Reception of A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “Guilty Without Guilt” (1883) in Chen Jiaping’s adaptation “The Innocent” (1952)

The research aims to identify the specific nature of the translatorial interpretation of A. N. Ostrovsky’s play “Guilty Without Guilt” (1883) in Chen Jiaping’s Chinese adaptation “The Innocent” (1952). The scientific novelty of the study is determined by the specific characteristics of the material and the absence of systemic works in modern literary studies based on a receptive and comparative-contrastive analysis of the perception of “Guilty Without Guilt” in China. For the first time, the article reveals the transformation of the play’s system of images, poetics, and ideological and aesthetic emphases during its domestication, taking into account the historical, cultural, and literary context. The paper examines the interpretation of the character system within the Chinese cultural context – focusing primarily on the key figures of Neznamov and Murov, as well as secondary characters – the specific treatment of the “power of money” theme, and the fundamental ideological and aesthetic differences between the finales of the original and the adaptation. The results show that Chen Jiaping sought to bring the text closer to the national reader by shifting the focus from the moral and psychological experiences of the original to a sharp critique of social inequality and colonial pressure. The play acquires an accusatory pathos and becomes an instrument of revolutionary agitation, reflecting the pressing issues of mid-20th-century Chinese society.