COMPARATIVE AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH AND CHINESE LITERATURES

Abstract

The article presents a comparative-historical analysis of the development of English and Chinese literatures as two distinctive, historically long-standing, and at the same time typologically comparable cultural traditions of the West and the East. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to overcome the isolated study of national literatures and to expand the theoretical foundations of comparative literary studies in the context of the globalization of humanities scholarship and the intensification of intercultural dialogue. The purpose of the article is to identify common and divergent trends in the evolution of English and Chinese literatures, the features of their genre and stylistic development, as well as to determine the role of historical, philosophical, and sociocultural factors in the formation of literary thinking. The study employs comparative-historical, typological, and cultural approaches, which make it possible to trace the key stages in the formation and transformation of both literary traditions from their early forms to contemporary phenomena. It is established that English literature evolved from an oral heroic tradition and religious narratives toward the affirmation of individual authorship, psychological realism, and genre diversity, whereas Chinese literature for a long time preserved its canonical nature, moral and didactic orientation, and close connection with the philosophical systems of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. At the same time, common patterns of development are identified, including shifts in dominant genres, the growing role of prose, the increasing significance of social issues, and the active interaction between literature and the socio-historical context. It is proved that the comparative analysis of English and Chinese literatures contributes to a deeper understanding of universal principles of the literary process, reveals the potential of the intercultural approach, and confirms the effectiveness of comparative studies as an important field of contemporary humanities research. The results obtained may be used in further scholarly investigations in the history of world literature, comparative literary studies, and the theory of intercultural communication.