Perceptions of A.A. Akhmatova and her works in China

Abstract

This thesis is devoted to studying the acceptance extent of A.A. Akhmatova and her works in China. Not enough attention was paid to the acceptance extent of foreign poetess’s works while conducting contemporary studies about Akhmatova. The analyses of Chinese literary works about the Akhmatova poetic heritage and the existing assessments of her poetry are carried out in this thesis for the first time. The author insists that the acceptance of Akhmatova’s works in China goes through several stages. It was in the late 20 century that the Chinese public firstly acquainted with her poems. Yet, the real discovery of her poems occurred only in the 1980s. And at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, there was a genuine Akhmatova study boom, which began to carry out studies about her biographies and early lyrical works. Associating with analyses of foreign studies about her works and taking into account the poetess’s translation strategies of permeating Chinese poems to Russian poetic space, the researchers identified her significant influence on Chinese poetic culture. Attention is also drawn to analyze the comparative works within the framework of the similarity of “female voices” in poetry. This thesis also indicates the future study trend of Akhmatova in China, which will certainly trigger closer interactions and discussions among Chinese scholars who focus on studying the poetess’s heritage.

Keywords

• the acceptance extent of Akhmatova’s works in China
• first acquaintance
• discovery of Akhmatova’s poetry
• study boom of Akhmatova
• “inclusion” of Akhmatova’s works in Chinese culture
• the prospect of Akhmatova study in China