Ba Jin and Turgenev: Conceptual Response and Artistic Parallels

Abstract

The literary ties between Ba Jin and Turgenev steadily attract the attention of researchers both in China and abroad. This article is an attempt to conduct a new, more in-depth study and analysis of these ties, as well as to study Ba Jin’s research and explorations of Turgenev’s works, to give scientifically based criticism of his translations of Turgenev, and to identify artistic parallels to Turgenev in his own works. The article presents the results of the activities of Ba Jing as a scholar, including his achievements in Turgenev academic events in Russia, Ba Jing’s assessment of the social and artistic significance of Turgenev’s works, as well as the state of contemporary Chinese Turgenev studies. The author has made a stylistic analysis of a number of passages from Ba Jin’s translations, as well as comparative analysis with the works of other translators. Finally, the author presents a comparative analysis of female and male images of Ba Jin and Turgenev in the context of national cultures and the social and political situation in China and Russia, respectively. The author concludes that artistic borrowing, consisting mainly in highlighting social antagonisms through the description of the “fathers and sons” conflict and the love experience of the characters, was due to a certain similarity of origin and social status of both writers, as well as their civic stance and concern about the fate of their homeland. In addition, the author debunks the image of the “Turgenev girl” as an example of strong will and inflexibility, and opposes them, on the one hand, the image of the “Turgenev boy”, which is distinguished by high moral attitudes, on the other - the image of the “Ba-jinean girl”, who has always been placed in much worse conditions. The analysis performed allows us to conclude that Ba Jin’s creative individuality could not have taken shape without the artistic and ideological influence of Turgenev.