Interpretative problems of Wang Shifu’s Chinese drama in Soviet translative and theatrical practice

The authors present the ancient Chinese play “The Romance of the West Chamber” (“Xi xiang ji”), its Russian adaptation “The Spilled Cup” (“Kong bei ji”) by A.P. Globa and Russian interpretation “The West Chamber, where Cui Ying-ying was waiting for the moon” by L.N. Menshikov. The authors analyze the Russian adaptation of the play “The Romance of the West Chamber” by the method of reconstructive and anachronistic interpretation based on the theory of modern literary hermeneutics of E.D. Hirsch. The authors came to the conclusion that the interpretation of the play “The Romance of the West Chamber” by L.N. Menshikov is a reconstructive interpretation. Russian interpretation by L.N. Menshikov mostly follows the original, except for a few superficial differences stemming from cultural and linguistic differences. The play “The Spilled Cup” is an anachronistic interpretation. Despite the fact that the Russian play “The Spilled Cup” imitated the old Chinese style (scenery, clothes, music) ethically, in composition, and in character system the content of the play corresponds to the social order that prevailed among the Soviet translators in the 50s of the last century. This translation is a modern cross-cultural, crosstemporal adaptation. The authors describe the levels of perception of Wang Shifu's “The Romance of the West Chamber” and “The Spilled Cup”. The authors analyze A.P. Globa's method of changing the meaning of the play. In conclusion, the authors analyzed the political reason for the creation of the play “The Spilled Cup” in the early 1950s and possible reason for publishing both the translation and adaptation in 1960. After the VI World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow in 1957, many well-educated Russians in the USSR got sincerely interested in abroad culture.