RECOGNITION THROUGH REINVENTION: THE MYTH OF CHINA IN THE SPIRITUAL QUEST OF RUSSIAN POETS OF THE SILVER AGE

Authors

  • HUI ANDY ZHANG

Keywords:

Russian, Poetry, Silver Age, Nikolai Gumilev, Velimir Khlebnikov, China

Abstract

The works of Russian Silver Age poets Nikolai Gumilev and Velimir Khlebnikov display an array of Chinese motifs. These motifs dissolve into the poets’ individual creation of myths, indicating their different focuses on the cultural map of China, which correspond to their respective poetic conceptions. Despite their difference in poetics, both Gumilev and Khlebnikov embraced the idea of syncretism and restoration, which encouraged them to resort to China as a mirror that reflects the historical identity of Russia, and motivated their development of China as a trope in Silver Age poetry. Ultimately, their Chinese motifs reflect a common spiritual quest—a quest for reframing Russia’s self-identity both as a response to the trend of modernization and as a dialogue with the established European aesthetic rubrics in Russian culture.

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Published

2015-07-31

How to Cite

ZHANG, H. A. (2015). RECOGNITION THROUGH REINVENTION: THE MYTH OF CHINA IN THE SPIRITUAL QUEST OF RUSSIAN POETS OF THE SILVER AGE. 452ºF. Revista De Teoría De La Literatura Y Literatura Comparada, (13), 82–98. Retrieved from https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/452f/article/view/14119

Issue

No. 13 (2015): Chinese Imaginary in Other Literatures: Inspiration, Appropriation and Intertextuality

Section

Monograph

License

All contents published in the journal are protected under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. This corresponds to legislation within Spain, and does not allow commercial use of the texts. It is not possible to modify the contents either.

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Comparative Literature magazine 452ºF [ISSN 2013-3294] is a publishing project coordinated by Asociación Cultural 452ºF, and developed by its Editorial board.



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