Lermontov’s and Baratynsky’s poetry in China: the past and the present

Abstract

The article deals with Chinese translations and academic studies of Lermontov’s and Baratynsky’s works. It gives a detailed account of the four periods in the history of research and translations of Lermontov over the last hundred years. In the years before the People’s Republic of China, scholarly works were limited to general topics, with translators covering only his long poems, the novel A Hero of Our Time [Geroy nashego vremeni] and a small selection of lyrical works. It was not until the 1980s that interest in the poet’s legacy was truly revived: more works were translated, new studies showed a broader scope and deeper analysis, and works by foreign philologists received due attention. The author notes that, over the past decades, research has concentrated on Lermontov’s poetics, cultural and philosophical aspects of his works, with comparative analysis applied more frequently. The article also examines the available Chinese translations of Baratynsky’s poetry, describes the only Chinese monograph about the poet to date, and contemplates the prospects of Baratynsky studies in China.