<p>The theory of historical poetics has had a profound impact on the study of Chinese literature in Russia. The founder of historical poetics theory, Alexander Veselovsky, attempted to define typical characteristics and patterns within Chinese national literature by empirically exploring the source of poetic language, or folk language, by applying the historical comparative method. In this article, the historical poetic ideas within Veselovsky’s historical comparative linguistic poetics are explained, with particular regard to “the evolutionary stages of the works from the viewpoint of historical poetics” and “the study of the characters’ appearance from the viewpoint of historical poetics.” Under this premise, the characteristics of Chinese classical literature studies in Russia are revealed, and Veselovsky’s profound impact on the study of ancient Chinese literature, and other related Chinese folk culture issues in Russia, are examined. Riftin explored the evolution of each stage of literary development from the viewpoint of historical comparison and historical evolution, starting from an application of Veselovsky’s theory of historical poetics. He then further clarified the evolutionary development of Chinese classical literature, and the characteristics of the origin and flow of the creation of literary themes by undertaking an in-depth analysis of the evolution of the story themes in the Three Kingdoms folklore, from the Three Kingdoms era to the twentieth century. Riftin argues that the story themes in the extant works based on the folklore of the Three Kingdoms have undergone a complex development from early scattered legends to well-structured narrative works of art, with twists and turns in both form and content. His analysis encompasses a wide range of materials including historical records, epic stories and oral legends, Yuan Dynasty operas, and modern written versions in the form of novels. This article argues that it is through a Russian theoretical framework that Riftin contributed his observation of Chinese literature. Having interrogated how Chinese literature was studied from a Russian point of view with its characteristics examined, this article intends to shed light on the study of Chinese classic literature in general.</p>