The Magazine «Zhinocha Dolia» (Kolomyia, 1925–1939s) and Ukrainian Women Authors from China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37222/2786-7552-2026-8-1Keywords:
Ukrainian women’s press, Zhinocha Dolia magazine, Ukrainian women authors in China, publication activity, thematic analysis, Ukrainian émigré communities worldwideAbstract
The aim of the article is to examine one of the under-researched aspects of the history of the Kolomyia magazine «Zhinocha Dolia», related to Ukrainian women who lived in China during the 1920s and 1930s. It seeks to identify the features of their collaboration with the magazine and determine the main thematic areas of the published materials. The task is to establish a group of women authors who contributed to the magazine from different cities in Chinese, to identify their publications and to carry out a thematic analysis of the texts. The research methods employed include press clipping, biographical, comparative, and analytical methods. The study reveals that, alongside the correspondence and reports by the famous adventurer, journalist, and writer S. Yablonska, the magazine Zhinocha Dolia published materials by M. Melnyk, V. Osypenko, O. Reiter, K. Slonovska, and other Ukrainian women based in Harbin, Tianjin, and Shanghai. The novelty of the study lies in bringing into academic circulation this little-known episode in the history of the journal. The findings show that collaboration between these authors and the magazine was sporadic rather than regular, due both to geographical distance and to the socio-political developments in China during the 1930s. The genre features of these publications are characterised by a predominance of reportage and epistolary texts. Content analysis reveals the following main thematic areas: (1) aspects of everyday life, culture, and traditions of the Chinese and Japanese peoples, as well as the socio-political developments in the region; (2) the socio-political situation of Ukrainians and the activities of Ukrainian civic organisations in China in the 1930s. Finally, the study highlights that the magazine functioned as an informational and communicative platform, facilitating connections among Ukrainian women in China, as well as linking them with Ukraine and Ukrainian émigré communities worldwide.
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