Philosophical ideas of Taoism and their influence on the works of Hermann Hesse
Keywords:
Hermann Hesse, Taoism, cross-cultural dialogueAbstract
The article is devoted to identifying the key concepts of Taoism (the unity of man and nature, wu wei and the naturalness) in the philosophical and literary works of Hermann Hesse, including the novels «Siddhartha», «Steppenwolf» and «The glass bead game». Based on the methods of comparative and textual analysis, with the help of the theory of cultural transfer, it is revealed how H. Hesse integrated of Taoist ideas into Western philosophy and cultural tradition. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the phenomenon of hybridisation of Eastern and Western narratives (e. g. the interpretation of the river as a symbol of Tao in novel «Siddhartha» and the synthesis of Taoist emptiness with European rationalism in novel «The glass bead game»). The results of the study indicate that Taoism became for H. Hesse not just an exotic borrowing and hobby, but an instrument for criticising modernism and searching for universal spirituality.
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