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Zhao W. [Beauty and meaning in the aesthetics of writing: a comparison of Chinese and Russian traditions] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2026, Vol. 17, No. 3. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/02KLSK326.pdf (in Russian).

Beauty and meaning in the aesthetics of writing: a comparison of Chinese and Russian traditions

Zhao Wei
Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China
E-mail: 799713334@qq.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5315-3481
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=1156420

Abstract. The article is devoted to comparing the aesthetics of the graphic form of writing in Chinese and Russian cultures and determining the grounds that determine its difference in perception, assessment and practice. On the basis of paremia and theoretical works, ontological discrepancies between Russian and Chinese written characters, their semantics, meaning-forming role and criteria that form the calligraphic canon in each of the traditions are analyzed. A fundamental difference is revealed in the Chinese and Russian tradition of writing: if in China writing is understood as an ontological action in which the energy and personality of the writer are manifested through the graphic form, then in the Russian tradition utilitarian parameters come to the fore — clarity, readability and adherence to established standards. The work considers the Russian connection as an example of a lost calligraphic tradition interrupted by the reforms of Peter I, and its reconstruction in the «Russian style» of the late XIX — early XX centuries. Special attention is paid to the visual dialogue of two written traditions in the border zones, giving rise to hybrid styles («grapho-pidgins»), as well as how Chinese calligraphy is comprehended in the Russian cultural environment. Analysis of this phenomenon shows that the Chinese aesthetics of writing is a popular resource of figurative enrichment for modern Cyrillic fonts. The study is based on a combination of several methodological approaches that provide a multi-level analysis of the aesthetic function of writing in China and Russia: philosophical-aesthetic, concrete-historical, art history, visual-anthropological and hermeneutic. It is concluded that the aesthetics of writing in each of the cultures reflects deep ideological attitudes: in China — the attitude towards harmony with cosmic rhythms, in Russia — the attitude towards communicative clarity and social significance of the written word.

Keywords: calligraphy; writing; Chinese culture; Russian culture; aesthetic function; hieroglyphic script; Cyrillic script; paremiology

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