HONGHUZI IN THE PROSE BY FOREIGN FAR EAST WRITERS

Abstract

The paper considers the characterization of honghuzi in work of such writers as N. A. Baikov, B. M. Yulskiy, I. P. Shteinberg and P. V. Shkurkin. Analyzing their artistic legacy, we rely primarily on the works which are known to a wider audience.
The chosen works allow to create an ambigious and multifaceted image of gangsters with mythological type of perception of reality. P. V. Shkurkin and I. P. Shteinberg bring some knightly qualities into the image of honghuzi, highlighting the major ones: fairness, honesty, trust and romanticism.
Analysis of the foreign Far East prose writers’ heritage allows speaking about several robust motives that have oriental specifics. For example, the motive of abduction and release of the captive, accompanied by attendant invariance of successful and unsuccessful release motives, which anyhow compose the short plot of an opus. Also the motives described in the paper are interwoven with Eastern philosophies and symbols of culture in general.