关键词: 布罗茨基, 诗歌, 中国主题, 隐喻, 《道德经》

Abstract: Brodsky’s close relationships with sinologists reflect his interest in Chinese culture and his aspiration for mutual learning and integration between Eastern and Western civilizations. Current scholars’ research on the Chinese themes in Brodsky’s poetry has not adequately incoporated perspectives from Chinese philosophy and aesthetics, thereby overlooking the connection between Chinese themes including Taoist philosophy, and Brodsky’s poetics. Brodsky’s poem collection Letters from the Ming Dynasty draws on the dramatic expression, the European literary tradition of fictional Asian letters, the imitation of women’s voices in Li Bai’s “Chang Gan Xing,” and the narrative style of the court essay The Pillow Book. In terms of metaphorical poetics, it incorporates Chinese themes such as the mutual reflection between humans and the natural world (heaven and earth), acupuncture, hieroglyphs and astrology. The Ming Empire, where illusion and reality interpenetrate, serves as a mirror of Soviet reality, but its significance extends far beyond the geopolitical contexts of China and Russia, evolving into a metaphorical expression of the existential dilemmas of individuals in the progression of human civilization. Tao Te Ching, as Brodsky’s redemption, expands the poet’s metaphysical philosophical reflections. Its profound resonance with Brodsky’s poetry — in themes such as dissolving binary oppositions and revering the Tao’s natural order — deepens Brodsky’s understanding of the essence of life and existence.

Key words: Brodsky, poetry, Chinese themes, metaphor, Tao Te Ching