Translation of Solzhenitsyn’s work in the mode of “internal distribution” in China (1960–1980)

Abstract

In China, the interest to the work of A. I. Solzhenitsyn arose soon after the publication of his story One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich in the journal New World with the permission of N. S. Khrushchev in 1962, which immediately attracted the attention of Chinese literary circles. However, the initial interest in Solzhenitsyn was connected with the political situation in China at that time. The period from the 1960s to the 1980s can be considered the initial stage of the translation of the writer’s work. Almost all the works translated during these years were marked by “internal distribution”. The purpose of this paper is to identify the features of the history of translation and publication of A. I. Solzhenitsyn’s work in the “internal distribution” mode with Chinese characteristics. In the course of the research, for the first time, a connection is established between the system of production of printed materials in the 1960–1980s in China and the process of translating the works of the Russian writer, which determines the scientific novelty of this work. The author of the article pays special attention to the analysis of the historical background of the implementation of the “internal distribution” regime in China. The implementation of such a regime in the 1960–1980s was inseparable from the social, political and cultural context of the time. Knowledge of the context and historical background of this phenomenon will help not only to understand the historical conditions for the translation of Solzhenitsyn’s works during this period, but also to clarify the general picture of the acceptance of the writer in China. The study reveals that the label “internal distribution” for a long time influenced the perception of Solzhenitsyn’s work by the Chinese audience, giving rise to a critical, negative attitude towards the writer himself and his works. However, with the disappearance of ideological pressure in the 1990s, a rational study of the work of A.I. Solzhenitsyn begins in the Chinese scientific community and it is evaluated precisely from the point of view of the literary heritage.

Keywords

• a. i. solzhenitsyn
• translation in china
• “internal distribution”