This article compares Mikhail Sholokhov’s One Man’s Destiny with Yu Hua’s To Live, exploring the similarities and differences in their portrayals of personal suffering. Both novels share elements such as life experiences, the roots of suffering, the protagonists’ resilient spirits, and the use of a dual narrative structure. However, the distinctions between the two novels are crucial. Firstly, the construction of time differs significantly. In One Man’s Destiny, Sokolov follows chronological markers, creating a linear progression of life where the deceased rarely “return.” In contrast, To Live captures significant events through a personal and subjective lens, where the end of life signifies the “duration” of time. Secondly, the experience of suffering is portrayed differently. Sokolov, burdened by the trauma of war, fights against fate like a heroic warrior, seeking survival while feeling isolated and aware of the world’s indifference. Conversely, Fugui, despite numerous life changes and the loss of loved ones, finds warmth amid sorrow, enriched by kinship, friendship, and love. Thirdly, the relationship between narrators varies. In One Man’s Destiny, the narrator "I" functions as a witness and listener, supplementing details about Sokolov and his adopted son, and conveying the trauma of war. The narration centers on Sokolov, with minimal focus on the narrator "I". In To Live, the story is narrated by a folklorist who intertwines perspectives over a decade, linking past and present through Fugui’s memories. This interaction enriches the story and fosters the growth of characters . Through a comparative study of these two works, we gain insights into the distinct expressions of suffering by Chinese and Russian writers. Despite their differences, both authors convey a universal message: while suffering is inevitable, a resilient spirit enables us to transcend adversity and embrace a renewed life.

As the founding figure of 20th-century Russian Sinology, Vasily Mikhaylovich Alekseyev developed a unique approach to Confucian interpretation through both fieldwork and textual translation. Based on Alekseyev’s travelogue and works on Confucianism, this paper explores his views on literature (Wen) and Dao, and examines their significance in Sinology. Alekseyev’s interpretation reveals a dualistic character: literature is classified into two categories—Confucian classics and aesthetic literature, and Dao is associated with metaphysical truth and ethical moral practice. Moreover, Alekseyev emphasized the material and authoritative characteristics of literature as a medium for conveying the intangible Dao. He further interpreted the phrase “Literature is the carrier of Dao” as an elitist mechanism for civilizational education. In this cross-cultural interpretative study, Alekseyev’s understanding of the relationship between literature and Dao also influenced his construction of Chinese literary history and his translation strategies, while engaging in dialogue with the Russian literary tradition from which he originated.

As one of the important categories of Chinese philosophy, “virtue” is an important foundation for the development of Chinese philosophy. Artem Igorevich Kobzev, a famous contemporary Russian sinologist, firstly traces the definition of “virtue” in the Shang-Yin era. A.I. Kobzev is not only good at grasping important categories in ancient Chinese philosophical classics from the perspective of comparative philosophy, but also discusses the corresponding translations of “virtue” in different cultural contexts, such as Russia and the West, for example. In particular, from the perspective of comparative philosophy, the similarities and differences between “virtue” and “goodness” in ancient Greek philosophy are compared. The relationship between “virtue” and the related concepts of “goodness” and “Tao” in Chinese philosophy is also discussed.

The multiple meanings of “virtue” are fully reflected in the thought of the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. A.I. Kobzev analyzes the presentation of “virtue” and its multiple meanings in the Confucian classics. In addition to analyzing its meaning in the Confucian classics, A.I. Kobzev also explores the meaning of “virtue” in the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought, such as Taoism, Mohism, the School of War, and the School of Law. Adopting a historical-philosophical approach and within the framework of the development of Chinese philosophical history, A.I. Kobzev continues to explore the interpretation of “virtue” in the context of the metaphysicians of the Wei and Jin dynasties, as well as the Song and Ming philosophers. For example, He Yan, Wang Bi, Zhu Xi, and Wang Yangming, and advances the evolution of the meaning of “virtue” to the views of Qing and modern scholars such as Wang Chuanshan, Dai Zhen, Zhang Xuecheng, Tan Sitong, and Mou Zongsan. In this way, A.I. Kobzev has generally explored the multiple meanings of “virtue” in ancient Chinese philosophy and its evolution.

In order to take a more comprehensive view of the meaning of “virtue”, we will not only analyze the focus of Russian sinologists' interpretations of “virtue”, but will also use comparative philosophical methods to explore the interpretations of “virtue” by modern Chinese scholars as well as by Western scholars. The method of comparative philosophy will also be used to explore the interpretation of “virtue” by modern Chinese scholars and Western scholars. In this way, we will compare the similarities and differences in the interpretations of “virtue” by Russian, Chinese and Western scholars, and further explore the deeper ideological and cultural roots of such similarities and differences, with a view to exploring whether there is any fairness or cultural misinterpretation in the understanding of Chinese culture in Russia, China and the West, and to achieve the purpose of a kind of civilizational exchanges and mutual understanding.

The Scholars is the pinnacle of satirical novels by Chinese literati of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and has been handed down in many languages in the international Sinological community, making it one of the masterpieces of world literature. The full translation of The Scholars, translated and published by the Russian sinologist Voskresensky in 1959, presents the spirit of the original in a complete and exhaustive manner, while supplementing it with a wealth of paratextual information. Starting from the perspective of Imagologie, we explain the transmission and image shaping of Chinese cultural elements in the Russian translation of the paratext of The Scholars, reveal the Chinese cultural image constructed in the main text based on corpus translation, and explore the internal mechanism and literary significance of its formation. The exotic image constructed by the translators provides Russian readers with a unique vision of Chinese society, which is of great research significance and cultural value in promoting self-knowledge, enhancing cultural exchanges between China and Russia, and improving the image of the country.

Dating back to the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian academic circle had already begun to introduce Confucianism，and there has been an uninterrupted stream of people translating and introducing Confucianism until the 21 st century. At the turn of the 20th and 21 st centuries，the Russian Sinology community published the six-volume Encyclopedia of Chinese spiritual Culture，which was edited by Academician Mikhail Leontevich Titarenko，the fifth chairman of the International Confucian Association，and received high attention from the leaders of both China and Russia. It offered an objective and “outsider” interpretation of the value of Confucianism from the perspectives of Confucian figures，schools，concepts and so on. For the same Confucian concept，The Encyclopedia of Chinese spiritual Culture provided cross-interpretations with the help of different disciplines, also, it had cross-interpretations with other Sinology works of the same period. When the value of Confucianism is studied，it should be noted that the Western Sinology community conspired with the intellectual community to indulge in the delusion that capitalism was the end of history. They once put forward the views that Confucianism was not adaptable to modernization and that Confucianism had become a “museum exhibit”. The Encyclopedia of Chinese Spiritual Culture broke through such delusions and demonstrated the vitality of the modern transformation of Confucianism.