Representation peculiarities of the image of China in the modern lyrical cycle of travel

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to determine the functioning specificity of the lyrical travel cycle as a special genre form. The research aims to identify the milestones in the formation of the “Chinese text” in Russian literature, to study the originality of the travel cycle about China by O. Sedakova, A. Kushner and A. Ulanov, and to examine the representation features of the image of the Celestial Empire.Results. With all the diversity in modern Russian poetry of travel cycles, we have focused our attention on the most representative works of Russian poets who offer different strategies of comprehending “foreign” realities. The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the fact that the modern travel cycle is analyzed through the prism of the Silver Age traditions for the first time. The research methods included historical and functional analysis, typological analysis, and comprehensive analysis.Conclusion. We conclude that modern poets in the lyrical travel cycles devoted to the Celestial Empire create not a specific geographical space, but a spiritual “component” of the eastern country based on the poetic concept of N. Gumilyov in “Chinese Pavilion”, and convey the features of “alien” culture and worldview. While O. Sedakova’s “Chinese Journey” uses associative-metaphorical links and images to describe an imaginary journey, A. Kushner (“In China”) and A. Ulanov (“Solid China”) construct a real-life journey.