The way of discursive cognition of the ancient Chinese treatise Tao Te Ching in Russia

Abstract

The authors study the problem of the spread and influential power of the ancient Chinese philosophical treatise by Laozi Tao Te Ching into Russian. The academic value is determined by the deep research interest of Russian Sinologists to the ancient Chinese literary masterpiece. A predetermined cognition of the depth of philosophical discourse and figurativeness of the treatise's language is presented. Its status as a classic work of world literature is confirmed by the number of translations, second only to the Bible. The authors highlight the main stages of interaction between linguocultures on the example of the history of translations of the ancient Chinese treatise Tao Te Ching into Russian, the reasons for the depression and boom of translation activity in connection with a particular historical period, and the significance and relevance of the discursive knowledge of Laozi philosophy in Russia. A positive trend is depicted in increasing the number of studies of Tao Te Ching through the identified research vectors in modern Russian Sinology. The types and features of Tao Te Ching translations into Russian are described and arranged. The openness of philosophical discourse of Tao Te Ching and the importance of academic and popularized translations for discursive study of the ancient Chinese philosophical text in the socio-cultural context by Russian readers are noted. The representation of the profound knowledge of discursive meanings of traditional Chinese culture in the numerous studies of Tao Te Ching by Russian Sinologists is discussed, resulting in the original way of translating this ancient Chinese philosophical treatise into Russian.