The idea of "evil" in Russian, French and Chinese

Golovanivskaya Mariya Konstantinovna Doctor of Philology Professor; Department of Regional Studies; Faculty of Foreign Languages and Regional Studies; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 13 Golovanivskaya@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Efimenko Nikolai Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0002-4003-5887 Student; Department of Regional Studies, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Regional Studies; Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, Moscow, Leninskie Gory str., 1, p. 13 efimenko200205@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The concept of "evil" occupies a central place in the worldview systems of different cultures and peoples. It reflects deep ideas about morality, ethics and social structure, forming important aspects of cultural identity. In modern linguistics, the study of concepts and categories related to morality is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in the context of intercultural and interlanguage analysis. So, from recent studies, it is worth noting the work of Yao Ch., who explores the concept of “politeness“ in Russian and Chinese ^[8], Li M., comparing the concepts of ”image“ and ”image" in the same linguistic cultures ^[3], Liu Chaoze, who gives a general definition of the concept of “fate" for the two languages ^[4]. Along the way, we note that not only abstract concepts are compared; for example, Ma Xiangfei compares the concept of “hail” in Russian and Chinese ^[6].

However, despite the considerable interest in the topic, the concept of "evil" has not yet received enough attention in contrastive studies covering such diverse linguistic and cultural traditions as Russian, French and Chinese. The present study aims to fill this gap and offer a comprehensive analysis of the concept of "evil" in three linguistic worldviews. We consider the etymological and mythological roots of this concept, analyze its lexical compatibility and identify material connotations based on the methodology of V. A. Uspensky.

Modern philosophical encyclopedic dictionaries interpret good and evil in this way: "... these are normative and evaluative categories of moral consciousness in an extremely generalized form, denoting, on the one hand, the due and morally positive, the good, and on the other, the morally negative and reprehensible in people's actions and motives." In the interpretation of good and evil in the history of ethics, various points of view have clashed since antiquity.

Materialists associated them with human needs and interests, with the laws of nature or, in fact, with the desires and aspirations of people (naturalism), with pleasure or suffering (hedonism), with the real social significance of certain actions. Idealists derived the concepts of good and evil from divine command and reason, from certain otherworldly ideas and entities, as a result of which the conflict between good and evil was given a metaphysical-ontological meaning of the struggle of eternal principles in the world ^{[1, p. 174],[2]}. It should be noted that our consciousness and language combine both the first and second points of view, without causing internal conflict and the need to rationalize historically irreconcilable different approaches ^[7].

The concept of "evil" in Russian is associated with the Old Russian adjective "evil", which meant "bad", "bad", "low". The noun "evil" had the meaning of "trouble", "sin", "enmity", and the word "evil" — "vice" or "enmity". These terms go back to the common Slavic root, which, in turn, is associated with the Indo-European root, meaning "to bend", "to curve", "to twist". Thus, evil is etymologically opposed to the concepts of "truth", "directness", "correctness", and is also associated with something left-wing, curved, illegal (for example, "crooked contract", "left earnings").

Initially, the adjective "zl" was more commonly used than the corresponding noun, and was used to characterize a person. "Evil" meant "unfriendly", "imbued with enmity and hatred", "willing to torment". This word described the behavior of the enemy. The final abstraction of the concept of "evil" occurred, in our opinion, simultaneously with the abstraction of the concept of "good" in the context of the spread and rooting of the atheistic worldview, when it became necessary to formulate the foundations of morality outside the religious coordinate system.

The concepts of "good" and "evil" are highly symmetrical: good is something that is good for a person, something that is acquired by honest work, and evil is something that causes harm, for example, war, loss, ruin. In the value hierarchy, good is the highest moral virtue, and evil is the ultimate vice. Good is connected with God, and evil is connected with the devil.

A significant part of the characteristics of good with the opposite sign can be attributed to evil, which indicates their common roots in ancient myths about gemini. In Slavic mythology, the origin of these concepts is explained as follows: the gray duck, who personified the Slavic god of the Genus, went in search of the earth on his instructions and, having found it, laid two eggs with the forces of Reality and Navi (phenomena and guidance), that is, with the forces of good and evil. These eggs hatched birds that carried good and evil around the world, where they began to spread and reproduce.

The personification of evil in Slavic mythology was the goddess Mara (Maruha), personifying enmity and death (cf. "pestilence", "darkness"). Among the northern Slavs, Mara was represented by a rude spirit who is invisible during the day, and at night commits evil deeds, hiding in caves, swamps or potholes under the river bank. The personification of evil in the image of a demon also refers to ancient Slavic concepts (the expressions "the devil got confused" or "the devil" as the cause of an erroneous action or failure). In ancient Slavic beliefs, demons and the forces of evil were associated with darkness, cold and winter, which was considered the time of their domination. The mythological characters of this kind include evil spirits — malicious house spirits, symbols of misfortune and trouble. The evil deeds differed from the passive "share" concerning human well-being in that they brought misfortune. In some areas, they were represented as invisible old beggars who brought trouble to their places of residence.

In modern Russian, the word evil has the following compatibility:

to cause, to do, to bring, to sow evil;

evil takes root, sprouts, the root of evil, lime evil by the root;

The evil is the least, the greatest, choose from two evils the least evil, the great evil;

to hold evil against someone; to take out evil on someone, to carry evil in oneself;

an unconditional, inevitable, global evil;

Evil wins, prevails, the forces of evil, the flowers of evil

To move away from evil, to know evil

the triumph of evil, the empire of evil, the stronghold of evil.

From the above compatibility, we clearly see such a metaphorical concretization of it:

1. Evil is like a plant, a weed (see above).

2. Evil as a discrete environment representing the competition of evil to man.

3. Limited territory (move away from evil).

4. Army (forces, empire).

There is no direct evidence in the language of the connection of evil with the night luminary — the moon, however, in modern practice there are numerous confirmations of such an association. Slavic myths, as noted earlier, associated evil with night and darkness. The negative, wary attitude of a person to the dark and to the night luminary persists at the present time: sleepwalking, beliefs in werewolves, night terrors, an increase in crime at night — all this indicates that the dark time of day is perceived as the time of action of dark forces. The cold that accompanies fear also indicates that fear is associated with a sense of the presence of evil, an enemy, or danger, which is especially intensified at night.

The subconscious connection of evil with cold is manifested in images such as the Snow Queen, or in the expression "instead of a heart, a piece of ice" (where the association with the fact that cold reduces sensitivity to the point of its complete loss is also important; thus, evil uses this to direct a person on the wrong path). Hence, perhaps, the expression "cold reception", meaning an insensitive or unfriendly attitude; "dark deeds", that is, evil or dishonest deeds. A similar metaphor can be traced in the word "false rumors" — conversations that not only convey untruth, but also pursue an evil purpose.

Man is often the source of evil, but later evil separates from man and begins to exist autonomously. We can say: "with his infinite goodness he proved..." or "his goodness coming from him was stronger...", but we cannot construct similar phrases with the word "evil". The word "evil" does not have a plural in the nominative case in the Russian language, but it is used in the genitive case in the plural, when it is said, for example, about choosing from two, three or five "evils" — the smallest, largest or average. Thus, evil can not only be multiple, but also vary in quality and size, whereas good is perceived as a single and is not differentiated by characteristics. This explains the poor compatibility of the word "good" with adjectives and the abundant compatibility of the word "evil".

The expression "to hold evil against someone" means "to conceal it in oneself, to feel anger towards someone", and "to take out evil on someone" means "to throw out internal negative tension on an innocent person." The verb "to tear off" here is connected with the idea contained in the verb "to break off", that is, it is illegal to give free rein to your negative emotions, which are usually "kept on a leash", like a wild beast or an angry dog. Therefore, evil represents a kind of "desecration", regression into the wild world and dehumanization.

The concept of “evil" in French

The French concept of "evil", expressed by the word le mal, seems to be more conceptually and figuratively developed than its antonym. Le mal is derived from the Latin adjective malus ^{[9, p. 881]} - "bad, sinister, evil". It is an ancient religious term, read in many Indo-European forms.

The noun le mal is formed by the substantiation of the corresponding adjective. From the very first Old French texts, Mal denoted a moral concept, the opposite of bien (in the third sense). It was used in Christian texts, reinforced by the derived name of the devil (Le Malin) and associated with the idea of sin.

In the 17th century, faire le mal meant "to sin." In secular contexts, the word mal was found in the already quoted expression donner le mal pour le bien. In the XI-XII centuries, other meanings of this word known today appeared - "disease" and "pain", which are not included in the nest of meanings of the Russian word "evil" ^{[9, p. 882]}.

In modern language, the word le mal has the following meanings:

1. That, what causes pain, chagrin, unhappiness, what is bad, harmful, hard for someone.

2. Suffering, physical malaise.

3. The disease.

4. Moral pain.

5. That which is contrary to the moral law, virtue, goodness

6. Absolute value: everything that is opposite is opposed to good.

An analysis of the meaning of the word le mal shows that in French, the same word denotes mental and physical pain. Thus, mental pain is thought of quite concretely, which will be interpreted by us later when considering the vocabulary describing emotions. It can also be seen that the pragmatic aspect of the meaning present in the word le bien is missing, which may be explained by the universality and antiquity of this concept, which obviously goes beyond the boundaries of antiquity and its ideology. It is through the concept of le mal that the underexpressed aspects of the concept of le bien are expressed: it is in the article le mal in Le Petit Robert that we find contexts (L'arbre de la science du Bien et du Mal, Par-dela le Bien et le Mal, le monde partage entre le Mal et le Bien etc.) that were they would be equally appropriate in an article on le bien, but they are missing there due, apparently, to the lack of elaboration of the latter concept. Note also that the absolute meaning of the word le mal Le Robert is given by the latter, which indicates that this word is still little used. The secondary concretization of the concept of le mal through a certain figurative system is clearly seen from the compatibility of this word:

attaquer le mal a la racine, extirper le mal, couper le mal, tarir la source du mal, couper le mal a sa source, le mal a des ailes, le mal porte le venin en queue, le mal vient a cheval et s'en retourne a pied. Denoncer, enrayer, reparer un mal. Etre enclien au mal. Le mal reigne, triomphe; le mal necessaire.

From the above compatibility, we see that le mal is shaped figuratively as:

1. a plant with a stem that can be pulled out and cut

2. like a stream, a spring with an estuary

3. A chthonic creature combining archetypal features associated with the earth: tail, wings, poison. The image of a flying reptile, a dragon with a sting filled with poison, obviously connects it with ancient times ^[10].

We see that evil in the French language is animated, able to reign and conquer, and has a deep source that feeds it with earthly juices. In the described image, there are many similarities with the image of the devil, whose name, as we have already written, has the same root.

The connotation associated with the image of a plant obviously formed the basis of the metaphor les fleur du mal, created by Baudelaire and rooted in the language. This connotation is in line with the famous Latin expression "Mala herba cito crespit".

It should be noted that the ideas of good and evil for the French consciousness relate exclusively to the sphere of philosophical and religious search and do not characterize everyday consciousness, which prefers to operate in this case with more specific concepts.

The concept of “evil" in Chinese

In Chinese, the main seme for the concept of "evil" is 恶 è. This 恶 è is a hieroglyph of the phonetic category, which consists of the semantic component "心 xīn", indicating a connection with inner feelings, and the phonetic element 亞 yà. Thus, the original meaning of sema was "sin", "evil deed" ^{[12, p. 944]}. In order to better understand the etymology of sema, it is first necessary to delve a little more into the element 亞 yà. In addition to the phonetic function, it can be assumed that it also conveyed semantics, since, according to many researchers such as Wang Fei ^[15] and Liu Zhao ^[14], the hieroglyph 亞 yà denoted an ancestral temple or an altar in a tomb, which is absolutely not accidental. Other researchers believe that 亞 yà means "tomb". Regardless of the opinion, the connection with the other world is visible.

In ancient China, there was a concept of "Gu", that is, "disembodied essence". Any creature falls into this state after death in the real world. And some of these creatures become "evil spirits." People come to an agreement with them through worship and sacrifices to obtain common benefits. And they become 邪神 xiéshén "Demon God" or 鬼神 guǐshén "Devil God". It is important to note here five widely revered Demon Gods (五通)), who, according to legend, were brothers. This belief appeared during the Tang Dynasty and was mainly spread in the Jiangnan region. But to this day, these Demon Gods have cultural significance. They are popularly known both as the gods of evil (邪神) and as the gods of wealth (财神), which indicates the connection of these ideas ^{[11, pp. 96-99]}.

The cult of the evil spirit runs through the entire diachrony of Chinese culture. It can be assumed that the hieroglyph 亞 yà has a connection with this mythological representation. Accordingly, in Chinese culture, the connection between the devil and evil seems obvious. But there is also a less obvious connection between ugliness and evil. Earlier in our article on the concept of male beauty, the hieroglyph 醜 chǒu (simplified hieroglyph is written as 丑 chǒu), meaning "devil", was defined. It was said that the devil is the one whose appearance is disgusting. Therefore, in modern Chinese, one can observe the following word for ugliness: 丑恶 chǒu'è "disgusting", which, not being an idiom, almost settled in our language and is most often used in the following way: 丑恶嘴脸 chǒu'è zuǐliǎn "ugly mug" meaning people, who made an unforgivable act.

As it was written in the article on the concept of "good", Taoists do not think in terms of good and evil, but talk about compliance with the natural cycle. What goes against the natural cycle, goes against the "tao" and violates harmony, therefore, is evil.

Compared to the Taoists, Confucians considered good and evil in much more detail, since they needed them to create a state ideology. As it was said in the chapter on goodness, initially goodness measured justice: what is just is good. Accordingly, injustice is evil. Later, after the teachings of the natural tendency to good by Meng Tzu and the natural tendency to evil by Xun Tzu, the problem of the primacy of good and evil in man became more discussed in Confucianism. The winner of the debate was the doctrine of the natural inclination to goodness. But the idea of the primacy of evil within man was embodied in the theory of legalism. This has become one of the main reasons for the strict laws and regulations in society adopted to limit evil and prevent crime. The legists put forward the law and declared its universality and strict observance, as they considered it the only means of suppressing evil within a person so that stability could be maintained in society ^{[13, pp. 82-85]}.

For Buddhism, evil is the root of suffering, which comes from ignorance and unwillingness of a person. It is well known that in Buddhism there is a concept of "three poisons": greed, anger and stupidity, which are the main reasons for committing atrocities.

Turning to modern Chinese, we can identify several more characteristic features that people associate with evil. For example, "hate" or "strong dislike for something." There are three absolute synonyms that show the maximum degree of aversion to: 憎恶 zēngwù; 厌恶 yànwù; 嫌恶 xiánwù. All three words are used as verbs, followed by a noun showing the object of hatred, which depends on the context, that is, it is used to show strong inner feelings of a person.

In modern Chinese, according to the frequency dictionary, the following synonymous series has been identified: 邪恶 xié'é, 罪恶 zuì'é. We will analyze both of these synonyms separately.

The lexeme 邪恶 xié'é consists of the morphemes 邪 xié and 恶 è and is the most common in modern Chinese to denote the concept of "evil". The sema "邪 xié" has the meaning of "wrong", for example: the previously mentioned "邪神 xiéshén" "Demon God" in the sense of "wrong god", or "邪教 xiéjiào" (sect) in the sense of "wrong faith", or "邪说 xiéshuō" (vicious point of view) in the sense of "wrong speech", etc. We see that here "evil" is shown as something that deviates from orthodoxy as much as possible. The notion that something is wrong (has strayed from its path) also exists in the Taoist understanding.

Next, let's move on to the compatibility of words and the identification of material connotation:

The following material connotation was revealed from this compatibility:

1. The enemy. Of all the cases of compatibility, "defeating evil" was observed the most, that is, evil is something that is our opponent, and strong. Therefore, it can be attacked, resisted. It cannot be feared, it must be fought and prevented. They hate him, they can drive him away or destroy him. Here we see a clear image of the enemy, which must be overcome and wiped off the face of the earth. It is also worth mentioning that when analyzing the material of the language corpus associated with news sources before the 1980s, abstract imperialism, capitalism, revisionism and all that went against communism were often "evil". But in the news after the 2000s, the image of the enemy is becoming more and more tangible. For example, America, India and other countries that have harmed China's interests as a representative of "goodness" are called enemies. Previously, slogans were used, but now there are more specific enemies in propaganda.

2. The tyrant. People worship him, fear him, and listen to his speech. Because of his strength, he must be constantly limited, resisted. It is felt that evil is a strong living being, as it can usurp territory or objects, people surrender and obey it. Also, some people try to fight it somehow, not in order to win, but in order to suffer less. They are opposed to him and can eventually get rid of him. Here two images arise that are often found in peasant uprisings: the people obey their ruler for a long time until the moment when they cannot tolerate it; then the people rebel, but not in order to overthrow the ruler, but in order to return what they originally had. If this cannot be returned, then the ruler is overthrown.

3. The disease. It's something that can spread, something that everyone hates. It is located on the street. It is impossible to hide it and it is impossible to hide from it if you are already infected.

4. Dirt. They want to discard it, they get rid of it, this is what they are trying to wash away. This is neglected.

5. Weed. This image is shown only using different forms of the word "eradicate". This image will be shown in more detail in the analysis of the following token.

6. Poison. If you look at the real connotation of the two lexemes, you can find another, much less explicit connotation. It is an object with a smell, an object that can be tasted. It is important to note that evil is combined with the verb 品尝 pǐncháng, which is used to indicate tasting a delicacy. For example, "品尝美酒 pǐncháng měijiǔ" to "wine tasting", "品尝仙桃 pǐncháng xiāntáo" "taste the Peach of longevity." But we can also say "品尝毒酒" "taste poisonous wine" or even "品尝毒药" "taste poison".

The lexeme 罪恶 zuì'ê consists of the morphemes 罪 zuì and 恶 è. The hieroglyph 罪 zuì is an ideographic hieroglyph and from the very beginning since antiquity has had the invariable meaning of "crime", to be more precise, "a person who has committed something wrong". In modern Chinese, this lexeme has two meanings:

1. The atrocity;

2. Crime.

Next, let's move on to the compatibility of words and the identification of material connotation:

During the analysis, it was found that the word "zuì'e" began to be used massively from the end of the Ming Dynasty until the beginning of the Qing Dynasty in works devoted to Christianity and its spread in China. As you know, this is the very beginning of the missionary movement of Europeans in China. They needed to find a word that would have the meaning of sin for a Christian person. It can be assumed that this particular word was chosen as the most appropriate. Despite the fact that it was already found in ancient Chinese sources, after its mass use as a designation for the sin of Christians, its meaning in the minds of the Chinese people was changed.

Thus, the material connotation of this word represents not only the ancient Chinese mentality, but also a newer one that appeared under the influence of Christianity in China. This is the reason why compatibility shows a material connotation that is similar to the Christian mythological consciousness.

After the analysis, the following material connotation was revealed:

1. Money. It's a precious item. Since he is being sought, chased, and redeemed. His weight may decrease. Especially the combination of 赎罪恶 shú zuì'ê with the verb "to redeem" shows the connection with something precious much better: "赎 shú" shows the importance of the object and directly shows its connection with money, since the redemption process can only take place with the help of "赎金 shújīn" "money for redemption", which once again shows the value of evil.

2. Dirt. They clean it off, wash it off, shake it out. As in the previous case, the material connotation of "dirt" also manifests itself through purification from evil.

3. Weed. It can be mowed down, uprooted, but it can still breed quickly.

4. The court room. In the analysis, the expression "中中 zììììèè zh" is very common. Also, the expression “enter into evil” indicates that evil can be a space, namely a room. With the help of the highlighted compatibility, you can trace the entire trial. Both the prosecution and the defense sides are shown. He is announced, then accused, exposed, and criticized. Then it is appealed, or repentance comes. The jury examines the case of evil and concludes.

It is also important to note the representation of evil as a living spirit that is near us and incites people to do bad things. This is confirmed by the following expressions:

● "空气满是"" - "evil is in the air";

● "(some space) is filled with evil.".

After the analysis, we can draw the following conclusions. By origin, the sema "恶" is associated with the process of the burial ritual and the inner feelings of a person, which was more strongly influenced by the popular idea of "evil spirits" than the influence of philosophical trends. Of course, it is important to note the influence of the political system of government through legalism in a society with Confucian thinking, where evil was expressed as the initial component that makes up a person, which is important to suppress in education for the stability of society. If we talk about connections with other concepts, it is important to highlight death – a connection with the other world – and ugliness – the idea of an evil person as an ugly person, that is, a demon.

If we talk about the modern Chinese language, then two lexemes should be distinguished: 邪恶 xié'é and 罪恶 zuì'é. The first one, xié'é, shows the connection with evil as something heretical, wrong, and inconsistent with the moral concepts of the Chinese mentality. It has many material connotations, but the most pronounced of them are "enemy" or "tyrant", and this is consistent with what we have found in the material connotations for the concept of "good". In addition, there are less pronounced material connotations, such as disease, dirt, weed, poison. All of them point to what was evil for ordinary people. This once again shows the importance of the idea of evil among the people.

The second lexeme, zuì'e, originally denoted the evil of crime, but after the beginning of the missionary movement in China, it was often used to represent Christian "sin" in its use, which also manifests itself in the material connotation, which clearly shows such phenomena as "buying off sin." Of course, the connection of evil with money is also present in Chinese culture. But it is also important to note that in modern Chinese, this lexeme embodies both the Chinese idea and the Christian one. In addition, the trial of sinners is manifested in the material connotation, which is also the result of Christian mythological consciousness. And there is also the idea of dirt and weed, which is, as in the first case, the popular idea of evil. In the end, I would like to note that the semantic complex can play both a passive and an active role in relation to a person, which is associated with the possibility of the influence of an evil spirit on people's affairs. And the semantic complex 罪恶 zuì'ê can only play a passive role in relation to a person, where a person tries to get rid of it.

So, let's summarize the results. The concept of "evil" in Russian is an antonym of the concept of "good", and also has a common character. It is also subject to reification and animation: it appears in the form of a plant or is personified as a militant principle, towards which a person shows activity and hostility.

The term "mal" in French has ancient religious roots, denoting a moral concept correlated with ideas about the devil. However, in modern language, its later meanings, such as "pain" or "illness", have come to the fore, and the first use in a moral context is becoming less frequent. The figurative series associated with this concept is associated with the idea of a "bottom" or "underground beginning": a source, a plant, a chthonic being. Man is called to fight evil, but such contexts are rather philosophical and religious in nature and are not part of everyday language. The concepts of good and evil have lost the status of basic ethical guidelines for the bearers of modern consciousness of French-speaking ethnic groups.

The roots of the Chinese concept of “恶” (è) are connected with the ancient ideas of people about a world where evil correlates with the spirits of their ancestors. The ideas of the gods of wealth and evil also originate in ancient times and retain their manifestation in modern times. A clear contrast can be observed in the concepts of good and evil: for example, a popular uprising is opposed to a tyrant ruler, and the protection of sovereignty is opposed to an enemy attack. Associations of evil with dirt, diseases and poisons indicate its perception in the daily life of the people. The evil manifested itself in agricultural practices, for example, through association with weeds. Since China has been an agrarian society throughout all historical periods, anything that hindered a good harvest was considered evil.

In addition, it is worth considering the influence of Christian beliefs on the Chinese language during the late Qing Dynasty. Christian concepts of sin have influenced Chinese culture and are reflected in modern Chinese, which has added new shades to the understanding of evil in the Chinese tradition.