Translation and reader reception of L. N. Tolstoy's novels in China

Chzhan Yan ORCID: 0000-0003-4523-2270 Postgraduate student, Department of Romano-Germanic and Classical Philology, Tomsk State University 634050, Russia, Tomsk region, Tomsk, Lenin Ave., 34, office 18 Zhangyang-ok@yandex.ru

Nikonova Natal'ya Egorovna Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Romano-Germanic and Classical Philology, Tomsk State University 634050, Russia, Tomsk region, Tomsk, 34 Levina Ave., office 18 nikonat2002@yandex.ru

L. N. Tolstoy attracted the attention of academic circles from the initial stage of perception of Russian literature in China, at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1905, Leo Tolstoy's novel "Logging" was translated from Japanese and published in the first educational magazine in China, Mir Obrazovaniya ^{[1, pp. 3-13]}, from that moment readers could get the first idea of the Russian writer. Before the onset of the Fourth of May period in China, that is, before 1917, the number of translations of the works of Leo Tolstoy far exceeded the number of translations of the works of other Russian writers: of the 80 works translated and published in China before that time, the works of Leo Tolstoy accounted for almost half.

Russian Russian translation In the 1930s and 1940s, with the expansion of the circle of interested translators and with the improvement of Russian language proficiency, the number of novels translated from the original Russian continued to increase, and the quality of translation also improved significantly. Before the formation of the People's Republic of China (1949), a number of Tolstoy's works were translated, but The Resurrection was the first to become known to the Chinese reader. In June 1907, the Shanghai Commercial Publishing House published the first translation of Ma Junwu's "The Heart in Hell", ^[2]. This translation was made from German and with abbreviations.

In 1914, the following partial translation of the novel Resurrection was published in a Chinese publishing house ("The Heart in Hell") Ma Junwu, which was also translated from German and included 57 chapters. Professor Chen Pingyuan, a literary figure, wrote in the essay "The History of Chinese Novels in the 20th Century": "In the first part of the translation of the novel Resurrection Ma Jun has deleted many statements about judges and some government officials in chapters 7 and 8.” In his opinion, "after the reduction, the storyline became clearer, and the language became more concise ...". At the same time, he gave the new translation a positive assessment: "Although the translator made some cuts, he understood the essence of the original without detracting from the charm of the work" ^{[3, p. 58]}. Ma Junu was fluent in foreign languages and had deep knowledge of Chinese and foreign literature, that is, he did not accidentally choose the novel "Resurrection". This translation was favorably received by readers and provided a new benchmark for understanding the legacy of Leo Tolstoy.

In 1917, the first Chinese translation of Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina was published in China. The authors were Chen Jialin and Chen Dadeng, and the title of the book sounded like "" (dosl. A brief history of a graceful girl). This translation was made from English, while two translators resorted to significant transformations in terms of language, the content of the original text was also not properly preserved, that is, they carried out a free translation in accordance with their own understanding of the work of art. At the same time, Lu Xin, one of the founders of modern Chinese literature, once said that this translation was "not good" ^{[4, p. 367]}. But it should be noted that as the first complete Chinese translation of the novel "Anna Karenina", it entered the history of translation perception of the novel.

In 1922, the novel "Resurrection" translated by Geng Zizhi (1899-1947) was published in a commercial publishing house and became the first complete Chinese translation from Russian. This work has been reprinted many times over the years, that is, it was positively received by readers.

In comparison with the novels "Resurrection" and "Anna Karenina", work on the Chinese translation of the novel "War and Peace" began later. In 1931, the Chinese writer and translator Guo Mojo (1892-1978) began translating the novel "War and Peace", but Guo Mojo had experience, first of all, in contacts with German and English literature, and, probably, therefore, the Chinese translation of the novel "War and Peace" was not performed quite qualitatively. The author himself admitted: "I am not quite the right translator for this novel" ^{[5, p.85]}. In addition, since the publishing house was striving for an early publication, there were many mistakes in this Chinese translation, and it was not recognized by readers and literary critics. 1931-1933 The Publishing House of Literature and Art published only the first, second and third volumes of the novel "War and Peace" translated by Guo Mojo, who was unable to complete the translation of the novel.

In the 1940s, Gao Zhi, a famous writer and translator who devoted himself to the study of Russian literature, began work on a Chinese translation of the novel "War and Peace", which Guo Mojo failed to complete. Gao Zhi was fluent in Russian, he corrected Guo Mojo's translation and finally completed it in 1942. When the full translation was published, two names Guo Mojo and Gao Zhi could be found on the cover. On this occasion, Guo Mojo said, "This complete translation is a crystallization of Gao Zhi's efforts alone." He also confirmed that Gao Zhi surpassed him: "The translation is very concise and faithful, and at the same time fully demonstrates the humility and meticulousness of the translator" ^{[5, p. 85]}. After the first publication in 1942, this version was corrected and republished in 1947 and 1951.

One of the reasons that the Chinese translation reception of the novel "War and Peace" began late may be the fact that "War and Peace" is, as you know, a voluminous novel, in addition, in the 1930s, Japan began to invade China, that is, a new stage of Tolstoy's reception in someThe political situation also contributed to this measure. At that time, China's plight was similar to that of Russia, which, according to the plot of the novel, was threatened by war and which won it. The Chinese translation of the novel "War and Peace" thus had an actual practical significance against such a social background.

The full Russian literal translation of the novel "Anna Karenina" appeared last and was released in Guangxi Province in 1943, the translator was Zong Wei.

To summarize, it can be said that three novels by Leo Tolstoy were translated for the first time by Chinese authors from German, English and other intermediary languages, while the novel "Resurrection" again became the first.

We have carried out a quantitative analysis of the existing Chinese translations of three novels by L. N. Tolstoy. To date, there are at least 30 Chinese translations of the novel "Resurrection". It should be noted that the interest of Chinese scientists in the work of Leo Tolstoy continued to grow in the XXI century. This period can be called the most fruitful in the history of Tolstoy's novel studies in China ^{[6, p. 50]}. Between 2000 and 2010, 16 Chinese translations of the novel Resurrection were published. The latest version of the translation is that of translator Liu Wenfei, published in 2018. There are 24 Chinese translations of the novel Anna Karenina, with the last Chinese translation released in 2019. The novel "War and Peace" has 19 Chinese translations, and the last one appeared in 2017. Thus, from the point of view of translation reception, the novel "Resurrection" is more popular in China than the other two novels.

Speaking about the Chinese reception of Tolstoy's works, one cannot but mention Cao Ying (1923-2015), vice-president of the country's Association of Translators, who began learning Russian at the age of 15 with a native speaker in Shanghai and became a translator at the age of 18. He was the first in China to translate the works of M.A. Sholokhov, but his greatest achievement is considered to be the translation of the complete works of L.N. Tolstoy. The author began translating in 1960, and spent 20 years (1978-1998) retransmitting the work. In 1987, for his outstanding contribution to the development of Russian literary translation, Cao Ying received the Gorky Prize from the Union of Writers of Russia.

The distribution of foreign literature abroad is not limited to the number of translations and their editions. The perception of a work by readers is, in fact, the most important communicative space, which is formed as a result of the cooperation and cooperation of readers, translators, publishers, trade and modern online platforms in a certain range.

Readers' reviews and assessments of literary works upon reading include not only judgments about the content, but also reviews about the form and about subjective impressions. Individual reader comments on literary works are primarily based on personal literacy and reading experience. However, in their entirety, the responses collected in a single special corpus reflect the most important plan of intercultural and inter-literary communication, especially from the point of view of the sociology of literary relations of our time. Regardless of whether a recipient is a professional reader or an accidental one in the field of literature, a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the entire corpus of their reviews is of interest for research.

This article focuses on Internet communication between readers upon reading translations of three classic and at the same time the most popular novels in China by Leo Tolstoy. The material of reviews, reviews and comments was presented by a specialized website for such communication of readers called "Doban. Reading" (kit. ).

This website for readers was founded on March 6, 2005. The group of users of the resource are mainly educated young people. The column of the Douban website, launched in 2005, began with reviews of books by popular domestic and foreign authors. At the moment, the resource has taken shape as a platform for readers to discuss literary works. In 2012 "Douban. Reading" had more than 8 million monthly visitors, and the number of visits, in general, exceeded 100 million. You can leave comments on the platform not only about books, but also about movies and music. Compared to precedent sites, book reviews on "Doban. Reading" are the most profound and popular. In the eyes of Chinese Internet communication researchers, "Douban. Reading" surpasses analog websites, because over time it has acquired the status of a special communication space where you can share your impressions of what you read with like-minded people. ^{[7, pp. 14-16]}. In China, "talking about book reviews and implying Douban" has become familiar to the public ^{[8, p. 107,118]}.

On the website of "Doban. Reading" almost every Chinese translation of three novels by L. N. Tolstogo3 has a corresponding discussion group. As we compare the perceptions of the three novels, the Chinese translation versions with the highest number of website user reviews as of January 31, 2023 were selected for the study for analysis.

Table 1. Quantitative data on the reader's perception of translations of L. N. Tolstoy's novels in China on the platform "Douban. Reading"

Firstly, the results of the collection and analysis of readers' responses after reading the novels indicate the relevance of Tolstoy's legacy as a whole. This is confirmed by the results of the study of the translation reception of his works in comparison with the perception of other classics of Russian literature: by the end of the 1920s, about 15 works by A. S. Pushkin appeared in Chinese translations, 6 works by N. V. Gogol could be familiar to readers in China, about 25 texts by I.S. Turgenev were translated into Chinese, At least 20 works by F.M. Dostoevsky were translated into Chinese, until 1917. Among 80 works of Russian literature translated and published in China before that time, the works of L.N. Tolstoy make up 33 texts. Secondly, it is obvious that the novel "Anna Karenina" turns out to be the most popular in terms of the number of reviews, followed by "Resurrection", which in terms of the emotional and evaluative content of the responses is the most controversial, ambiguous in terms of perception of the three novels. Tolstoy's largest, epic creation "War and Peace" attracts the attention of the least number of readers.

An analysis of the content of readers' reflections left on the site about this novel shows that Chinese readers preferred the translation of the novel "War and Peace" Cao Ying, which was published by the Shanghai Publishing House of Literature and Art in 2007. As of January 31, 2023, the book was rated by a total of 6969 users of the website, the average rating is 9.4. Among them, 75.2% of readers gave the novel the highest rating (5 stars), strongly recommending the work for reading. 20.5% of users rated it 4 stars, 3.7% considered the novel to be "average", and only 0.6% said it was not worth reading. It was also noted that although 6,969 people participated in the evaluation of the Chinese translation of this publication, only 1,818 readers left specific comments, 95% of reviewers gave a positive assessment, and 3% set aside neutral reviews, 2% of readers gave a negative assessment.

There are several aspects noted in the positive reviews of the novel "War and Peace": firstly, readers believe that this is too voluminous, although a deep work that requires an attentive, thoughtful approach: "After reading it, I was simply amazed. With regard to the plot and characters, the environment, philosophical reasoning – it cannot but be called great!" ^[8]. Another reader writes: "A great work is to shake you through the boundaries of time and space, allowing you to explore your own morality, life, values, soul and love. Reading this work allows you to fill your soul, which pales against the background of this era." His colleague agreed with him: "Reading this book can make you feel that you have lived a life with the people in the book, which is the true meaning of reading."^[9] Thus, a separate group of reviews contains an idea about the purifying effect of the work on the inner world, about the feeling of catharsis in the process and as a result of reading.

The second group of reviews concerns Tolstoy's historiosophy and his depiction of war. Positive Chinese readers believe that "the war is written out in an unexpected way", that "descriptions of war, real emotions, a special understanding of history, deep thoughts and vivid images are really inspiring", and "the pictures of war created by L. N. Tolstoy on the pages of this novel come to life before their eyes directly during reading" ^[9]. However, they are opposed by deep critical reviews: "It seems to me that this book is not a work of fiction, but a philosophical and historical treatise that is used only to promote L. N. Tolstoy's own view of history... L. N. Tolstoy refuted the theories of many historians and replaced them with his own. What angers me even more is that he described even his own view of history too cumbersomely, so after telling all the plots of the characters, he also spent almost 40 pages (pages in Chinese translation) to fully explain his view of history."^[10]

The characters of the novel also form a separate subject for discussion. Some readers state that "there are too many characters created in the novel, so you have to write them out on a separate sheet, otherwise you start to get confused very quickly" ^[11]. But in the eyes of some readers, everyone whom Leo Tolstoy portrays in the novel is alive, full of individuality and emotions, even if they are minor characters. As for the narrative, I really don't know how the author manages it as well as the real creator, who created countless people with his own thoughts, as well as the stories of these people" ^[12].

In the comments of readers, you can often find quite predictable responses regarding the volume of the work. For example, "the novel is too long"; "I couldn't finish reading it"; "I think maybe I was a little impatient and tried to quit it when I was reading the book, but I finally finished it" ^[13]; "it was very difficult to read"; "really, not I will be able to read it"; "After reading this book, I felt that L. N. Tolstoy is tiresomely talkative!" ^[9]. etc.

Chinese readers also have mixed opinions about the creation of female characters, especially about the image of Natasha Rostova. They believe that the fates of the main characters and their images in the novel are not impressive ("all the characters are puppets"). Natasha's heroine in the novel also caused readers unpleasant reader impressions and even made them suspect that Leo Tolstoy "was a misogynist", and "in his novel, women from the upper strata of society seem to have never met a man in their lives and fall in love as soon as they meet him, and they have no personal will" ^[9].

Thus, in the readership of 21st century China, Tolstoy's main novel is popular, but rather due to the fact that it is recognized as a classic in the original. According to their content, the reviews are rather polemical in nature, which is due to factors such as the large volume, complexity and ornate narrative, unconventional depiction and understanding of war, historiosophy, and female images.

In addition, in the reviews of the novel "War and Peace", many readers compare their impressions with those after reading the novel "Anna Karenina": "Compared to the novel Anna Karenina, it seems to me that this novel is so empty. I can't take it anymore."^[9] "If we compare the novel Anna Karenina with War and Peace, then Anna Karenina also covers a wide range of topics, with many characters and long names, but, after all, the storyline of the novel Anna Karenina has an almost perfect structure. In it, I followed a clear storyline and did not get lost in the vast and terrible world of Leo Tolstoy" ^[14].

On the Douban website, the translation of the novel "Anna Karenina" by Cao Ying, republished by the Shanghai Publishing House of Literature and Art in 2007, received the highest number of ratings from users. A total of 24,335 website users gave the book a score of 9.2, of which 64.5% gave 5 stars, 29.6% 4 stars, 5.2% 3 stars and 0.6% a low rating. Judging by the comments of readers, the number of reviews of this book is also high: a total of 5,919 users left specific comments.

According to user reviews, it is not difficult to find that the image of a woman in the book and the themes of love and marriage have attracted the most attention. So, readers note: "The novel Anna Karenina alone is equal to ten magazines in depicting human relationships... Don't tell me what kind of tragedy this is, I think that in this world there will always be women like Kitty, who has a pure soul; like Dolly, who is hardworking and always ready to contribute to her family; like Anna, who have an excess of hormones. As for marriage, it depends on fate."^[15] In the novel, Anna's infidelity in marriage and other short-term love relationships arouse the interest of recipients without a pronounced negative assessment: "A woman like Anna can only be looked at as a work of art"; "it is recommended to read this book before the wedding, after reading it you will no longer want to get married, and there will be no subsequent divorce, which it will save you a lot of trouble" ^[15].

And although Anna's character does not receive clearly negative responses, there is still more approval for Levin's figure. Readers believe that "Anna's view of love is difficult to judge; maybe he is irresponsible, maybe he stands up for women's freedom, but the favorite character in this book is "Konstantin Levin"" ^[15]. Although Levin is not an unambiguous figure in the novel, readers understand and accept him: "Levin can honestly face himself! He and Kitty returned to the village and lived happily. What a happy state. <...> Anna's storyline is also very exciting, but still I like Levin more! So cute!" ^[15].

Readers highly appreciate L. N. Tolstoy's ability to embody psychologism and characterology in the word:

"L. N. Tolstoy is amazing, he seems to know and understand all people, and his description of characters in detail is excellent" ^[15].

"L. N. Tolstoy writes so well about people, while now it is extremely difficult for us to understand what other people think." ^[15].

"The characters of L. N. Tolstoy's works have different characters, and the characters pursue different goals, L. N. Tolstoy tries his best to present them to the reader. L. N. Tolstoy also describes very well some subtle feelings between people, especially when Kitty and Levin got married, both became clumsy with excitement and happiness, which touched me very much." ^[4].

The novel "Resurrection" occupies a special place in comparison with two other Tolstoy novels in terms of reader perception in modern China. Translated by Zhu Lun and published in 1979, on the website "Douban. Reading" is the most popular among users. As of January 31, 2023, this book was rated by 20,716 website users with an average rating of 8.1. Among them, almost half of the readers (46.6%) gave the book 4 stars, and 32.8% of readers gave 5 stars. 19% of users rated it 3, and 1.5% of users felt that this book does not meet the standard of classic masterpieces.

Readers, in general, highly appreciated the experience of reading the novel:

"This is a divine masterpiece. The pen of a great writer leaves readers in constant thought and helps readers like me to broaden their horizons. I do not know if the Russia described by Leo Tolstoy is suitable for describing other countries, but I can be 100% sure that the social problems indicated by Tolstoy in the novel Resurrection are 100% suitable for modern China" ^[16].

"After writing Resurrection, L. N. Tolstoy suddenly cornered us, and then asked directly: "Are you to blame? Are you going to experience redemption? How are you going to do that?” Faced with these problems, even if we avoid them, the true gravity of the “resurrection of the soul” in our hearts is fully revealed. <...> At the age of eighty-two, L. N. Tolstoy finally said goodbye to his former life, he dedicated the Resurrection, as well as his life, to explain to us what is really necessary and really important" ^[17].

Chinese readers compare the novel with the "Confession" of St. Augustine: "If the "Confession" of St. Augustine is a confession of the soul, then the "Resurrection" of Leo Tolstoy is undoubtedly a confession of human nature. Augustine's “Confession”, which has the beauty of a literary style, strict logic and high rationality, tells us about the need for human repentance, but theoretically. And “Resurrection” is a deeply emotional confession, exposing a sad and contrite soul. <…> “Confession” represents a firm and indestructible, penitent soul telling us that we must repent, but we cannot repent. The novel "Resurrection" is more bloody, cruel and tragic than "Confession" ^[18].

But there are also readers who have spoken critically about the novel: "This novel is a fake story. In my opinion, the origin of altruism is not entirely clear. <...> Maslova was young and ignorant, had a miserable life experience, in the end she was demoted for seven years and unjustly imprisoned. Nekhludoff suddenly came to his senses from the emptiness of his soul and devoted himself to helping her get rid of the crime. <...> The psychology of an exiled prostitute is described very realistically, but the prince's remorse seems unnatural when I read about it. <...>..> "Anna Karenina is better." ^[16].

The keyword "utopian" appears in many critical reviews. In the eyes of their authors, despite the genius of L. N. Tolstoy, the thoughts and behaviors of the characters embodied in the book are divorced from reality, and the content does not find an emotional response from the modern reader: "Judging by the original plan of L. N. Tolstoy, the expectation that the nobles, whom he longed for, could experience an epiphany and the “resurrection” in thought is actually utopian. And the facts proved that the awakening of the nobility in tsarist Russian society at that time was only an unrealistic hope" ^[18]. "It must be admitted that L. N. Tolstoy's dreams or aspirations are too advanced: in a class society dominated by money and power, the ideas that he expresses in his novel are equivalent to utopianism. Even now it is difficult to understand what he means by proclaiming universal equality, common ownership of land, the work of nobles in the fields and their lack of privileges. No one will understand this, because people like me have the greatest ideal right now – to make money. And why make money? To live a special life. Someone wrote: L. N. Tolstoy was a writer, but he wanted to be a politician or an economist at the same time, so the literary props he used were inappropriate and unrealistic at that time" ^[20].

In the readers' arguments about Katya Maslova, there are similar reflections that the image and role of the heroine in the book are idealized, and this makes the plot unconvincing. The main character, according to the authors of such reviews, used his power and aristocratic origin to establish contacts with prisoners, and only after that began to sympathize with them, condemning the nobility for abuse of power, corruption and private law. "It is too far-fetched to criticize the unfair system of the whole society with the so-called repentance and reflection of one person. and Nekhludoff's actions are all for self-satisfaction, he just lives too boring." ^[16]. These spontaneous elements in the plot have a serious preachy significance, but at the same time lead to weakening and reduce the pleasure of reading.

In addition, readers compare L. N. Tolstoy with F. M. Dostoevsky. In their opinion, looking at the novel "Resurrection", from the point of view of literature and art, it is not difficult to find that the work is far from excellent. Long moralizing, abrupt changes in the characters' characters, the excessively ideal human nature of the heroine are defined as flaws: "In a word, L. N. Tolstoy does not convincingly depict the offended and humiliated, as well as the redemption of the soul, but this story could become a real masterpiece if it were described by F. M. Dostoevsky" ^[19].

Having studied the readers' reviews of three novels by L. N. Tolstoy on the website "Duban. Reading", it can be concluded that these three novels have a large number of readers, which is enough to show the popularity of Leo Tolstoy among Chinese readers. As can be seen from the table below, among the three most popular translations on the Duban website. Reading", the novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" scored 9.4 and 9.2 points, respectively, both higher than the novel "Resurrection". But it should be noted that the reprints of selected translations of the novels "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" were published in 2007, and the translation of the novel "Resurrection" in 1979, so we can say that many factors influence this assessment, such as the time of publication and the quality of translations, the quality of paper books and others. On the other hand, Chinese translations of the three novels attracted many website readers to participate in book ratings and received many comments from readers. The novels "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection" have received reviews from more than 20,000 users. Judging by the number of reader comments, the novels "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection" are also more discussed.

Summing up, we can say that, considering the novels "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina" and "Resurrection" by L. N. Tolstoy from the point of view of translation reception in China, the novel "Resurrection" (30 translations) has become particularly widespread, from the point of view of reader perception, the novel "Anna Karenina" has the greatest the readership. With the change of time and with the increased interest of modern literature science in the problems of intercultural communication, receptive aesthetics, literary translation, Russian-Chinese inter-literary relations, the charm of Tolstoy and his works is more revealed in China. Russian Russian classic novels' perception in China to a certain extent also reflects the reception of Russian literature in the cultural world of China and complements the idea of the history of Chinese-Russian cultural transfer.