominant component of the image of Moscow is its artistic and cultural characteristics. To create a detailed cultural image of Moscow, textbooks include descriptions of a significant number of historical and cultural sites (see Table 3). Moscow appears on the pages of textbooks as the center of the cultural life of the country. It is a city where various festivals are held.: "In the spring of each year, the Golden Mask Theater Festival takes place in Moscow, in which theater groups from all cities of Russia take part" ^{[18, vol. 3, p. 254]}. The Moscow International Film Festival is repeatedly mentioned: "Wang Lan loves art very much. Recently, she and her Russian friends Boris and Nina were at the Moscow International Film Festival. At the film festival, Wang Lan met an English journalist. This journalist speaks Russian well. He studied Russian in London and Moscow" ^{[18, vol. 1, p. 122]}. Russian Russian student's interest in the festival, meeting with an English journalist who speaks Russian, creates an atmosphere of multicultural space, Moscow becomes a meeting place for different languages and cultures, which fits into the strategy of including the phenomena of Russian culture in the global cultural fund.

Table 3. Moscow historical and cultural sites in the studied materials

Russian Russian in Higher Education Institutions (Novy Vostok) textbook contains descriptions of 43 historical and cultural sites in Moscow, while the Russian Language textbook (second edition) contains 36. Of all the objects in the two studied complexes, the description of museums and theaters significantly prevails – 40% and 56%, respectively. The textbook materials convincingly testify to Moscow's special place in the field of culture and art: "Of all the cities in Russia, Moscow is a real Russian city that has preserved its national identity and is rich in historical memories. Among the cultural heritage sites, the most famous are the Tretyakov Gallery, the Bolshoi Theater, the monument to Alexander Pushkin, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and the Moscow metro, whose line scheme resembles a spider web that crosses the ring" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 27]}. In addition, 6 cathedrals and monasteries are mentioned in each of the studied complexes, which is 14% and 17% of the total number of objects. The mention of these monasteries and temples highlights Moscow's position as the religious center of Russia.: "The peculiarity of Moscow, unlike St. Petersburg, was that it had many churches. No wonder Moscow was called the city of "forty forty churches", until 1917 there were 450 churches in it. Some of them have been preserved to this day" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 26]}. Studying the material, one can see that historical figures and heroes are revered and remembered in Moscow – many monuments to historical figures are described: "There are a lot of monuments in Moscow, they were built in honor of outstanding people and historical events in the life of Russia" ^{[20, vol. 2, p. 8]}. The Russian State Library is repeatedly mentioned: "Russia is considered the most reading country. [...] There are 50,000 libraries in Russia, the main one is the Russian State Library (hereinafter referred to as the RSL). The Russian State Library is located in the center of Moscow, not far from the Kremlin" ^{[18, vol. 3, p. 109]}. There is also an addendum in the text that fits the RSL into the pan-European context: "This is the largest library in Europe" ^{[18, vol. 3, p. 109]}. It is worth noting that the textbooks studied also mention places such as squares, streets and avenues, gardens and parks, which are the meeting place of old and new Moscow. A special place in the studied material is occupied by Red Square: "Cars are not allowed to drive on Red Square at all because of the sanctity of this place and due to the large number of people who want to walk through this square with simple steps [...]. I have never seen such a beautiful, austere, and distinctive square in any city" ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 35]}. The inextricable link between Moscow and Russia is revealed in the text about the Tretyakov Gallery: "Alexander III approached Vasily Surikov's painting "Boyarina Morozova" and asked if it was possible to buy this painting. Tretyakov replied, "She's not mine anymore. It belongs to the city, and with it to Russia!" Alexander III bowed low to Pavel Mikhailovich" ^{[18, vol. 3, p. 219]}.

It should be emphasized that the authors try to simultaneously integrate into the exercises a description of the historical and cultural monuments of Moscow and Beijing, encouraging students to compare and contrast. The authors of the textbook ask students to find information about the historical monuments of Moscow and Beijing, choose one of them in each city and make a brief report about them ^{[18, vol. 4, p. 34]}. The objects of comparison in the assignment are St. Basil's Cathedral and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and the Gugong Museum and Yiheyuan Park in Beijing. This assignment is an example of the implementation of a strategy for a reasonable combination of the language and culture of the country of the language being studied with the cultural phenomena of China.

Moscow sights on the pages of textbooks are highly appreciated by foreigners. These cultural sites not only enrich the cultural life of Muscovites and Russians, but also become the most attractive places for foreign tourists, as evidenced by the text "New Moscow through the eyes of foreigners": "Moscow museums are also very popular – foreigners prefer the Museum of Fine Arts, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Armory, the Museum of the History of Moscow and others. Among the objects frequently visited by foreigners are apartment museums: Chekhov, Mayakovsky, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Manor museums are popular. Foreigners also really like going to Moscow theaters..." ^{[20, vol. 8, p. 12]}. The perception of Moscow by Knut Hamsun, a traveler from Norway, is mentioned, who shares his enthusiastic impressions of Moscow: "I had to tread on the soil of all possible countries of the world [...], but I have never seen anything like the Moscow Kremlin. Moscow is something fabulous" ^{[20, vol. 6, p. 125]}.

Thus, the analysis of the corpus of selected texts demonstrated the presence of descriptions of a significant number of objects, indicating the special importance of the historical and cultural component in the image of Moscow. It is obvious that the authors-compilers use constructive strategies to represent the image of Moscow in the studied materials.

Conclusion

The image of the city is a synthesis of subjective impressions and representations of groups of people. In the international educational space, RCT textbooks for foreigners have become one of the most important tools for shaping the image of Russian cities, including Moscow. The textbooks studied contain rich linguistic and cultural information about Moscow, with significant imaginative potential. The empirical research material confirms that modern Chinese university textbooks of the Russian Academy of Sciences are a means of forming and spreading the image of Moscow among Chinese students. The textbooks studied give Moscow, as the largest city in Europe and the center of Russia, a positive assessment: in the historical and cultural aspect, the textbooks studied demonstrate Moscow as a centuries-old capital with a deep cultural heritage; in the aspects of public life of Muscovites, the textbooks studied tell about the unique customs and traditions of gastronomy, about Moscow's holidays, educational resources, a beautiful and unique subway, about convenient trading. When selecting and submitting the material, the authors implement the principle of linguistic and cultural progression and a holistic strategy, students are introduced to the multifaceted image of Moscow, which is not reduced to a limited range of aspects. The selected materials implement constructive strategies for representing the city in the RCT textbook, namely, a strategy for a reasonable combination of the language and culture of the country of the studied language with the cultural phenomena of China, a strategy for including the phenomena of Russian culture in the world cultural fund, and a strategy for combining traditional and relevant in highlighting the facts of modern Moscow reality. In general, it can be recognized that these textbooks form a positive image of Moscow, the dominant component of which is the cultural aspect. It can be recognized that the demonstrated uniqueness and originality of Moscow arouses the interest of Chinese students in Russian culture and helps to form positive representations of Chinese students about Russia as a whole.