The Reception of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya's Work in China: Trends and Prospects

This article explores the reception of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya's work in China. The subject of this study is the multifaceted process of reception of Petrushevskaya's work in the Chinese cultural and academic space. It examines aspects such as the history and characteristics of translations of the writer's works into Chinese, their scholarly interpretation in the works of Chinese researchers, and the specifics of reader perception in the Chinese sociocultural environment. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the thematic and poetic features of Petrushevskaya's prose and dramaturgy, which resonate most in the Chinese context. The aim of this work is to systematize and analyze the main trends in the interpretation of the writer's work in the Chinese context. The study is motivated by the growing interest in contemporary Russian literature in China and the need for scholarly understanding of intercultural communication processes. The study is based on a comparative analysis of Petrushevskaya's works and their translations, including "Night Time," "One's Own Circle," and "The New Robinsons." Particular attention is given to the scholarly works of Chinese researchers: articles by Chen Fang on the deconstruction of female images, Pan Yueqinguo's study of drama, Pan Lin's work on intertextuality, as well as the dissertations of Li Hui and Sun Xue are analyzed. The novelty of this study lies in the first systematic analysis of the reception of Petrushevskaya's work in China, as well as in the identification of interpretive approaches. Three main stages of the reception of Petrushevskaya's work in China are identified: initial acquaintance (1980s), the emergence of scholarly interest (1990–2000), and in-depth study (2010s – present). Chinese researchers are particularly interested in feminist issues, the poetics of the absurd and postmodernism, and the writer's innovative dramaturgy. It demonstrates how her work engages in dialogue with Chinese literary tradition, finding common ground in social criticism (comparisons with Lu Xun's satire), family themes (parallels with Confucian family ethics), and genre experimentation (juxtaposing scary tales with the tradition of Chinese literary allegory). It is established that Confucian values, particularly the concept of "family harmony" (齐家), significantly influence Petrushevskaya's interpretation of family issues. For example, in their analysis of the play "A Glass of Water," Chinese scholars emphasize the violation of patriarchal norms, reflecting traditional Confucian notions of family hierarchy.