The Poetics of Dual Perspective: The Image of Colonial China in the Essays of V.V. Krestovsky 'In Distant Waters and Lands'

The article is dedicated to the analysis of the image of colonial China in V.V. Krestovsky’s essays "In Distant Waters and Lands." The subject of the study is the image of colonial China in V.V. Krestovsky's essays "In Distant Waters and Lands." The object of the research is the artistic and stylistic uniqueness and ideological content of this essay cycle. The author examines in detail aspects of the topic such as the specificity of the author's vision, the mechanisms of creating a critical image of the British colonial system, and the formation of the position of the Russian writer-statesman. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the contrasts between the external order of colonial enclaves and their internal socio-economic reality. The aim of the work is to reveal how these contrasts are created and what ideological function they perform in the text. The research focuses on the narrative strategies that Krestovsky uses to deconstruct colonial reality. It analyzes how the critique of Western colonial policy is formed through the opposition of visible well-being and hidden mechanisms of exploitation. The specificity of the representation of Chinese culture through the prism of Russian conservative consciousness is considered. The methodology is based on narratological analysis, relying on B.A. Uspensky's concept of "point of view." Elements of motif and historical-functional methods are also applied to study the genre synthesis of the essay. The scientific novelty of the work lies, firstly, in the introduction of the little-studied essay cycle of V.V. Krestovsky into scientific circulation. Secondly, the novelty consists in substantiating the "dual point of view" as a key structural-ideological principle of his poetics. As a result of the study, it has been established that the “dual point of view” serves as a systemic tool for criticism in Krestovsky’s work rather than simply a stylistic device. It has been revealed that this poetics shapes the author's position as an "enlightened conservative." His analytical perspective challenges the stereotype of "Chinese immobility" and uncovers the true economic mechanisms of colonialism. It is concluded that Krestovsky's essays represent a synthesis of documentary reportage and ideological expression. They are an important document of the era, recording the complex process of forming Russian imperial identity in its dialogue with the East and the West.

V.V. Krestovsky, essay poetics, colonial discourse, China image, imperial identity, double perspective, Russian literature, narratology, travel essay, artistic image