Anton Chekhov in the work of Wang Zengqi

Chzhan Huizhen ORCID: 0009-0004-5281-9074 Postgraduate student; Department of Russian and Foreign Literature; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia 1042225077@pfur.ru

Meskin Vladimir Alekseevich ORCID: 0000-0003-2260-8060 Doctor of Philology Professor; Department of Russian and Foreign Literature; Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 6 Miklukho-Maklaya str., Moscow, 117198, Russia vameskin@yandex.ru

Comparative literature is a productive field of modern philology. V. Zhirmunsky, continuing the teachings of A. Veselovsky, among others, as particularly important, highlighted the comparison of literary phenomena caused by genetic connections based on cultural interactions, influences, borrowings caused by the proximity of peoples, the similarity of socio-historical circumstances ^{[1, p. 194]}. In the era of globalization, the study of the interrelationship of the literatures of different peoples, in particular Russian and Chinese, has become especially relevant.

In this regard, there is a reason to pay attention to Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who is one of the most famous and widely read foreign writers in China. Almost all of his works have been translated into Chinese. The acquaintance of the Chinese audience with the master's work began in the early twentieth century with the translation of the story "The Black Monk" (1907). The intensive development of Chinese Czech studies began after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

Undoubtedly, Chekhov's work had the most significant influence on Chinese literature. Lu Xin, the founder of modern Chinese literature, considered Chekhov's work to be the most important among the works of famous foreign authors, since it is "especially understandable to the Chinese world" ^{[2, p. 219]}. The skill of the Russian prose writer is close to many outstanding Chinese writers, including Wang Zengqi (1920-1997), one of the largest prose writers and playwrights of modern Chinese literature. He himself has repeatedly admitted that "of all foreign writers, Chekhov inspired him the most" ^{[3, p. 288]}. At the same time, the writer, based on his experience, noted that "the works of great predecessors form the skill of writers of subsequent generations, their personal qualities" ^{[4, p. 336]}.

The Chinese novelist carried his love for Chekhov through all the years of his work. At the end of his life, he claimed that Chekhov, the experimenter, had opened "a new era in the genre of short story." Wang Zengqi focused on Chekhov's depiction of authentic life, on the master's transition "from a traditional established structure to a freer, more authentic narrative manner" ^{[4, p. 340]}. Wang Zengqi himself was an experimental writer, turning to the "stream of consciousness" technique, destroying the boundaries between prose and poetry. As a result, many of his stories "cease to be just stories" ^{[4, pp. 165-166]}. The lyrical element, as is known, was characteristic of prose and especially of Chekhov's dramaturgy. That is, one can assume that there is a Chekhov influence here too.

For example, we can refer to the early story of the novelist "Lao Lu" (1945), notable, in particular, for the fact that it mentions the hero from Chekhov's "Gooseberry". This narrative describes a character who dreams of buying a house with a garden, growing vegetables, flowers and building his happiness on this. The presented character is undoubtedly brought to life by Chekhov's Chimsha-Himalayan, it is no coincidence that his relatives call him "Mr. gooseberry". It is also significant that the technique of constructing this story is precisely Chekhov's. As is known, the movement of the plot in Chekhov is determined not by the movement "from event to event", but specifically "from mood to mood" ^{[5, p. 53]}. It is significant that in "Lao Lu" the storyline is barely visible, everything goes according to the lyrical mood inherent in the work. "No plots are needed," Chekhov said, "new forms are needed" ^{[6, p. 291]}. Wang Zengqi's art was distinguished by the search for new forms. According to him, unlike the classics of the past, for example, from O. Henry or G. Maupassant, the Russian writer does not think about formalities, about composition, writes casually, freely, moving away from "established cliches" ^{[3, p. 288]}.

It is unlikely that Chekhov did not think at all about the construction of his works, but in general, the idea of the Chinese writer is understandable and it was caught by a follower from the Middle Kingdom. The late Chekhov turned to the free form more often, in this sense, his works such as "Excerpt" or "From the notebook of an old teacher", which are descriptions of loosely interconnected fragments of life, are characteristic. Wang Zengqi's works such as "Familiar" or "Dream" are written in a similar manner (the year of writing is not specified). Wang Zengqi, a writer of the era of modernization of art, went further in this direction, and his later stories, relatively speaking, in their form approach poems, an abundance of dialogues – with plays. He has a conscious attitude – to get away from the formalities of a classic story. This is clearly stated in many of his works, such as, for example, "Biography of a Cavalryman" (1979), "Death of a Swan" (1980), "Eight Thousand Years" (1983).

After the cultural revolution of the 1970s, such literary movements as "scar literature", "literature of reinterpretation", "literature of reform" appeared in Chinese literature, which are closely related to the understanding of human capabilities ^{[7, pp. 190-191]}. By the mid-1980s, the scope of rethinking had expanded, while the main focus, along with socio-political issues, included issues of history and cultural identity. This is how a new trend was formed – the literature of searching for roots. All these literary trends are naturally connected with the ongoing modernization of Chinese society. During such a period, Wang Zengqi, who had been repressed for ten years or more, returned to the literary arena with his closely Chekhov-like understanding of nationality and historicism [pp. 8, 83-86].

The story "The Death of a Swan" is noteworthy in this sense, vaguely resembling a prose poem. A former ballerina, whose fate was broken by repression, watches swans floating on the lake surface with her children. Suddenly shots are fired, hunters kill one bird, others, frightened, fly away. The children, in confusion, ask the swans who have flown away to return, and this ends the story. "The Death of a Swan" is a reminiscence of Chekhov's "Seagull".

In the Russian cultural consciousness, there are a number of Chekhov memes associated with words such as chamber, case, garden, and the fates of typical characters. So Wang Zengqi introduced a number of memorable images into the consciousness of his compatriots, gave rise to memorable memes. In this story, the image of the swan has a deep generalization. The slain bird correlates with the fate of a female ballerina, who once danced the role of a swan on stage in a famous ballet performance, broken by repression.

The meme was also born from the story "Torture of Cats" (1986). Children find pleasure in torturing poor animals. The story is allegorical, its essence is that the torturers are the children of repressed parents. Tortured cats are a direct correlation with people being tortured by repression, and both are guilty without guilt. According to Chinese literary critics, humanism and empathy for little people are one of the features of Wang Zengqi's work ^{[9, p. 43]}. Of course, the same can be said about Chekhov's work, whose humanism is initially hidden deep in the subtext. On the other hand, it can be noted that Wang Zengqi, a tough writer who created many tragic paintings "outside the events", is in a sense Chekhov-like cold-blooded, extremely objective. And here one can feel the influence of the Russian master, who advised writers to stay as if outside the depicted, while knowing the depicted to the last detail, to look at the events described "as if from top to bottom" ^{[6, p. 299]}. It was from this position that Wang Zengqi showed the dramatic events of Chinese history.

It is known that Chekhov opposed lies in art ^{[6, p. 280]}. Wang Zengqi also followed the path of harsh truth. About injustice, about the terrible famine of the 1960s in China, his story "Pancakes with butter" (1980). In the center of the story is a boy who cannot understand why some people lead a well-fed lifestyle, while others, like his grandmother, are dying of hunger. In the finale, the child eats pancakes and cries, remembering his grandmother. Wang Zengqi is stingy with psychological description, he does not directly describe the inner experiences of the child, he otherwise makes the reader feel the drama of what is happening. And here we recall the advice of Chekhov, who noted that it is best to avoid describing the mental state of the heroes; we must try to make it clear from the actions of the heroes ^{[6, p. 36]}. In this context, many of the prose writer's works are necessarily recalled, it is enough to name such as "Dowry", "Grief", "Longing", "Freeloader", "Darling". The inner world of the characters here is obscured by their word, behavior, and gesture.

Speaking about objectivity, Chekhov admitted that he sat down to write when he felt "cold as ice" ^{[6, p. 298]}. It is obvious that Wang Zengqi also tried to write in this state, his "objective narrative" was recognized and recognized by many Chinese scientists. ^{[10, p. 68]}. A vivid example is the story "Rosa" (1993), a story about a woman who has lost her husband, child, and second husband, but she needs to live, survive, and go to work. The author says nothing about the feelings of the unhappy woman, but they are completely understandable to the reader. According to Wang Zengqi, omission is "respect for the reader" ^{[11, p. 112]}. In another case, he clarifies what has been said, writes that ideally the work is created "jointly by the author and the reader", that the creative process ends when the reader reads the text created by the author ^{[3, p. 292]}. It is known that Chekhov was once reproached for "understatement", whereas with this technique he showed confidence in readers: "When I write, I fully rely on the reader, believing that he will add the subjective elements missing in the story himself" ^{[6, p. 146]}.

For Wang Zhengqi, realism is a true depiction of life. Chekhov, as is known, spoke more than once about the importance of a truthful depiction of life, and both writers understood this image widely, there was a place for both grotesque and irony in their writings. In the dramatic short story "Dutch Cow Meat" (1988), Wang Zengqi returns to the famine period of history. The workers of the agricultural institute rejoice at the accidental death of a cow, and look forward to the opportunity to profit from the meat of a fallen cow. Their boss was unhappy with these expectations. At the same time, after work, he hurries to the dining room himself, eats a lot and greedily. The Chekhov-style story combines the dramatic and the comic, and the image of the hypocritical boss typologically resembles Chekhov's characters, such as Ochumelov from Chameleon. Both authors have an important act that casts a bright light on their inner world.

Irony "works" in many of Wang Zengqi's works, such as "Hongqi Sedan" (1993) or "Died" (1996). A very Chekhov situation is played out in the story "Sedan Hunzi", the eternal adaptability is ridiculed. The police treat a person on a bicycle rudely, resolutely issue a fine for violating traffic rules, but do not dare to make a remark to the same person when he is driving a prestigious car, which, as a rule, is driven by high authorities. And here the principle of "no matter what happens" works, but in a different situation.

Wang Zengqi and Chekhov have a lot in common in the subject matter, in the last decade of creativity – in works about love and even about forbidden love, about which Chekhov wrote a lot, but very few Chinese authors. Wang Zengqi's short story "Aunt Xue" (1995) is characteristic. His main character, forty-year-old Xue, felt like a real woman for the first time, sinfully getting along with a colleague. A woman is truly in love, does not pay attention to conversations about her cheating on her husband, considers herself a natural person who has the right to love.

Aunt Xue is a type of Gurov from "The Lady with the Dog", a man who, having lived for forty years, has not known true love. Both stories describe a storm of feelings. At the same time, Chekhov hides his attitude to the events described, prefers an open ending, Wang Zengqi conveys the author's idea more definitely. The narrator of "Aunt Xue" sees in a woman a "free personality", healthy both physically and psychologically ^{[12, p. 435]}. In his attitude to personality, Wang Zengqi here rethinks traditional views, the ethics of Confucianism, which is still significant for the Chinese ^{[13, p, 123]}. The novelist wrote "about the liberation of human nature", proposed a more humane concept of love relationships ^{[11, p. 76]}. In these and other stories on the subject of adultery, Wang Zengqi does not formally look at the phenomena of life, understands them, like Chekhov, in all their complexity, setting true feelings high.

Wang Zengqi has repeatedly expressed respect and love for the Russian word artist. "I really like Chekhov," he wrote, being already a well–known prose writer, "his free style, bitter reflections on life, in which the warm soul of the master is felt. I perceive him as an extremely modern writer" ^{[14, p. 286]}. It is not surprising that Wang Zengqi's work clearly shows both genetic and typological connections with Chekhov's works. They declare themselves at the level of content, in allusions, reminiscences, at the level of form, especially in combination of "talking" detail, symbolism, irony – with understatement, with indications of the ambivalence of life, etc.

Wang Zengqi is a nationally minded writer, he owns the statement about the need to create such works that would shine with the "brilliance of Chinese culture" ^{[15, p. 371]}. That is why his tribute of deep respect to the Russian writer is especially significant.