SUMMARY:

The article explores the evolving attitudes of Chinese intellectuals toward Russian émigrés during the Republic of China era, focusing on the period between the 1920s and 1940s. It challenges the conventional narrative of Russian émigrés in China, which portrays them as passive victims of historical circumstances. Instead, the author argues for a more nuanced understanding of the situation by examining Chinese perspectives and incorporating the Chinese dimension into the historical narrative. The article analyzes a range of published sources, including poetry, sociopolitical commentaries, and news reports, to demonstrate how Chinese intellectuals viewed Russian émigrés as a reflection of their own internal political struggles and societal anxieties, ultimately shaping their attitudes toward Russian immigrants as a source of both sympathy and resentment. The author contends that Chinese intellectuals did not perceive Russians as immigrants in the modern sense, but as foreigners, from whom the Chinese could learn lessons about national salvation.