Russian and Chinese national personalities: based on the material of phraseological units, proverbs and sayings with the concept of "property"

Sun' Syuina Postgraduate student, Department of Russian Language and Linguoculturology, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 1161799398@qq.com Other publications by this author

Vorobyev Vladimir Vasilyevich Doctor of Philology Professor, Department of Russian Language and Linguoculturology, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 6 ryss_yur_rudn@mail.ru

Information about sources of funding or grants:

The publication was supported by the China Scholarship Council within the framework of the program "Scholarship of the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation", No. 202107040006, and within the framework of the topic No. 202802-2-000 "Linguistic and cultural research of the communicative reality of modern Russia" (the Program of Strategic Academic Leadership of the RUDN "Priority 2030").

Introduction

As an integral component of the cognitive totality of national spiritual culture, the concept of "property" is reflected in a system of phraseological units, proverbs and sayings, the main purpose of which is to fix the mentality and worldview of a national personality. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the active development of intercultural relations, interpersonal communication and humanitarian exchange of Russian and Chinese societies, their interest in issues of national identity and linguistic culture.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

1) to determine the composition of Russian and Chinese phraseological units, proverbs and sayings, which reflect the concept of "property".

2) to comparatively analyze the monetary stereotypical representations of Russian and Chinese national personalities in phraseological units, proverbs and sayings in relation to money, poverty, wealth, benefit, greed, debts.

3) to identify the dominant universal, national-specific and typological spiritual characteristics and cultural values of the compared national personalities.

To solve the problem, the following research methods are used: the method of continuous sampling of material from dictionaries of the Russian and Chinese languages, the method of thematic classification and systematization of linguistic material, the method of linguistic and cultural commentary and the comparative-contrastive method.

The research material used 40 Russian phraseological units, proverbs and sayings, 55 phraseological units, proverbs and sayings of the Chinese language, selected by the method of directed sampling from the following dictionaries:

Dal V.I. Proverbs of the Russian people: in 3 volumes. Moscow: Rus. book, 1993 ^[8].

Zhukov V.P. Dictionary of Russian proverbs and sayings. Moscow: Rus.yaz., 1998 ^[10].

Telia V.N. Russian phraseology. Semantic, pragmatic and linguocultural aspects. Moscow: School of Languages of Russian Culture, 1996 ^[21].

Mikhelson A.D. A large explanatory and phraseological dictionary of the Russian language. Moscow: Si ETS : Buka, 2008 ^[15].

Tishkov A. Chinese folk sayings, proverbs and expressions. Moscow: Publishing House of Foreign Literature, 1962 ^[22].

Tolmats K.V. Chinese-Russian phraseological dictionary. Moscow: Vostochnaya kniga, 2009 ^[23].

Gottlieb O.M., Mu Huain. Chinese-Russian phraseological dictionary. About 3,500 expressions. Moscow: AST: East - West, 2007 ^[6].

, , . . In 2009 (Hao Jingjiang, Li Jing, Zhang Xiufang. The phraseological dictionary of Xinhua. Beijing, 2009) ^[24].

The theoretical basis of the research was the publications of Russian and Chinese authors, which consider the problems of the Russian national personality in the aspect of linguoculturology (Vorobyov ^{[4, 5]}, Rapoport ^[18], Nedosugova ^[16], Letova ^[13], Vasilyuk ^[3]), as well as an analysis of Chinese culture, the Chinese language picture of the world (Abramova ^[2], Tan Aoshuang ^[20], Guruleva ^[7], ^[26], Ye Lang, Zhu Liangzhi ^[9],[14]).

The main part

  Linguoculturology is a science that solves the most important problems of the mutual influence of language and culture. The triad "Language – culture – personality" ^[5], which is considered as a constant of the metalanguage of linguoculturology ^[11], allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the mentality and spiritual attitudes of the studied language.

Personality is "a person as a carrier of some kind. properties, face" ^{[17, p. 334]}. A national personality is defined as a subject of the national language and culture, "possessing cultural and linguistic competence" ^{[12, p. 84]}. The description of the problems of the national personality occupies a fundamental place in linguistic and cultural studies due to the fact that "personality can have a profound impact on the activities of society as a whole" ^{[4, p. 97]}. The study of the national personality is important and necessary, since each nation has its own logic and spiritual values that can be understood and evaluated in the context of their unique "frame of reference". Conducting a study of the national personality in the aspect of linguoculturology allows you to understand the essence of this phenomenon more deeply and consciously, considering it, as if from within the personality itself.

One or another national personality and its characteristic cultural features in the space of the language of a given nation are fixed in the form of concepts. To model the system of traditional cultural values of Russian and Chinese national personalities and identify their dominant components, it is proposed to integrate the studied material (phraseological units, proverbs and sayings) into the meta-system of concepts.

 On the basis of the universal concept of "property", the components can be considered ? the concepts of "money", "poverty", "wealth", "benefit", "debts", etc.

Property is an essential monetary representation of each nation and of any member of it. Through the prism of the concept of "property", which is fixed in the Russian and Chinese languages, not only certain stereotypical representations of material culture can be reflected, but also certain spiritual values of both national personalities.

"Westerners love power, and the Chinese love money... Money can be fun, so the Chinese view money as an object of intense desire. Many Chinese embezzle and accept bribes, even at the risk of death. Westerners crave money, but they see it only as an instrument of power, not money itself" ^{[25, p. 63]}. For KNL, money, profit, profit, property are of great importance, which is illustrated in the following sayings:

"Money is not omnipotent, but without money it is absolutely impossible."

"With money, you can make devils turn millstones."

"You can buy gods for a lot of money."

The cultural tradition of RNL has an inherent value of poverty. Life pragmatism and the pursuit of material well-being are not initially characteristic of the Russian people ("Happiness is better than wealth").

The Russian people traditionally perceived wealth as unclean. For Russian people, money, materials, and wealth should not become the object of human aspirations, as evidenced by a number of proverbs:

"They forge money for a rich man."

"Let your soul go to hell, you'll be rich."

"It is better to be poor than to get rich with sin."

Due to the unique historical features of Russia's development with the long-term dominance of non-economic forms of coercion, there is practically no culture of well-being, a culture of everyday life. This has been reflected (and sometimes continues to be reflected) in the knowledge of work in the country, leading to the psychological alienation of Russians from work. For example:

"A man does not live rich, but lives hunchbacked."

"You will be full of your labors, but you will not be rich."

"They don't get rich with an axe, they hunch over."

In the consciousness and worldview of the Chinese people, the characteristics of poverty and prosperity are manifested primarily in the state of clothing, food, accommodation and transport:

"Rich clothes and fine food - a luxurious idle life."

"Food made of gold and gems is a luxurious life."

"Rich clothes, plentiful food — a prosperous life."

"If you pull on the floor, your elbows are visible."

"Dressed in rags — poverty."

"Lack of food and clothing is poverty."

"Not having enough food to be full is poverty."

"There is nowhere to take clothes and food - poverty.—

"Living in hunger and cold is poverty."

"There are only four walls in the house - poverty."

"Without a fixed place of residence."

"A well—fed horse, a light fur coat - a well-fed, prosperous life."

"Riding well—fed horses [and dressing in light clothes] is living in luxury."

And for the Russian people through the presence or absence of clothing and household:

"The dandy Matryoshka doll: one and a half rubles clasp."

"Makar has a cat in his house, a mosquito and a midge."

The secret of the Russian soul, according to film director N. Mikhalkov, lies in the power of selflessness ^[13]. Unselfishness means that there is no desire for profit and profit in the subconscious and behavior of RNL.

"The richer a person is, the more problems he has, the worse he is" is the worldview of Russian people towards money and wealth, which is confirmed by the following phraseological units:

"Extra money means extra worries."

"A rich man can't sleep: a rich man is afraid of a thief."

"Tears flow through gold."

The well-known role and importance of money is also known to the Russian person, who is characterized by lack of money and selflessness:

"The mind gives birth to wealth."

"If I had money in my pocket, my aunt would be in the bargain."  

"The golden hammer unlocks the iron gates."

It's hard to say that the Chinese are mercantile, but compared to the Russians, it's undeniable. Considering the dominant characteristics of the KNL, we have already indicated such basic character traits of a Chinese person as "commercialization, commercial streak, commercial talent" ^[19]. From the point of view of the Chinese people themselves, "there is no such merchant who does not cheat, is not cunning, is not a businessman." Many Chinese sayings reflect that the Chinese people are focused on seeking profit and gain, for example, a Chinese person often says:

"Do not engage in unprofitable business."

"Do not get up early if there is no profit."

"People are dying in pursuit of wealth, birds are dying in pursuit of food."

And the Russian proverbs on this topic:

"Not to live with wealth, but with a person."

"Not to live with money, but with kind people."

It is noted that a certain intelligence, mind, and skills help to trade. This is reflected in a number of Russian proverbs:

"Do not be afraid of loss, so the profits will come."

"To buy something and buy granddaughters, and to sell, and the grandfather is going to help us."

Both RNL and KNL are characterized by thrift, thrift:

RNL:

"He's making money."

"The ruble is strong in pennies."

KNL:

"A small stream flows far away."

"To seek sources [of income, funds] and reduce their leakage (expenditure)."

"Calculate carefully".

"Count every penny."

"Save on clothes and food."

"To seek sources [of income, funds] and reduce their leakage (expenditure)."

It is easy to go from frugality to wastefulness, but it is difficult to go from wastefulness to thrift:

"Rather than accumulate gold, it is better to accumulate grain."

"Wealth begins with thrift."

"It can rain all day; a person can be in need all his life."

"Diligence is a valuable tree, thrift is a self-made tablecloth."

In the minds of the Russian people, economy and thrift contribute to the prevention of poverty:

"Stinginess is not stupidity."

"Today the feast is a mountain, and tomorrow I went with a bag." 

Neither the Russian nor the Chinese nations encourage such character traits as extravagance, carelessness, extravagance, avarice and greed:

 KNL:

"Wealth and honor are like floating clouds."

"At the sight of benefits, do not forget about the principle."

RNL:

"Eyes are envious, hands are grasping."

"The miser saves up, but the devil makes money."

"A miser has more money, then more grief."

It should be emphasized that despite the negative attitude towards greed in the Chinese language, greed is characteristic of KNL, which has already been noted by numerous Chinese and foreign researchers ^[19]. From our point of view, the greedy character and the negative attitude towards greed are not opposed.

Russell believes that greed is one of the three main disadvantages of the Chinese ^[1]. "Powerful bureaucrats in China have almost always used their power to satisfy their only desire — to find big money. It is this kind of greed that has led to the fact that the Chinese have turned from the strong into the weak" ^{[1, p. 12]}.

Many phraseological units dedicated to greed have been found in the Chinese language, for example:

"Having received the tsun, to advance to chi is to be greedy."

"To eat at one person's place, to spend the night at another's place — to be insatiably greedy."

"A large boar and a long boa constrictor are greedy predators."

"A snake dreams of swallowing an elephant — immeasurable greed."

"Not eating enough from your bowl, already looking into the cauldron is extreme greed.—

"To love wealth more than life."

"Stubborn [like a goat] and greedy [like a wolf]."

"To be greedy without knowing satisfaction."

"You can't fill a bottomless barrel."

"Having mastered the Long Region (Gansu) , to get involved in Shu."

"Salivating (flowed)."

The attitude to their property for the Russian people is more attentive, thrifty, their own is always nicer and more expensive:

"An orphan house without a master." 

"The master's eye makes the cattle fat."

"And the mouse drags the crust into its hole."

And it is better to refrain from encroachments and not abuse someone else's good:

"Other people's goods will not be used for the future."

"To take someone else's, to lose your own."

"Take care of someone else's — God willing."

Poverty is a great sorrow and misfortune for both Russian and Chinese:

According to KNL:

"A poor married couple is not doing well either."

"The poor man always suffers hardships."

"The poor man has many bosses, the beggar has many potholes in the way."

"A thin horse has long hair, a poor man has short desires."

"A poor man and a dog offends."

"You can make the devil work with money, no one will listen to you without money."

"Whoever is rich is right, whoever is poor is to blame."

"No one will turn to the poor and in a public place, the rich and in the mountains will have relatives."

For the RNL:

"If the bag gets attached, the relatives will refuse."

"Need writes its own law." 

"In need, a sandpiper whistles like a nightingale."

As for poverty, the Russian person accepts it with humor, because resourcefulness and ingenuity will come to the rescue in any situation:

"Woe to the poor, but to the rich twice."

"Poverty teaches, but happiness spoils."

"Although there's nothing to eat, but it's fun to live." 

The aphorisms with the concept of "debts" reflect the guidelines for determining the solvency and reliability of the borrower, the real "political economy".

The Russian language is fixed:

"Hunger makes you sick, but debt destroys you."

"From debts — even into the water."

"You won't be rich with a loan. The debt is not dead."

Let's compare it with Chinese sayings:

"Behind every insult there is an offender, behind every debt there is a debtor."

"Paying off debts is a sacred duty."

"Murder is paid for with life, debt is paid with money."

"Those who repay their debts on time will be easily lent again."

The concept of "property" is a complex, multi-layered linguistic culture that integrates important characteristics of material culture and dominant spiritual values. The concept of "property" against the background of different national cultures has great cognitive value. The phraseological units, proverbs and sayings of the Russian and Chinese languages devoted to the concept of "property" reflect the universal and national-typical cultural features of RNL and KNL.

Conclusion

Thus, we come to the following conclusions. Russian Russian and Chinese phraseological units, proverbs and sayings with the concept of "property" have been comparatively analyzed, and it has been found that there are fewer phraseological units recorded in Russian dictionaries than Chinese ones — 40 versus 55.

Property is an undoubted universal human value. Both RNL and KNL differ in such spiritual characteristics as thrift, thrift, and economy. They are not characterized by extravagance and extravagance. But there are big differences between RNL and KNL in relation to ownership. Russian and Chinese personalities view such dominant monetary values as poverty, wealth, benefit, and profit in different ways.

 The Russian nation pays special attention to the spirit, emotions and inner world of the individual. For the Russian people, caring about money and material well-being is not typical. The Russian people accept poverty and wealth with humor and kindness.

For the Chinese personality, however, life pragmatism and money are more important. Unlike the Russian nation, which is characterized by the value of poverty, the KNL is characterized by a consciousness of wealth, greed, a commercial streak and a desire for profit, profit.

In our opinion, the study of the characteristics of Russian and Chinese national personalities is promising not only in terms of concretization of monetary stereotypical representations of both national personalities, but also in terms of linguistic and cultural studies. Thus, they require further linguistic, cultural and typological description of the system of dominant material and spiritual values of RNL and KNL.