printThe Transformation of the “Dao” and “Daoism” Concepts in Russian Discourse:
from the Sacred to the Popular
Guo Lijun
PhD (Philol.), Assoc. Prof., Department of Russian Studies, School of International Studies, Sun Yat-Sen University, PRC. guolj5@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Shchetinina A.V.
Cand. Sci. (Philol.), Assoc. Prof., Department of Mass Communication Languages, Doctoral Student, Ural Federal University, Russia A. V. Shchetinina@urfu.ru
This study was supported by the National Social Science Fund of China [Grant No. 24BYY078] in the project “An Interdisciplinary Study of the Derivation Mechanisms and Cognitive Motivations of Emotive Lexical Semantics in Russian and Chinese”.
Guo Lijun, Shchetinina A.V. The Transformation of the “Dao” and “Daoism” Concepts in Russian Discourse: from the Sacred to the Popular. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 1. P. 160-166
This paper explores the transformation of the Chinese concepts “dao” and “daoism” in the discourse of Russian mass-market literature. Based on a corpus of popular science and fiction texts (N = 591) from the LitRes e-book and audiobook service over the past two decades, this study employs qualitative content analysis to identify semantic shifts occuring as these concepts travel beyond their original cultural context. The findings indicate that “dao” loses its meaning as a universal cosmogonic law and is adapted to the needs of an audience lacking the background knowledge inherent to Chinese society. The concept is mobilized in contexts related to the pursuit of psychological balance, professional success, social relationship building, and health maintenance. In contrast to the more academic term “daoism,” “dao” becomes a flexible marker for “Eastern wisdom,” a shift leading to its banalization and commercialization. The study questions whether such a reception constitutes a successful case for cultural localization or merely reflects the logic of the global market and the culture industry. The authors conclude that the contemporary reception of Daoism in Russia exemplifies cultural localization through simplification: while broadening concept’s popularity and practical applicability, it simultaneously narrows the metaphysical horizons of “dao.”
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