Chinese text in the short stories "The Concrete Ones" and "Lu" by Vladimir Sorokin

The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of Sinoisms and other markers of Chinese culture in Vladimir Sorokin's short stories "The Concrete Ones" and "Lu", from the collection "Feast" in 2001. The author examines in detail the Chinese motives in the above-mentioned stories, as well as analyzes the perception of the image of China in the socio-cultural context in Russia. Recall that in the previous novel "Blue Lard" the author's interest in China is already evident. The influence of Chinese culture on Sorokin's work is also noticeable in the stories "The Concrete Ones" and "Lu". Based on the Rabelaisian gastronomic hyperboles, the writer continues his linguistic experiment, based on the idea of Russian-Chinese symbiosis in the futurological world. It is important to note that Sorokin always kept up with the times, "absorbing" the spirit of the era. Thus, his work reflects the geopolitical idea of Dugin's "neo-Eurasianism" of the 1990s, as well as the growing interest of Russians in Chinese culture. Adhering to a postmodern aesthetic, Sorokin in his texts deconstructs the historical process itself, hinting at a possible "Chinese hegemony" in the future. In addition, Sorokin's interest in Chinese philosophy is evident in both stories. For example, the Taoist idea of the transition of opposites into each other can be correlated with the opposition in Sorokin's work of the aesthetics of the ugly to the beautiful. The analysis of the writer's works using structural-semiotic and cultural-historical methods that allow a deeper understanding of Chinese motifs reflected in Sorokin's work. The scientific novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive analysis of the Chinese "elements" in the mentioned stories, which, on the one hand, allows us to illustrate the features of the creation of the "New Russian" language by Sorokin, his creative method, on the other hand, reflects those socio—cultural trends that were not uninteresting to the author and were reflected in his work. Using the gastronomic hyperbole of the Rabelaisian type and typical postmodern techniques as a stylistic dominant, Sorokin deconstructs history and predicts "Chinese hegemony" in The Feast. As a result, it is shown that Chinese culture plays an important role in Sorokin's work and consciousness: the writer depicts a clash and dialogue between different cultural civilizations, trying to find a way out for Russia through an "alchemical marriage" with China.

Vladimir Sorokin, The Concrete Ones, Lu, Chinese borrowings, Chinese text, transculturalism, taoism, image of China, totalitarianism, postmodernism