Chinese Literature: From Ancient Times to the Present

For students and teachers of PetrSU, Aleksey Sergeevich gave an open lecture "Chinese Literature: from Ancient Times to the Present". The interest in the lecture was so great that the premises of the Humanitarian Innopark of PetrSU could not accommodate everyone.

It was the author's view on the development of literature and the thousand-year-old culture of China in their close relationship. The lecturer identified and described several key periods in the formation and development of Chinese literature, taking into account the influence of the historical context: ancient Chinese literature (before the 3rd century AD), literature of the Middle Ages and the classical period (3rd–16th centuries), new Chinese literature (17th century – 1911), modern Chinese literature (1911–1949), and contemporary Chinese literature (1949 – present).

The lecture featured masterpieces of classical Chinese poetry from the Book of Songs (Shijing) translated into Russian, as well as excerpts from the fundamental philosophical treatises of Confucius (Lunyu – Conversations and Judgments) and Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching – The Book of Path and Grace). The audience was immersed in the amazing world of centuries-old Chinese literature and culture, and became acquainted with its most important representatives and the works they created. Aleksey Sergeevich drew the audience's special attention to the continuity of literary tradition, its reflection, rethinking in modern Chinese literature and culture.

A.S. Aleshin donated to the Institute of Philology a collection of Chinese prose from the late 20th – early 21st centuries, "Double Pupil", published at the Confucius Institute at St. Petersburg State University in 2015.