China through the Eyes of Russian Navigators: Forgotten Notes by V. A. Rimsky-Korsakov
Fetisova Lidiya Evgen’evna
Institute of History, Archaeology and Ethnography of the Peoples of the Far East
Submitted: 09.11.2022
Abstract. The aim of the study is to present the thematic originality and determine the genre of V. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s notes about China, the Chinese and foreign nationals who were in China in the middle of the XIX century. The study is novel in that it is the first to consider the notes of the commander of the schooner “Vostok” not only as a historical source, but also as literary texts. The navigator’s notes about China are a part of his epistolary heritage. Residents of Canton, Shanghai and Hong Kong caught the observer’s eye. Ethnographically accurate descriptions offer insight into the ethno-cultural heterogeneity of the Chinese population. The accuracy and objectivity of the assessments that V. A. Rimsky-Korsakov gives to the political situation in the world testify to his outstanding statesmanlike judgement. The author harshly criticised the opium trade, which served as a means of enriching the commercial and industrial circles of Great Britain and the United States. The images created by the author are memorable due to the raciness of the characteristics and the attention to detail. As a result, the study has shown that the epistolary heritage of V. A. Rimsky-Korsakov can be defined as maritime documentary fiction - a kind of travel genre of literature.
Key words and phrases: В. А. Римский-Корсаков, Китай и китайцы, люди и события, жанр путешествий, документально-художественная маринистика, V. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, China and the Chinese, people and events, travel genre of literature, maritime documentary fiction
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