The Concept CHINA in the Minds of Native Russian Speakers (Based on the Material of an Associative Experiment)

The article is dedicated to a study on the concept CHINA in the minds of native Russian speakers and the national worldview that has been formed at the present time. The relevance of this article is determined by the research interest in the significance attached to the concept CHINA worldwide and the need to identify specific cultural features of the Chinese national mentality as viewed from the outside. The relevance of the concept CHINA as the object of our paper is accounted for by the role of China in the contemporary world, as well as by political, economic, cultural, scientific, and other contacts between the Chinese and Russian peoples. The results of the free associative experiment on the stimulus “China” are used as a source of material for the reconstruction of the concept. The participants of the experiment were students of Kazan Federal University (KFU); teachers of KFU of various specialties; translators, engineers, employees from different enterprises and institutions in the city of Kazan; students of the preparatory department for foreign students of the Xian Petroleum University (foreign students from Russia).
The aim of the article is to identify the cognitive features of the concept CHINA, and describe its structure in the minds of native Russian speakers. While achieving this aim, the following tasks were performed: 1) conducting a free associative experiment; 2) analyzing the reactions of the informants in the associative experiment; 3) identifying the parameters of reactions according to cognitive characteristics; 4) building the structure of the associative field “China”; 5) describing and identifying the concept CHINA in the minds of native Russian speakers.
It has been shown that the core of the associative field includes associates about Chinese culture and its people. A high-frequency word “Panda”, seems to symbolize China. Almost all the respondents emphasize Chinese culture and the people’s mentality. The core of the associative field consists of the units concerning public life, health, and famous places in China. Tea exists in the minds of native Russian speakers as a favorite drink and a precious gift. The periphery of the associative field includes words related to Chinese politics, the army, and bilateral interstate relations. The cognitive signs identified in the free associative experiment on the stimulus “China” demonstrate Russian people’s great interest in all the aspects of Chinese culture and create a multifaceted idea of China.

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