Gorky Motives in Prose about Tramps Ai Wu

Compared the originality of the depiction of people at the bottom in the works of Maxim Gorky and the Chinese writer Ai Wu (1904–1992). From the comparison it follows that the famous Chinese prose writer of the twentieth century had reason to consider himself a student of the Russian prose writer. Both authors, Gorky in Russia, Ai Wu in China, acted as artists of marginalized people, homeless, and, what is especially important, not only rejected, but also rejecting. An analysis of a large number of stories by the Russian and Chinese writers reveals many creative similarities in themes, problems, poetics, and reveals the identity of their socio-philosophical views. Gorky and Ai Wu in a similar manner decorate stories about ordinary everyday life with appeals to bright pictures of nature, to musical and song principles. According to the teachings of A. Veselovsky on the comparative study of literature, here we can speak with certainty about the genetic and typological connections of the two writers. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.