The Far Echo of Confucianism in the Creative Thoughts of Gogol: Some Ideas of Confucius in Gogol's Book 'Selected Passages from the Correspondence with Friends'
The material is devoted to the bicentennial of the birth of N. V. Gogol. By comparing the ideas of Gogol's book «Selected Passages from Correspondence with Friends» and the traditional Chinese teachings of Confucianism, the author describes the phenomenon of mutual influence and interaction between different cultures throughout their historical development. A major connection between Gogol's thoughts and the teachings of Confucius is observed. This connection may be attributed to the influence of Eastern philosophy on the Russian culture, the similarity of thinking of Russian and Asian philosophers-moralists, or to a «secret coincidence» of development of various cultures.