Lomakina, O. V., Wu, A THE BROOM AS A CULTURAL SYMBOL: A LINGUOCULTURAL STUDY OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE PROVERBS. Proceedings of Petrozavodsk State University. 2026;48(3):17–25. DOI: 10.15393/uchz.art.2026.1296


Theoretical, Applied and Comparative Linguistics

THE BROOM AS A CULTURAL SYMBOL: A LINGUOCULTURAL STUDY OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE PROVERBS

Lomakina
O. V. 		Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba
Wu
Aihui 		Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia named after Patrice Lumumba
Keywords:
phraseological unit
proverb
Russian culture
Chinese culture
symbol
component “besom”
linguocultural analysis		 Summary: The article focuses on the linguocultural analysis of paremias in both Russian and Chinese that feature the component “веник” (besom), with the aim of identifying the symbolic functions and cultural code associated with the besom as an artifact widely employed in everyday life. The analysis is conducted from the perspectives of lin- guoculturology and ethnoculturology, enabling the identification of cultural information, ritual significance, and sacral functions reflected in the selected paremias. The research material comprises the author’s own card index, compiled through a comprehensive sampling of paremias from lexicographical and paremiological resources. The methodology includes definitional, semantic, and linguocultural analysis, complemented by interpretive and descriptive methods. The results of this research demonstrate that the besom, as a common household object, possesses functional polysemy. It manifests as an artifact imbued with multiple layers of meaning, ranging from its purely utilitarian function (cleaning) to destructive, magical, productive, protective, and axiological roles. The analysis examines established folklore tradi- tions in Russia and China, in which the besom is associated with concepts such as order and disorder, good and evil, health and illness, and life and death. A parallel examination of Chinese material enables a transcendence of national limitations, revealing universal cognitive mechanisms underlying the symbolization of the besom as a pivotal element in the articulation of cultural values, spanning from personal accountability to cosmic order.



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