Peculiarities of perception of the play "The Storm" and the image of the heroine in Fang Xin's translation

Shen' Mentsi ORCID: 0009-0001-2470-7655 Postgraduate student; Department of Russian Language and Literature; Far Eastern Federal University 690922, Russia, Primorsky Krai, Vladivostok, Ajax str., 10 mengqishen705@yandex.com

The translation of the play "The Thunderstorm", performed by translator Geng Zizhi in 1921, not only opened the history of the distribution of A. N. Ostrovsky's works in China, but also, as can be assumed, in this translation the play was first staged in China in 1937. Russian Russian translator and literary critic Lin Lin testified that when "The Thunderstorm" was first presented in Shanghai in January 1937 by the Shanghai Society of Amateur Actors (Shanghai Juren Sehui), the actors played not only in Russian costumes ^{[7, p. 92]}, but also under the names of the characters of the original. The second Chinese translation of the play was published only in June 1937. The translator of the second version, Shi Ying, gave Chinese names to the characters of the play, rather than using transliteration, as Geng Zizhi did. For example, in Shi Ying's translation, Katerina is named Gao Lin, and Varvara becomes Ma Li. Thus, Geng Zizhi's translation played an unprecedented role in the production of the play in China. And according to Lin Lin in September 1948, of all Ostrovsky's plays, "the one that is most often staged in China, with the largest audience and in the widest territory, is The Thunderstorm. One can even say that of all the foreign plays, "The Thunderstorm" is the most popular among the Chinese public and the most popular in the repertoire of Chinese theaters most often" ^{[8, p. 241]}. In 1959, a memorable performance of the play "The Thunderstorm" was held in Beijing, dedicated to the centenary of its production in Moscow. The performance was based, as can be seen from the program, on another translation made by Fan Xin. This translation was first published in 1940, and the third translation of The Thunderstorm would not appear until 1987. Thus, many Chinese scientists in their research on Ostrovsky relied on the translation of Fan Xin's version. It can also be argued that Fan Xin's translation had a longer period of distribution and a wider impact than Geng Zizhi's translation.

Fan Xin (1902-1963, real name Cai Fangxin), was a versatile personality. In his youth, he studied acting at the Beijing Renyi Special Theater College, but dropped out after two years. Then he worked as an actor in Shanghai. In 1927-1928, he went to Japan to study English, after which he returned to Shanghai and founded a literary magazine. At the same time, he devoted himself to translating foreign literature, especially Russian and Soviet plays and novels. At first, his translation level wasn't particularly high, but he studied hard to improve his skills. In addition, he taught at a drama college and sometimes staged plays for amateur theater groups. His extensive stage experience allowed him to gain a deeper understanding of the unique requirements and features of the theatrical language, which helped him master the skills of translating plays. His translations of "The Thunderstorm" by A. N. Ostrovsky, "The Seagull" and "Uncle Vanya" by A. P. Chekhov, "The Inspector General" by N. V. Gogol and "At the Bottom" by M. Gorky are widely known to be influential in China.

In December 1940, the Shanghai National Publishing House (Shanghai Kuomintang Shudian) published a translation of Fan Xin's The Thunderstorm, which was the first publication of his translation of this play. It should be noted that, according to the research of Ge Baoquan and M. E. Schneider, the translation of "Thunderstorms" by Fan Xin first appeared in 1944, published by the World Publishing House (Shijie shuju) ^{[8, p. 239]}; ^{[7, p. 246]}. However, this translation was already published in 1940. We emphasize this time because 1940 fell at an unusual stage in Shanghai's history – the period of the "lonely island" (Gudao) (1937-1941). In November 1937, the Chinese army lost the war with Japan and was evacuated from Shanghai. Japanese troops occupied all areas of Shanghai, except for foreign settlements, because at that time Japan was not yet ready to enter the war with such imperialist countries as Great Britain, France and the USA. Thus, foreign settlements in Shanghai found themselves in the ring of Japanese occupation ^{[3, p. 102]} and resembled a "lonely island", hence their names. It was "at that time that the territory of foreign settlements turned out to be the only unoccupied area deep in the rear of the territories captured by Japanese troops" ^{[4, p. 165]}. Many writers and translators who remained in Shanghai vigorously developed their translation careers, taking advantage of the special environment controlled by Great Britain, France and other countries. After all, "the relative stability of life on a lonely island, the relatively "neutral" political position of the Shanghai Municipal Council, the restriction and prohibition of "radical" newspapers and magazines, the ease of purchasing foreign books and magazines, excellent conditions for printing and publishing, the relative concentration of foreign-language talents and the need for residents of the island to be aware of the situation during the war." – all this emphasized the advantages of translation over creation" ^{[11, p. 35]}. As a result, there was a favorable situation with literary translation in China during this period.

Political factors can influence the development of art. "The socio-political background of the Lone Island period greatly influenced translators' interpretation of foreign literature in China, which was reflected in their choice of genres of foreign literature and translation sources. This reflects the national relations between the country of origin and the country of translation" ^{[14, p. 90]}. And during this period, Russian and Soviet literature undoubtedly had the greatest influence. A total of 83 Russian and Soviet works were translated into Chinese during this period. At the same time, the translations of the "lonely island" period were distinguished by a wide genre range. "Of these, in descending order, novels (165), plays (53), folklore (28), reports and memoirs (27), literary theory (14), poetry (6) and prose (4)" ^{[14, p. 92]}. For a genre that is only developing in China– the drama theater, this statistic is of great importance. During this period, the drama theater was booming in Shanghai: against the background of growing anti-Japanese enthusiasm, more than a hundred new amateur and professional troupes appeared. It also increased the demand for translation of foreign plays. This is one of the reasons for the development of theatrical translation. On the other hand, "theater during the Lone Island period was both a means of entertainment and a tactful way of expressing political goals. Due to the dangerous political situation that developed during the "lonely island" period, theatrical figures could not directly and openly express anti-Japanese sentiments. Therefore, translations and adaptations of foreign plays have become a way for writers to express ideas of resistance" ^{[12, p. 22]}. According to researcher Chen Qingsheng, during the Lonely Island period, "Fan Xin was the most prolific translator of foreign plays. During this period alone, he performed seven translations of multi-act plays" ^{[10, p. 123]}. His translation of "Thunderstorms" was influenced by this complex social context.

Since the translation, first published in 1940, is almost impossible to find, we use for analysis its reprint, published in January 1942. There are many differences between Fan Xin's translation and Geng Zizhi's. First, it is a name change – from "Lei Yu" (雷雨, Thunderstorm) to "Da Lei Yu" (大雷雨, Stormy thunderstorm). This was due to the fact that in 1934 the play by the Chinese playwright Cao Yu "Lei Yu" (雷雨, Thunderstorm) appeared. And in 1940, Ostrovsky's play in China was called "Stormy Thunderstorm" – "Da Lei Yu". The second difference is structural. In the translation, Geng Jizhi retained only the division into actions, but not into phenomena. Fan Xin, on the contrary, restored the structure of the original text in his translation, translating almost all the lines and preserving the integrity of the text of the play. Thirdly, the names of the characters sound more accurate. For example, Geng translated the heroine's name "Katerina" as "卡答邻" (i.e., Ka Da Lin), and Fan Xin as "卡特丽丽" (i.e., Ka Tae Li Na). Although transliteration is used in both cases, the translation of the latter corresponds more closely to the pronunciation of the original. In addition, a careful comparison of Fan Xin's translation with the original text shows that the translator has preserved all the characters' lines, largely preserving the meaning and style of the original text. As an example, let's take this excerpt from Katerina's monologue: "Well, now silence will reign in our house. Oh, what a bore! If only someone's children! Eco woe! I don't have any kids: I'd just sit with them and amuse them. I really like talking to children – they are angels. (Silence). If I had died a little girl, it would have been better. I would look down from heaven to earth and rejoice in everything. Otherwise, she would have flown invisibly wherever she wanted. She would fly out into the field and fly from cornflower to cornflower in the wind like a butterfly" ^{[5, pp. 36-37]}. This fragment translated into Chinese in the following way: "唉,现在我们家里冷静起来了。哦,多么疲倦啊!要是有几个孩子的话!哦,多悲痛啊!我没有小孩儿;不然我可以一直跟他们坐在一块,逗着他们玩儿。我很喜欢同小孩儿讲话;他们是天使。(稍停)要是我在小时候死了多好;那么我可以从天上望到地下,赏玩尘世上的万物。要不然,我可以照到我的心意无踪无影地飞到什么地方去;我可以像蝴蝶似地顺着轻风在田野里的稻花上面飞来飞去" ^{[9, p. 59-60]}. / "Ah, now our house is quiet. Well, how tired I am! If only there were children! Well, what a grief! I don't have any children; otherwise I could sit with them all the time and amuse them. I really like talking to children, they are angels. (Silence) If only I had died as a child; then I could look down from heaven to earth and admire everything in the world. Otherwise, I could have flown away without a trace wherever I wanted; I could have fluttered back and forth like a butterfly in a light wind over rice flowers in a field" (hereafter – the literal translation of the author. – Shen Mengqi). The translator accurately conveys the heroine's mood change. At first, she sighs for her loneliness, and then dreams of flying over flowers like a butterfly. The translator reproduces all the phrases, reflecting Katerina's sadness at this moment and her desire for freedom. Death is one of the ways for her to gain freedom. Note the translator's desire to "bring" the text closer to the reader: cornflowers become rice flowers.

Fan's translation preserves the motifs of love, death and freedom associated with the image of Katerina, as well as the motifs of patriarchal morals and the dark kingdom accompanying the image of Kabanova. But in some details, the translation differs slightly from the original, and here the peculiarities of the translator's perception of the heroine's image are revealed.

The image of Katerina is closely linked to the motive of death, not only because it is her tragic choice in the finale, but also because she mentions death early and repeatedly. And Fan Xin emphasizes this motif in the translation. So, Katerina confessed to Varvara: "How frisky I was! I've wilted completely" ^{[5, p. 21]}, which was translated as "从前我是一的的的!!" ^{[9, p. 28]}. / "I used to be a very cheerful girl! Now I'm dying in your house." It is obvious here that the translator has increased the tone and emphasized Katerina's suffering in the Kabanov family. The original text talks only about Katerina's captivity, but in the translation there is a motive for death. And then in her final monologue, the phrase sounds: "It's the same that death will come by itself... but you can't live! Sin!" ^{[5, p. 72]}. Fan Xin translated these words: "等死来,或是我自己去寻死,这都是一样的--总之我不能够再活下去了!活下是是!!" ^{[9, p. 131]}. / "Waiting for death or committing suicide, it doesn't matter – in any case, I can't live anymore! Living is a sin!" The translator here emphasized that living is a sin. The translation allows you to better feel her disappointment and aversion to the real world, her rejection of life and her determination to die.

The choice of Katerina's death was largely related to her unhappy family life. In Fan Xin's translation, the heroine's lack of freedom and the painful longing caused by it are emphasized. For example, after Katerina tells Varvara about her premonition of death, she "grabs her head with her hand" ^{[5, p. 22]}. Fan Xin translated this action as: "用的的手手" ^{[9, p. 32]}. / "hits himself on the head with his hand." The differences in the actions of the main character reflect the differences in her mental state. The action in translation more expressively conveys Katerina's excitement at the moment. Not only did she foresee trouble, but she also felt so helpless that she could not rely on any outside forces to save herself. In addition, the phrase "It will become so stuffy for me, so stuffy at home that I would run" ^{[5, p. 23]} in translation it sounds like this: "现在家家,压迫得我简直要逃走" ^{[9, p. 32]}. / "And now this family is so depressing, so depressing, that I just want to run away." It is clear here that the translator perceives the image of Katerina as an object of oppression and believes that the deep longing that the heroine speaks of in the original is caused precisely by this oppression. On the other hand, Fan Xin's translation highlights the unhappiness of her situation.

A similar example is the monologue she utters when she receives the key: "That's how our sister dies. Who's having fun in captivity?" ^{[5, p. 38]} - "我们女人是是是。。。的的的?" ^{[9, p. 62]}. / "That's how our women's lives collapsed and our good name perished. Who wants to live in chains?" The translator equates shame with death, which means that he believes that the main reason for Katerina's unhappiness is bondage and the loss of a good name, which is equivalent to death. In addition, the translation of the word "bondage" as "shackles" enhances the feeling of Katerina's slavery. Note that first Fan Xin uses the Chinese idiom "身败名裂" (life collapsed and a good name died), and then a metaphorical rhetorical device that emphasizes the beauty of Catherine's speech, preserving their meaning. This interpretation of the heroine's image is typical of Fan Xin's entire translation. We noted above that the playwright endowed the main character with a strong and gentle character. Katerina's poetic soul is reflected not only in her desire for freedom and love, but also in her speech. The playwright uses expressive means here: various kinds of repetitions, diminutive forms of words, comparisons, idioms Chinese and Russian belong to different language families and have significant differences, but Fan Xin managed to convey the lyrical and folk origin of Katerina's speech.

One way to achieve this is to use idioms, Chinese idioms (chengyu, 成语, literally: "ready–made expression") – "in the Chinese language, there is a stable turnover, most often consisting of four hieroglyphs" ^[6]. Chinese idioms "are full-fledged elements of the phraseological system of the Chinese language, used to enhance the emotional and expressive coloring of speech, as well as to express a certain system of modal meanings as a way of conceptualizing the speaker's attitude to reality" ^{[2, p. 431]}. For example, Katerina's phrase "Otherwise I would have flown invisibly wherever I wanted" ^{[5, p. 37]} was translated as "要不然,我可以照到我的的心地地地地地方" ^{[9, p. 60]} / "Otherwise I could have flown away without a trace wherever I wanted"; "I lived, I didn't worry about anything, just like a bird on the free will" ^{[5, p. 21]} – "I lived my days without caring about anything in the world; I was like a bird released from its cage."

The use of the Chinese idioms "无影无踪" and "无忧无虑" in translation makes Katerina's speech especially beautiful, both because they accurately convey the poetic meaning and form of the heroine's speech, and because Chinese idioms, "having a four-syllable form, which is the most harmonious form in terms of rhythmic pattern" ^{[2, p. 431]}, "they serve as an emotional coloring, and give a certain style <...> speeches" ^{[1, p. 95]}. In the second example, the translator also uses a rhetorical comparison technique, comparing Katerina to a bird that has left its cage, creating a more vivid image of a free bird. In addition, Fan Xin uses parallelism techniques to keep Katerina's speech rhythmic in translation. For example, here are three sentences: "the Sun is warm, the rain wets her..." ^{[5, p. 72]} it was translated as "阳光温暖它,雨点淋漓它" ^{[9, p. 130]} / (Sun warms it, the rain wets her); "And the people I hate, and I hate the house and the walls are disgusting!" ^{[5, p. 72]} in the translation sounds like – "我憎恨他们那些人,我憎恨那所屋子,我憎恨那屋子里的墙壁!" ^{[9, p. 131]} / "I hate these people I hate this house, I hate the wall!"; "I will start working some promise; I'll go in Gostiny Dvor, buy canvas, and will of sewing underwear, and then give them to the poor" ^{[5, p. 37]} – "我要发誓做点儿工夫;我要到铺子里去买点布料;我要用这些布料缝几件衣服送给穷人" ^{[9, p. 60]}. / "I have to swear that I will do some work; I have to go to the store and buy canvas; I have to make clothes for the poor out of it." We note here not only the semantic accuracy, but also the proximity of the poetics of translation to the poetics of the original text.

The motif of love, inseparable from the image of Catherine, as well as the motif of death, sounds stronger in Fan Xin's translation. So, Katerina tells Boris: "Banish them! Really!" ^{[5, p. 52]}. Fan Xin translated these words as "这样的" ^{[9, p. 91]}. / "How could I do that?" In translation, the exclamation intonation turns into a question intonation, and this is how Katerina's love and kindness are emphasized. Katerina confesses to cheating, remains alone, thinks about Boris and says the words: "No, there is nowhere! Is he doing something now, poor man?" ^{[5, p. 68]}. Translated, the phrases sound like this: "找不到,哪儿都找不到他!?" ^{[9, p. 123]}. / "I can't find him. I can't find him anywhere! Poor guy, what is he doing now?" Note that in the original text, Katerina is thinking about Boris. And in Fan's translation, she's thinking about him, looking for him. In the breakup scene, Katerina says that she sees Boris for the last time, and "looks into his eyes" ^{[5, p. 71]}. But in translation: "^{[9, p. 129]}. / "She looks lovingly into his eyes." The adverb "with love", added by the translator, enhances the sound of the love motif.

The character of Katerina remains strong in the translation, but, unlike the first translator, Fan Xin does not obscure the motive of love, but on the contrary, emphasizes it, and at the same time makes the motive of death more pronounced, and thus conveys both the lyricism of the heroine's image and the tragic sound of this image. Translated by Fan Xin, Katerina is both gentle, always seeing the beauty of life, and brave, undaunted before death.

Katerina's misfortune is the result of Kabanova's despotic power. "If it wasn't for my mother-in-law!.. She crushed me... she makes me sick of the house; the walls are even disgusting," says Katerina ^{[5, p. 38]}. Marfa Kabanova's cruelty is fully conveyed in Fan's translation. Moreover, when translating some lines, the translator made them more expressive. For example, in a dialogue with a Wild Man, she says that "There are no elders over you, so you're bragging" ^{[5, p. 43]}. Fan Xin translated this phrase as "因为你没有管管,所以你会这么吵吵闹闹起来" ^{[9, p. 72]}. / "Because you don't have elders who can control you, you become so noisy." The translator added "control you" to emphasize the dominant role and position of the older generation in the family, as well as Kabanova's commitment to "Domostroy." Kabanova – dogmatically follows the old rules, and believes that the old world is the best, and the new one will only destroy the order. Therefore, she contemptuously calls people like philistine Kuligin "teachers" ^{[5, p. 62]}. But Fan Xin translated this name directly as "说教的人" ^{[9, p. 112]} / "reasoner", which also emphasizes Kabanova's disdainful attitude towards people who adhere to new views. In addition, Kabanova, as a supporter of Domostroy, attaches special importance to the family. Strict order in the family, as well as a good reputation, is what she strives for. This was also emphasized by the translator. Tikhon tries to escape after learning about his wife's death, but Kabanova stops him with the words: "She didn't do enough for us, she started something else!" ^{[5, p. 73]}. Fan translated her words like this: "她败坏我们的!!就瞧她现在的的的件!!!" ^{[9, p. 134]}. / "Not only has she tarnished the family's reputation! Just look at what she's doing right now!" In the original, we are talking about shame, "passion," as Kabanova says, and this implies the shame of the family, although the word family is not mentioned. But the translator adds the words "reputation" and "family", emphasizing Kabanova's desire to look good in other people's eyes.

In addition, the translator emphasized the motif of the "dark kingdom" in the play, which is especially noticeable in the remarks of the Wild. Dikoi, being a well-known merchant in the city, is very rude and treats others badly, and treats Kuligin even more disdainfully. Fan Xin translated his address to Kuligin "Stupid man!" ^{[5, p. 56]} as "你这个蠢家!!" ^{[9, p. 100]} / "You idiot!". The words "What are you, a Tatar or something? Are you a Tatar? Eh? Tell me! Tatar?" ^{[5, p. 58]} were translated as "你是一人人人,一个鞑子子?你是一个鞑子不是?你说,你是是一子子子" ^{[9, p. 105]}. Here, Tatar is translated as "鞑子子子子子子子 (" (a contemptuous expression of the word "Tatar"). The wild and rude character of the Wild is so vividly conveyed.

And the strengthening of the motif of the "dark kingdom" in Fan's translation further emphasizes the image of Katerina, who lives a bitter life without freedom in such a closed, backward and suffocating small town. It is the powerlessness that real life gives her that makes her rebel against such a life and die. As a result, we believe that Fan Xin emphasized in his translation the conflict between Katerina's image as an object of oppression and the dark forces of the dark kingdom, as well as her bondage.

But this translation is very accurate, and very lyrical. It is the poetic element in the play and the image of the heroine that dominates it. Let's compare the original and the translation of the last monologue again. "Where to now? Should I go home? No, I don't care if I go home or to the grave. Yes, that's home, that's in the grave!.. What a grave! It's better in the grave... There's a grave under the tree... How good!.. The sun warms her, the rain drenches her... The grass will grow on it in the spring, it's so soft... the birds will fly to the tree, they will sing, the children will be brought out, the flowers will bloom: yellow, red, blue... all kinds (ponders), all kinds...It's so quiet! So good! It feels easier for me! And I don't even want to think about life. Live again? No, no, don't do that... It's not good! And people disgust me, and the house disgusts me, and the walls disgust me! I'm not going there! No, no, I'm not going! You go to them, they walk around, they talk, but what do I need it for? Oh, it's getting dark! And they're singing somewhere again! What are they singing? You can't make it out... I wish I could die now... What are they singing? It's like death will come by itself... but you can't live! Sin! Won't they pray? Those who love will pray... Hands are folded crosswise... In the coffin! Yes, so... I remembered. If they catch me, they'll bring me home by force... Oh, hurry, hurry! (He approaches the shore. Loudly.) My friend! My joy! Goodbye! " ^{[5, p. 72]} – "现在回家去吗?不,我回家去就跟到坟墓里去一样。对啦,回家,要不然,就进坟墓,坟墓!最好是到坟墓里去!一棵树下面的一座小坟 !多愉快……阳光温暖它,雨点淋漓它……春天它上面长满青草——嫩嫩的青草……鸟儿会飞到树上去;它们会唱歌,会养小鸟。野花会开出黄的、红的、蓝的……各式各样的花朵……(沉思)各式各样的花朵……多宁静!多愉快!我会轻松多了!我不要想起人生。再活下去吗?不,不,没有必要……没有意思!我憎恨那些人,我憎恨那所房子,我憎恨那些墙壁!我决不到那儿去!不,不,我决不去……要是我回到他们那儿去,那他们就会在到处说,可是,这对我有什么要紧呢?哦,天已经黑了!他们又在什么地方唱起歌来了!他们唱什么歌?我不明白……现在我只想死!他们唱什么歌?等死来或者是我自己去寻死,这都是一样的……总之我不能再活下去了!这是罪恶!他们会替我祈祷吗?反正谁爱我,谁就会替我祈祷……他们会把我的手叠成十字……放进棺材里去!对啦,就这样……我记得。要是他们抓住了我,那他们就会把我拖回家去。哦,赶快,赶快!(她走到河边,大声地叫道)我的朋友!我的欢乐!再见!" ^{[9, pp. 109-111]}. / "Where should I go now? Home? No, I'm going home, like to the grave. Grave grave, or home, or to the grave, that's right! Better go to the grave! A small grave under a tree! How nice... The sun warms her, the rain drenches her... In spring, it is covered with grass – tender grass... The birds will fly into the trees; they will sing and hatch their chicks. Wildflowers will bloom yellow, red, and blue... all kinds of flowers... (thinks) all kinds of flowers... How peaceful! How nice! It would be much easier for me! I don't want to think about life. Live again? No, no, don't... There's no point! I hate these people, I hate this house, I hate the walls! I will never go there! No, no, I'll never go... if I go back to them, they'll be talking about it everywhere, but what do I care? Oh, it's getting dark! They're singing somewhere again! What kind of song are they singing? I don't understand... now I just want to die! What kind of song are they singing? Waiting for death or committing suicide, it doesn't matter – in any case, I can't live anymore! Living is a sin! Are they praying for me? Anyone who loves me will pray for me anyway.… They'll cross my arms... and put me in a coffin! That's it, that's it... I remember. If they catch me, they'll drag me home. Oh, hurry, hurry! (She goes down to the river and screams.) My friend! My joy! Goodbye!" From the translation of this fragment, Chinese readers can feel the romanticism in the image of Catherine. At the same time, the second half of the translation accurately conveys her disappointment in the real world.So, in general, Fan Xin presents the reader with a bright and strong heroine with complex character traits.

The emphasis on the conflict of Katerina's image with the dark kingdom, as we have already analyzed above, is undoubtedly closely related to the social context of Shanghai in the 1940s. The special poetic character of Katerina's image in translation is partly determined by Fan Xin's experience in translating poetry, as well as his translation talent.

During the "lonely island" period in Shanghai, Fan Xin "actively participated in Shanghai poetry activities. He did a lot for the development of poetry in Shanghai during this period" ^{[13, p. 128]}. The level of Fan Xin's translation was noted by Yu Lin (于伶, 1907-1997), a famous Chinese playwright and director. "He called Fan Xin a "translator in difficult conditions" and noted the merits of his translations, the skill with which he conveyed various artistic styles of original works" ^{[10, p. 124]}.

The Thunderstorm, translated by Fan Xin, remained dearly loved in China throughout the 1940s, and literary critics and directors of Chinese theaters communicated with this translation.