Russians had their first translation of Chinese literature before the Chinese got translations of Russian literature. But Chinese literature in Russia lags behind.

The first translation, Chinese Thoughts, is a selection of Chinese fables that was published in St Petersburg in 1772.

Decades after that, playwright Alexander Sumarokov translated from German The Chinese Orphan, a story based on a Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) play about the revenge of an orphan named Zhao.