First-year students of the Faculty of Linguistics and Intercultural Communication at KIU moved a step closer to Chinese culture during a meeting with a unique guest – poet, translator, and publisher Irina Chudnova, whose creative work has become a living bridge between Russian and Chinese cultures.

The lecture title "Chinese Poetry Up Close" perfectly captured its essence: students and faculty had the rare opportunity not just to hear about Chinese poetry, but to see it from within, through the lens of a person who lives and breathes it.

Irina Chudnova is a multifaceted and authoritative figure. She is not only a talented author of poetry and prose, living in China for many years and seamlessly blending Russian and Chinese languages in her work, but also a representative of the Beijing publishing house Sinolingua, a laureate of numerous literary awards, and a high-class translator. Her professional perspective on poetry became the key that unlocked the innermost secrets of the ancient art for the audience. As noted by KIU First Vice-Rector Igor Bikeev in his opening speech, Irina Chudnova is a unique conductor between the two cultures, making her talented poetry even more valuable.

Immersion in the World of Character-based Lyricism

During the lecture, Irina Chudnova guided the listeners along the winding paths of Chinese poetry. She engagingly and accessibly spoke about the subtleties of translation, explaining how the perception of poetry differs across eras and how the mechanism of Chinese versification itself works. The audience learned how the same character can give rise to different images in the translator's mind, and why poetry translation is always an act of co-creation.

The guest placed special emphasis on a deep understanding of the Chinese language. "The Chinese language is not just a subject for study, but a whole world that requires constant immersion and attention," emphasized Irina. These words became the leitmotif of the entire meeting, reminding everyone that mastering a language opens doors to an immensely rich culture with a millennia-old history.

A Valuable Gift for Future Specialists

A significant event of the meeting was the presentation of a valuable gift to Kazan Innovative University from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China and the Sinolingua publishing house – access to a specialized educational platform for preparing for Chinese language proficiency exams. This resource will become a powerful practical tool for students of the Faculty of LInguistics and Intercultural Communication studying Chinese, aiding them in achieving academic and professional goals, as well as in their future practice in China as part of their studies at KIU.

The meeting with Irina Chudnova became a genuine dialogue of cultures. It vividly demonstrated how linguistics and literature intertwine, creating a space for mutual understanding and intellectual enrichment.