Russian Studies of China: the history of Soviet Studies of Taoism (1917-1985)
The article analyzes the conditions and factors that had determined in 1917-1985 the special attention paid by the USSR’s interpreters and scholars to Tao Te Ching ( Dao De Jing ) and Chuang-tzu ( Zhuangzi ). The aim of the Soviet researchers was to find the struggle between materialism and idealism in the Chinese philosophy. Attitudes and appraisals given by the politicians, scholars, and interpreters are adduced; the literature on the Taoism published in Soviet Union during this period is also analyzed.