Differing Reception of Aesop's Fables in Russia and Japan

在这个研究项目的第一年，我去了俄罗斯，收集关于那里接受伊索寓言的第一手和第二手资料。然后我对这些材料进行了分类和分析。我还邀请了一位18-19世纪初的俄罗斯文学专家(目前是韩国的客座教授)到日本进行研究交流。在接下来的项目年，我收集了有关日本接受伊索寓言的第一手和第二手资料，并对这些资料进行了分类和分析。第三年，也就是去年，我开始写我的研究。我的研究分析了托尔斯泰和陀思妥耶夫斯基的早期作品，以确定这个寓言对19世纪俄罗斯散文小说的影响。2001年8月，我在圣彼得堡的一个国际会议上口头介绍了这项研究，并将我的新发现写在了《伊索寓言在俄罗斯和日本的不同接受》中。这份报告描述了近三千年来在世界范围内传播寓言的一般原则。在俄罗斯，从18世纪开始，伊索寓言与传统流派和新的文学潮流相融合，最终形成克里洛夫寓言。我的研究考察了为什么这些寓言在今天的俄罗斯精神中仍然如此重要。在日本，伊索寓言被认为对儿童道德教育和培养将学习西方文化的新一代领导人有用。因此，在明治维新之后，对寓言的需求立即大大增加，并产生了许多译本。然而，最终他们未能超越童话故事的水平。我的研究探索了为什么这些寓言故事从未成为日本所有年龄段的文化遗产的原因，与俄罗斯不同。我的发现在我的研究报告的后记中作了简要的总结。

In the first year of this research project, I traveled to Russia to gather primary and secondary sources concerning the reception of Aesop's Fables there. I then classified and analyzed these materials. I also invited a specialist in 18th-early 19th century Russian literature (presently a visiting professor in South Korea) to Japan for a research exchange. In the next project year, I gathered primary and secondary sources on the reception of Aesop's Fables in Japan, which I classified and analyzed. In the third and last year, I began writing up my research. My study analyzes early works by Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky to identify influences from the fable on 19th-century Russian prose novels. I presented this research orally at an international conference in St. Petersburg in August 2001, and wrote my new findings in "Differing Reception of Aesop's Fables in Russia and Japan." This report describes the general principles governing the process of worldwide dissemination of the fables over nearly three millennia.In Russia, Aesop's Fables merged with traditional genres and new literary trends starting in the 18th century, and finally took form as Krylov's fables. My study examines the reasons why these fables remain such a vital presence in the Russian psyche today.In Japan, Aesop's Fables were seen as useful for childhood moral education and for nurturing a new generation of leaders who would learn from Western culture. Thus demand for the Fables greatly increased immediately after the Meiji Restoration, and many translations were produced. Ultimately, however, they failed to rise above the nursery tale level. My study explores reasons why these fables never became a cultural heritage for all age groups in Japan, unlike in Russia. My findings are summarized briefly in an afterword to my research report.