Reception of A.P. Chekhov's play “The Cherry Orchard” in China

Tsui Yunyun Postgraduate student, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 17 1042205286@pfur.ru Other publications by this author

Chekhov's short story "The Black Monk", published for the first time in 1907, became the first work of the Russian classic, which introduced the Chinese reader to his work. The story was translated by Wu Tao from Japanese. Chekhov's plays began to be actively translated in the 1920s. The earliest translation of The Cherry Orchard was made by Lee in 1920, but then the translator limited himself to the first act of the play. Russian Russian Drama A year later, Geng Zizhi translated the drama in its entirety, and his version of the translation was included in the book "Collection of Russian Drama" (1921), part of the "Series of Russian Literature", published by Zheng Zhenduo.

In the 1930s and 1940s. Various versions of the translations of The Cherry Orchard appeared, the translators were: Yu Di (1939), Zijiang (1946), Mantao (1940), Jiao Juyin (1943), Fan Xin (1944). Among them, the most popular were the translations of Man Tao and Jiao Juyin, which have survived several reprints.

Since the 1950s, Zhu Long, known as the "voice of Chekhov in China," began to systematically translate Chekhov's works, starting with his short stories. In the period from 1980 to the end of 1999 The Shanghai Translation Publishing House has released a 16-volume Anthology by A. P. Chekhov, which includes The Cherry Orchard (1998). Subsequently, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Chekhov's death, the famous translator and playwright Tong Daoming made another attempt to translate the play in 2004.

Over the past hundred years, only nine translators have worked on the play. In addition, Chinese researchers have translated a large number of interpretations of the work proposed by various foreign scientists, and at the same time left many of their own articles on its interpretation.

Most Chinese critics interpret this play from a socio-political point of view, believing that it contains hope and a desire for a bright future and a new life. This opinion is shared, for example, by Feng Shoujui in the monograph "Biography and works of Russian writers of the XIX century" (1929), Fan Xin in the article "Afterword to the translation of the Cherry Orchard" (1944), etc.

It is impossible to ignore the article by the famous drama director and translator Jiao Juyin "Afterword to the translation of the Cherry Orchard" (1947), which tells about the process of creation and premiere of the play, and also contains a unique analysis of the ideological theme and artistic style of the work.

From the point of view of ideological overtones, Jiao Juyin considers the play as a "symbolic poem of society", believing that "the cherry orchard <...> represents the old feudal system, which will soon collapse" ^{[1, p. 132]}. The author of the work believes that this "group of parasitic creatures in the cherry orchard", who refused to overthrow reality, will be destroyed along with the garden, which is inevitable, according to the critic. "The Cherry Orchard" is a work showing the true phenomenon of life, time and epoch, and Chekhov is not only a doctor treating patients, but also diagnosing the source of society's disease. At the same time, the writer also offers a way of healing: it is necessary to "destroy the neglected cherry orchard and rebuild a new, profitable cherry orchard" ^{[1, p. 132]}, which predicts that commercial capitalism will replace the obsolete system. This idea turns out to be central in the opinion of translators and critics and has an impact on the translation of the work.

In the field of artistic style, the interpreter saw lyricism and poetics in the play, calling it Chekhov's "swan song", "his last lyrical poem" ^{[1, p. 126]}. The article argues that the play does not begin with a plot, but with a "mood". The whole work, every action and every scene are filled with the deepest, truest and strongest emotions. The characters live in such a mood and atmosphere, and, quite naturally, they have corresponding destinies. For this reason, the author of the article concludes that "first of all, in order to understand Chekhov, you need to be able to understand his "mood"" ^{[1, p. 133]}. In addition, the researcher emphasizes the conciseness, content and poetry of the Chekhov language.

"To understand Chekhov," the critic concludes, one must know how to appreciate poetry and the lyrical elements of his work; one must first abandon the theatrical view of the search for "theatricality"; one must look for real life in plays <...> one must subjectively and deeply experience life, comprehending its pulsations and forms, and not objectively analyze it the surface" ^{[1, p. 135]}. It should be said that the interpretation of the artistic style that Jiao Juyin gives is unique, which gives readers ideas and thoughts for a new understanding of the work.

Since the 1980s, the number of critical articles about this play has been growing. In the article "Space in the Cherry Orchard" (1984), Zhang Weijia pays attention to how Chekhov uses space to depict characters and express their inner life ^{[2, pp. 60-64]}.

Xiao Dan in the article "On the artistic achievements of Chekhov's play The Cherry Orchard" (1987) studies the revolutionary theme of the work, its comic character, psychological realism, and lyricism of the work ^{[3, pp. 237-254]}.

In the work "On the pause in the Cherry Orchard" (1996), Zou Yuanjiang analyzes the technique of "pause" used by the writer: its function in embodying the aesthetic principles of the writer is revealed ^{[4, pp. 100-108]}.

In the work "Behind the cutting – environmental criticism in the Cherry Orchard" (2005), He Anfang analyzes the play from the point of view of ecocriticism and concludes that "the disappearance of the cherry orchard reflects man's attitude to nature in the mode of intellectual, cultural and social development" ^{[5, p. 72]}.

Dong Xiao argues that the "non-dramatic" essence of Chekhov's work includes a unique "comic spirit", which is also the artistic value of all the writer's plays ("Studying the comic essence of Chekhov's play from the Cherry Orchard" (2009) ^{[6, pp. 60-64]}.

Wang Li, in his work "The Ethnicity of Chekhov's Drama in the light of the comic character of the Cherry Orchard" (2010), examines the inheritance of the Russian theatrical tradition of "high comedy" (i.e. comedy with tragic overtones) in the play ^{[7, pp. 20-22]}.

Zhu Yanyan and Feng Yun interpret the complex existence and rich inner world of the characters from the perspective of three aspects of polyphonic theory (polyphony, dialogicity and incompleteness) in the article "Diverse lives in the noise of many voices: The Cherry Orchard in the light of M. M. Bakhtin's theory of polyphony" (2012) ^{[8, pp. 125-130]}.

In the work "Seasonal Narration in the Cherry Orchard and its aesthetic consequences" (2020), Zong Shilong and Jiang Xiaoping note the peculiarities of narration in the externalization of characters' emotions, the construction of dramatic structure, the manifestation of lyrical function, etc. ^{[9, pp. 77-84]}.

As Chinese society develops, we observe a greater variety in the interpretation of the play "The Cherry Orchard", while the focus of researchers shifts from its social significance to the artistic value of the work itself. The productions of this play follow a similar trend.

Productions of The Cherry Orchard in China did not begin immediately after its translation. The earliest one took place in 1939, when the Shanghai Club of Soviet Expatriates presented it in Russian in honor of the 35th anniversary of Chekhov's death. And the premiere of the play, which was staged exclusively by Chinese directors, took place only in 1960 in honor of the 100th anniversary of Chekhov's birth.

Speaking about the reason for choosing this work, director Tian Jia (director of the Shanghai Theater Institute) noted that "this is the last and most intense play in his life. The goal is for this drama, which inspires with its idea the motto "Hello, new life" in our great era to acquire a new – already practical – meaning" ^{[10, p. 27]}.

At that time, the anti-right struggle in China was expanding, and the interpretation of foreign literature was based on the idea of class struggle. Thus, the "practical significance" of the work was that the play was supposed to criticize the bourgeoisie and proclaim a new life for the proletarian leadership. The director looked critically at the so-called feudal aristocracy, represented by the heroes of the play - Gaev and Ranevskaya, and also refers to the bourgeoisie, represented by Lopakhin. "The main characters Gaev and Ranevskaya, like many descendants of the nobles of that time <...>, lived a very ridiculous and depraved life. <...> These are remnants of the old Russian life (serfdom)," wrote Tian Jia ^{[10, p. 27]}. Lopakhin "first used his father's relationship as a serf in the Gaev family to disguise himself as a good friend of the owner of the estate, and offered them to repay the debt by subletting the land and building a cottage. It seems that he was looking for a way out for the owner of the estate to save him, but in fact it was his trick" ^{[10, p. 27]}. In this regard, the director asked the actor not only to reflect the drama of the character, but also the fact that in the end the hero's mask should be torn off, and his nature exposed.

This interpretation, with the explicit ideology of the class struggle, is obviously a deliberate distortion of Chekhov's plays in a specific historical context.

At the same time, Tian Jia saw hope and light in the work, stressing that the actors should "focus on promoting Chekhov's optimistic spirit so that the voice of the jubilant motto "Hello, new Life" would be louder" ^{[10, p. 28]}. It is also closely related to the Chinese social and political environment of the 1960s.

This version made a deep impression on everyone and conveyed the optimism of the proletariat, which inspired many Chinese. Then China gradually entered the ten-year period of the cultural Revolution (1966-1976). All research on Chekhov's work was suspended, and, naturally, there were no productions of the Cherry Orchard during this period.

After reforms and openness (1978), director Xu Xiaozhong, director of the Central Academy of Drama, first brought The Cherry Orchard to the stage in 1994. Thus, the play was staged again 34 years later, and this time it was interpreted in a completely different context.

The main difference was that the version staged by Xu Xiaozhong rejected political ideology and emphasized the aesthetic and artistic features of the work itself. In his interpretation, the director tried to stay as close as possible to Chekhov's idea of the work.

Speaking about the genre of the play, Xu Xiaozhong supported irony over the dying generation, but did not want to treat The Cherry Orchard as a simple comedy, believing that "Chekhov despised the images of landowners Ranevskaya and Gaev <...>, wanted to ridicule, but also sympathized with them, this determines the genre characteristics of the work" ^{[11, p. 20]}. The director empathized with the characters, tried to feel their moods and difficulties: "These dying people are not scoundrels, they are ridiculous, boring by nature, but you can't put all the blame on them, which conveys a shade of Chekhov's sadness" ^{[11, p. 21]}. Therefore, the play was actually interpreted as a "tragicomedy based on comedic facts." In the context of a new era of reform and openness, the director explained Chekhov's idea from the point of view of modernity, broadcasting his own understanding of it.

Xu Xiaozhong took an innovative directorial step, using the theory of the "theater of the environment" by American film director Charles Shyer. As the director himself explained, this is "a method of performance based on the creation and use of a freer and wider theatrical space. The goal is to expand the joint theatrical space between the audience and the actors, to increase the joy of the audience from the proximity of watching artistic creations, to explore new characteristics of the relationship between "viewing" and "staging"" ^{[11, p. 22]}. Xu Xiaozhong took advantage of the convenience of the university environment by adding decorations with Russian elements. During the performance, close contact was achieved between the audience and the actors. As an example, we can cite the case when, at the end of the first act, student Trofimov looked at the sleeping Anya and said: "My sunshine! My spring!" ^{[12, vol. 13, p. 214]}. Russian folk music could be heard from behind the northern gates of the new academic building - artists and spectators sang and danced even outside the campus.

This production demonstrated the natural connection and coexistence between the performance and the audience, without losing understanding of the action, helped the audience to feel full participation in the scenes and find new elements and new beauty in the dramatic space. This way of breaking up natural time and space not only preserved the poetic beauty of the original play, but also provided a special aesthetic perspective for studying the connotation of Chekhov's plays.

In the XXI century. More and more attention is being paid to the aesthetic value of art. The world is becoming more and more diverse, and the productions of The Cherry Orchard in China have clear features of time correspondence.

On the 100th anniversary of Chekhov's death (2004), the famous Chinese avant-garde director Lin Zhaohua staged The Cherry Orchard. Using a postmodern approach, the director has made bold, even disruptive changes and innovations in the production.

The performance took place in the small Baibinmasy theater, in which the seats for the audience were above the stage. There is no beautiful image of a cherry orchard or typical Russian furniture in the set design. The theater looks like a low underground cave. Such a set design shows the director's understanding of Chekhov's play: "The focus of the Cherry Orchard is neither propaganda of the ideal of social progress, nor mourning the demise of decadent classes and old things. Chekhov is interested in the eternal helplessness and predicament of man in the face of eternal change" ^{[13, p. 24]}. This cherry orchard is not so beautiful and not so worthy of nostalgia, so the tragic feelings of the Gayevs and their unwillingness to sell the estate in this context seem very funny.

In addition to the aforementioned stage background, the director's bold innovations and experiments are also reflected in the choice of actors, the language of the characters and their actions. Landowner Simeonov-Pischik was played by the famous comedian Dada, and the actor who played Lopakhin added funnier northeast and Tianshan accents. Modern choreographic elements have also been introduced into the production. During the dance, the actors did not go on stage, did not show their faces, just stuck their legs out from behind the curtain, following the rhythm of the music. This way of performing greatly enhanced the comic meaning of the play.

It is worth noting that Lin made many changes to the script itself. He shortened the text of the original work, added some tricks and funny words, and in some places even completely transformed the original language. An obvious example is that he turned many dialogues into a direct narrative for the audience. This is his reference to the traditional Chinese song-narrative art – pop. This proves that the director used the ambiguity of the Chekhov language for his own purposes. In the play, each character talked only about his problems and past memories, interpersonal communication was unacceptable. This kind of dialogue can be considered as a disguise of a monologue.

In 2009, Lin Zhaohua staged The Cherry Orchard again on the big stage, mainly following the tradition of 2004.

The Beijing People's Art Theater also staged The Cherry Orchard in 2016 (directed by Li Liui). This version of the performance lacks a strong ideology, bizarre forms of performance, and there is no excessive emphasis on the theme of comedy, but it is filled with philosophical reflections exploring the relationship between matter and spirit.

In the production, the director used white as the main color, complemented by light yellow to create a simple and mysterious feeling. A lot of white space and a sense of visual expansion gave the audience room for imagination. The actors were always on stage in white, moving or freezing as the plot progressed. This design dissolved time and space in the script, allowed to move away from realism and abandon the representation of history, capturing the symbolism of the cherry orchard as a spiritual home and focusing on the "psychological reality of the ideologies of the characters" ^{[14, p. 34]}, which is a feature of the play. Lee expressed people's bewilderment with this symbol: everyone has their own cherry orchard, and his death is the death of a spiritual home in his own spiritual world.

Showing thoughts about "what life is", Lee's version touched upon the issue of human existence, when people got lost in a rapidly changing society, and simply lived without thinking about the meaning of life. It corresponded to the pulse of time and made people think about the meaning of existence in a society that blindly chases entertainment and mediocrity.

At the 6th Wuzhen Theater Festival (2018), The Cherry Orchard was staged in the Classic Awakening block by young director Sun Xiaoxing and the Tianjin People's Art Theater.

Director Sun erased the background of the era of the original play, and focused on pressing issues: in the information age, the Internet brought people a lot of convenience, but at the same time distanced people from each other. This has especially affected a new generation of people who seem to be separated by time and space. But one day all this will disappear and become the past, just like Ranevskaya's cherry orchard.

To express this atmosphere, a large white bed was placed in the middle of the stage, on which the actors rode, talked on it, and played games. The image projected onto the bed curtains was blurry. Everything seemed like a cozy dream. This echoes the inherent lyricism of Chekhov's play. A comfortable bed instead of a cherry orchard symbolizes something equally fragile and transparent. A distorted, impotent feeling is conveyed in the movements and language of the actors, and when talking, a state of laziness of the body and intonation is manifested. Only the speeches of Lopakhin and student Trofimov are still full of enthusiasm.

Speaking about the factors that influenced the interpretation of Chekhov's work, it is impossible not to mention the "starting point" of director Sun's creative method. He wanted to be closer to the youth and find a connection between the Cherry Orchard and modernity, so he added many modern elements to the play, such as Japanese two-dimensional music, games, cosplay, radio dramas. And this is one of the reasons why so many viewers left bad reviews about the play. Savas Patritis, a professor at Aristotle University in Greece, who came to the Wuzhen Theater Festival for the first time, expressed his dissatisfaction with watching the play. After the presentation, he summarized that "this work tries to express the idea of a symbolic earthly life in a dream, but in fact the main idea was not clearly expressed" ^[15].

We believe that Director Sun's innovation is worthy of recognition. To seek a connection between classical works and modernity, and thereby make classical works find a new life – this, in our opinion, is a tribute to cultural heritage. Young innovative filmmakers need to be supported, because development always requires someone to take the first step towards approval. However, it should be noted that there is no need to hurry in the process of innovation. The use of modern web elements is certainly fruitful and interesting, but it is important to observe the measure of their application. The overabundance of modern technical means has given the dramatic art elements of commercial marketing here, which to some extent belittles the sample of cultural heritage.

The Anaya Theater Festival was scheduled to take place in June 2022, but was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Cherry Orchard was also presented in the program. This version was created by the artist Wang Ying together with Zhan Li (choreographer of the modern dance troupe Nine), the famous playwright Meng Jinghui produced the project, brought the aesthetics of the avant-garde into it. The staging location is on a cruise ship, and the time is specially set at sunset and dawn. This performance is arranged according to the theory of the "theater of the environment" by the American theater director Sheikner (as the director did in 1994). Through the real space of the environment, the distance between people can be narrowed, so that actions on stage can overcome obstacles and be closer to life itself. And factors such as cruise ships, the sea, tides, light and shadow will make this drama more beautiful ^[16]. We hope that the Chinese audience will see this performance in the near future.

At the ninth Wuzhen Theater Festival in 2022, the play "The Cherry Orchard" was staged again by the young screenwriter Bo Bunny and director Wang Yuanyuan.

According to Wang Yuanyuan, Chekhov's work tells about human experiences during the change of epochs: "The new must replace the old, and people must change something, which is also very similar to the current era.... I just wanted to show in the play everything that we have to face, including the past, present and future."^[17] This version of the representation figuratively breaks the boundaries of time and space. The performance has an atmosphere of traditional drama, as well as a modern aesthetic in terms of music and choreography. In particular, the combination of physicality and drama, which is both a feature and a difficulty, as well as the integration of the perspective of artificial intelligence. In general, the production not only reflects Chekhov's time more than 100 years ago, but also creatively addresses the present and the future, attracting viewers from all over the world with its unique art form.

The play "The Cherry Orchard" is popular not only among prestigious theater companies, but is also popular among universities, especially the Shanghai Theater Institute. In 2005, acting students under the direction of Director Xu Weihong staged The Cherry Orchard. This production focused the audience's attention on the fact that the progress of society cannot be stopped, and those who are not enterprising and greedy for pleasure will eventually be rejected.

In the 2011 production of The Cherry Orchard, directed by Wang Yanan, not only an understanding of the drama itself is focused, but also a sense of correspondence between classical tradition and reality: a mixture of jokes, sadness and quiet disappointment.

In January 2022, students of the acting and choreography course chose this play for the final public performance. The director was Liu Yan, an associate professor at the acting department.

Studying the translations, interpretations and productions of the play "The Cherry Orchard" in China over the past 100 years, we can find that its reception is closely linked to the Chinese historical and social environment. In general, the interpretation of the "Cherry Orchard" in China has undergone changes from mainly ideological to aesthetic values and appeals to modernity. On the one hand, in the translation and analysis of the play, there is an increasing variety of interpretations of the text itself, focused on its aesthetic, artistic and symbolic connotations. On the other hand, the style of the production expands from following the Stanislavsky tradition to pluralism, avant-garde and stylization.