Vol 82, No 2 (2023)

The article deals with the problems of novel theory formation and the preface as a special form of genre theorizing. The purpose of the study is to problematize the discursive repertoire of novel theory in the stage of formation. The novel as a genre, that remained beyond the subject of poetics for a long time, was theorized in the rhetorical tradition, not only in scholarly treatises, but also in prefaces explaining what a novel is, how and by what laws it is arranged, what history it has and what examples it follows. It can be said that novel theory in its genesis ripened close to the literary text, without breaking the umbilical cord common with it. And even when framed in the form of a separate essay, it had appeared next to or along with the novel. “Treatise on the Origin of Novels, or Romances” / “Traité de l’origine des Romans” (1670) P.-D. Huet / Pierre-Daniel Huet (1630–1721), that regulated the theory and history of the genre and determined the algorithms of its research until the end of the 19th century, treatise was originally published as a scholarly preface in a letter form to the friend and author of the novel “Zaida. Spanish Story”: “Letter from Monsieur Huet to Monsieur de Segrais. On the Origin of Novels”/ “Lettre de Monsieur Huet, à Monsieur de Segrais. De l’origin des romans”. So Huet created not only the novel theory, but also a new locus of theory, widely used in European and Russian literature during the formation of the national novel.

It is proposed to develop a Russian-language ontology for digital humanities as part of the infrastructure of this discipline, which receives organizational registration both in the world and in Russia. The main foreign sources for such an ontology are described. It also describes the Russian projects of recent years in the field of conceptual composition of linguistics and philology in general, which are advisable to use. The formation of the conceptual model of ontology is briefly described. As a technological basis, the Ontolex-Lemon project model is proposed on the platform of a Semantic Network and linguistic linked open data. The necessity of collaboration of various specialists and organizations is emphasized.

The switch from the traditional epistolary style of information exchange between people to the ultra-high-speed Internet communication had a great impact not only on the intellectual component of the communicants, but primarily on the formation of the emotional state of the latter, as well as the formation of the cognitive-emotional perception of the world around. This factor was of particular importance not only for the formation of the psyche of young communicants, but also for changing the holistic picture of the world, where the emotional and modal components of communication play an important role for the formation of the personalities of the representatives of the modern young generation.

This article is about “The Lamentations of Jeremiah, translated into verse”, published without a signature in the magazine “Evening Dawn” (1782). We prove that the author of this work was A.F. Labzin (1766–1826), an influential writer in the reign of Alexander I, translator of European mystics and publisher of the magazine “Zion Bulletin”, who participated in the activities of the Russian Bible Society. This Paraphrase of The Lamentations of Jeremiah is one of the first works of Labzin and the most voluminous of those written in verse, and in the history of Russian literature this is one of the first complete paraphrase of an entire (albeit small) Biblical book.

The article correlates the book, or essay by I. Bunin “The Liberation of Tolstoy” (1937) with the essay by A. Ivanchenko “The Liberation of Tolstoy” (2005). The author’s literary and religious intentions (of all three writers), the features of the created image of Leo Tolstoy in both essays, the themes and problems of Tolstoy’s creative work and his religious and philosophical journalism, perceived in a certain way by Bunin and Ivanchenko, the specifics of the narrative are in the center of consideration. The key problem that both authors are concerned with is the liberation of Tolstoy. Bunin sees it as liberation from death, Ivanchenko – as liberation from the personality immersed in samsara. In both “Tolstoy’s Liberations”, the authors, speaking of the great writer, express their own ideas about the meaning of life and about the nature and purpose of the writer’s craft. Bunin stands on a specific “Christian-Buddhist” position, approaching Tolstoy in his desire for “Buddhist dissolution” and at the same time fearing him, striving for the fullness of sensual existence. Ivanchenko as a Buddhist sees in Tolstoy someone who intuitively approached Buddhist teaching and his practice of final self-liberation. Bunin’s polyphonic text about Tolstoy, which forms the space and the process of reflection, turns out to be Ivanchenko’s monologue of the author, logically building a thought from beginning to end and eliminating the bustle and vanity of worldly life with ironic headings. The article also draws on other texts by A. Ivanchenko, in which he refers to the image of L. Tolstoy. In the cycle of literary and philosophical essays “Homo Mysticus. The Sunstroke Sutras” and in LiveJournal, in the records of the “Verbarium” account, he understands Tolstoy as a model of a writer who goes from words to silence, from external creativity to existential creativity.

I.A. Krylov’s fables have been popular in China for a long time; they are often translated and published; new translations are constantly appearing, but research papers on his fables in China are not very numerous, yet. The first of them appeared in 1957, and at present, there are about 90 publications (not all of them are scholarly). Our article describes the history of Krylov’s study in China, names the most significant and interesting publications, examines various aspects of the study and popularization of his work in the studies by Chinese authors, notes trends characteristic of different periods associated with changes in politics and ideology, as well as with the development of humanities and literature in China.