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The article traces the history of the creation and current activities of the periodical edition/journal published by the ICCA RAS “China in World and Regional Politics. History and Modernity”. The author describes the scientific merits of the founders of the periodical – prominent Russian scientists A.G. Yakovlev and B.T. Kulik, and characterizes the stages of its development: from an internal collection of scientific articles of one department to a scientific journal recognized both in Russia and abroad. The article presents topics of the research, which results appeared on the pages of the journal, names their leading developers and emphasizes the fact that the range of the analyzed problems is very broad and it continues to expand in accordance with the requirements of the current situation and scientific research carried out by the ICCA RAS.

This historiographical study examines the Russian Orthodox Mission in Beijing from 1715 to 1956, revealing its historical impact on Christianity in China and Sino–Russian cultural exchanges. The research explores how the Mission functioned not only as a religious entity but also influenced diplomatic ties and scholarly pursuits, as documented in both Chinese and Russian historiographies. This study utilizes contemporary sources, exploring Chinese narratives to re-evaluate historical perspectives, and portrays the Mission as a critical mediator in Sino–Russian relations. An examination of the historical context shows that the Mission has undergone a transformation over time. It has evolved from an influential ecclesiastical presence to a cultural and diplomatic agency unobtrusively entered into Chinese society. From the mid-18th to the early 20th century, the Mission adapted to the local environment by combining the transmission of religious doctrine with engagement in China’s political and cultural contexts. The article proposes a holistic interpretation of the Mission’s function, encompassing not only evangelism but also diplomatic engagements, and adding to the multifaceted discourse within Chinese cultural heritage. In summary, the article recommends exploring the enduring impact and historical complexities of the Russian Orthodox Mission as it is grounded in a broader framework of global movements. The research suggests that it may be beneficial to broaden the scope of historiographic narratives to encompass a diverse range of interdisciplinary studies that reflect the complexity of the Mission’s enduring impact and its role in shaping a shared global history.

The article provides a systematic review of the scientific works of Russian legal scholars in the field of public finance law in China, in particular tax, budget and currency law. Today, it is premature to talk about fully functioning schools of Chinese law in the Russian legal science. However, at the same time there are examples of successfully conducted fundamental researches on Chinese public finance law. Authors have to admit that the last few years have not been marked by the appearance of any monograph on Chinese public finance law in Russia – the studies conducted today are usually devoted to specific problems and are published on the pages of the relevant journals. There are obvious reasons for this – difficulties in Chinese language learning and understanding specific Chinese legislation, which is characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity and plurality of sources of law. Existing studies can be classified into studies entirely devoted to the study of particular institutions or branches of Chinese law, and studies of a comparative nature. The article examines and systematizes the work of Soviet and Russian legal scholars devoted to various areas of research in the fields of tax, budget and currency law of China, with an assessment of their significance and contribution to the development of the relevant branch of knowledge. The materials in this article may be useful for future researches, which, in turn, can predetermine the strengthening of bilateral relations, as well as the implementation of joint investment projects. The article allows to identify unexplored areas in the considered field, thereby laying the foundation for future research. Authors note research issues that seem to be perspective based on the conducted review.

It has been nearly 200 years since the Daodejing and Daoist thought was first introduced to Russia in the first half of the 19th century. Although the study of Daoist philosophy and Laozi in Russia started relatively late, the Daodejing has been the most translated classic of Chinese culture in Russia. The early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia was deeply influenced by the government and religion, and there were some controversial and neglected materials that were difficult to verify due to the lack of documents and manuscripts. For example, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing in Russia has almost become a rare book that is nearly impossible to find and inconvenient to read; the authorship of the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia remains a mystery; the first complete translation was completed by a Japanese theologian living in Russia, but it has not received enough research attention. The insufficient research on the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia has had a negative impact on the studies of Laozi in Russia. Therefore, this paper, on the basis of various documentary and manuscript references, aims to conduct an in-depth analysis of the early dissemination of Laozi studies in Russia, paying particular attention to the three early Russian documents in the 19th century about the Daodejing, namely, the first translation manuscript of the Daodejing, the first article introducing Laozi’s thought in Russia, and the first complete Russian translation of the Daodejing. A detailed review of these three documents can help to correct some misconceptions and misunderstandings of the early dissemination of the Daodejing in Russia, and, to some extent, reveal the early dissemination characteristics of Laozi studies in Russia.

Review of the collective monograph: Development Model of Modern China: Assessments, Discussions, Forecasts. Ed. by Alexei D. Voskressenski; Moscow State Institute of International Relations (University) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. Moscow: Strategic Research, 2019. 736 p.

From the sixteenth century onwards, the Jesuit educational model, as well as the method of evangelization propounded by the same religious Order, have been relying on the mastery of certain rhetorical techniques and, notably, in strong linguistic competency. This contribution examines how the Jesuits in modern Shanghai understood and put into application their traditional focus on rhetoric in the semi-colonial context of the time. After having recalled how Jesuits engaged with Chinese language and discourse in the Ming and early Qing dynasties, we take the 1923 Catalogue of the Jesuit publications in the missionary enclave of Zi-ka-wei as a reference point so as to describe and assess a number of trends that we summarize as follows. A privileged relationship was maintained between Latin and ancient Chinese and a growing interest in the “margins” and the way to address them efficiently triggered a renewal of ethnographic and linguistic studies; specifically, the expertise developed in dialectology testifies to the change that was occurring in the way to rhetorically address hearts and minds.

Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788-1832), the distinguished holder of the first chair of Chinese studies in France – as well as Europe – was a contemporary of the no less distinguished German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831). The advent of sinology, i.e. the new academic discipline represented by Abel-Rémusat, is an interesting fact if placed in the context of the professionalization of philosophy so eminently embodied by Hegel. In this perspective, the relations between these two great minds are even more eloquent with respect to the place given to China in the intellectual geography of 19th century Europe.

“Dao” is not only a core concept in the Daodejing, but is also an important keyword in Chinese classical philosophy. It encompasses the origin of all things in the universe, the laws of nature, and the laws of dealing with the world. A historical review of Russian sinologists’ interpretation and conceptualization of “Dao” reveals the differences in philosophical understanding and translation strategies of those sinologists, and reflects the translation loss and compensation of Chinese classical philosophical keywords in the process of foreign dissemination. During the Imperial Russian Period, researchers regarded “Dao” as the revitalization of religious theology. During the Soviet Period, the aim of the Soviet researchers was to find the struggle between materialism and idealism in “Dao”. In the Post-Soviet Period, researchers gradually threw off the shackles of ideology, and began to conduct more diversified and multi-level research on “Dao” and the Daodejing. This article aims to discuss the research and translation of the Daodejing in Russia, paying particular attention to the dissemination and reception of “Dao” in Russia. It also endeavors to explore the interpretive trends of “Dao” in Russia and highlight the dissemination and understanding of Laozi thought in Russia.

It is now time to revisit the medical work of George Soulié de Morant (1878–1955). Over the past 64 years, studies and research on acupuncture-moxibustion have undergone exceptional growth in China, and Western sinology has made remarkable progress. A careful rereading will bring a new light to this decisive work.

When we speak about the influence of one philosophical tradition on another culture we are to clarify the specifics of each of them and point out the common points together with cross-spiritual paths. The article is aimed at clarifying the relationships between Russian and Chinese thoughts. Despite the fact that China and Russia have long been neighbouring states one of the problems of this comparison is the asymmetry of the chronology of the formation of Chinese and Russian philosophy. Confucius and Lao lived in the VI century BC while the first Russian philosophers who can be called thinkers worked in the XVIII century. Following this line of reasoning, the first documented works on Chinese life, tradition and philosophy were made no earlier than in the 18th century. However, this has not been a deep analysis of Chinese culture. More attention was paid to the practical side of relations between the countries in this stage of experiencing a new culture, a special attention was paid to the manifestations of the modus vivendi of its residents, as well as methods of governance, rather than a way of thinking and philosophical tradition. Gradually, with the development of trade and political relations interest in Chinese culture increased but it never went beyond purely commercial interests. Nevertheless, in the XIX century one of the strongest schools was formed in Russia - Sinology. This article deals with the stages of its formation. Before we begin to describe the specific effects of Chinese philosophy on Russian thought we must clarify the main characteristics of Russian philosophy being a single semantic field in which we find intersperses of Chinese philosophy. Russian translation is a problem that requires a separate study which we do not undertake to conduct in this work but we will point out the specifics of Chinese philosophy retraction in the texts of Russian thinkers.

The written sources of the Mongolian-Russian-French Dictionary (Dictionnaire mongol-russe-français) compiled by O.M. Kovalevsky (Józef Kowalewski) and printed in Kazan in 1844–1849 were considered. The research is highly relevant, because O.M. Kovalevsky himself did not clearly indicated the above-mentioned sources, especially those written in Asian languages. The fate of the unpublished Mongolian-Russian dictionaries by A. Igumnov, V. Novoselov, and Archimandrite Peter (Kamensky), all used by O.M. Kovalevsky, was traced. The titles of the dictionaries in Asian languages used by O.M. Kovalevsky and having only abbreviated titles were identified. The translation of a long Tibetan title of the Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary used by O.M. Kovalevsky was provided. This title contains the name of its author (Lobsang-Galsang) and the name of the Buryat monastery where it was compiled (the Egituiskiy Datsan Monastery). O.M. Kovalevsky’s unpublished diaries stored at the National Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan and containing valuable information about the activities of P.L. Schilling von Canstadt in Siberia were analyzed. On P.L. Schilling von Canstadt’s initiative, a dictionary of Buddhist terms in three languages was engraved and printed. It was concluded that O.M. Kovalevsky’s dictionary embodied the most advanced achievements of contemporary Mongol studies and is based on a large number of written sources and dictionaries, both European and Asian.

This paper presents the analysis of the leading European think tanks’ research on The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by the Chinese government in 2013. We point out the most specific assessments and main trends within the existing approaches to the mentioned initiative. Since Russia is a direct participant of this project, the comparison of Russian and foreign sinologists’ views seems to be important for working out a complex strategy of Russia’s participation in the Chinese project with a clear understanding of China’s policy and possible advantages for our country. The study has been carried out with the help of comparative analysis and historical genesis approach, which let us understand and formulate the major points of the European experts’ evaluation. The selection of the think tanks, whose publications have been investigated, is conditioned by the area of their activity – international and oriental studies. The paper consequently discusses the collective monographs, reports, brochures and commentaries, issued by the think tanks of Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The research results show that the majority of European sinologists view The Belt and Road Initiative not as a form of aid to foreign countries, but as an entirely commercial initiative serving the Chinese interests. The main reasons for BRI implementation, put forward by the EU experts include energy security, the need for the development of China’s western regions, the purpose to get better access to natural resources in different regions of the world, as well as the yuan internationalization. Furthermore, BRI is definitely viewed by the European experts as a project, competing with other integration initiatives in Eurasia, primarily with the Eurasian Economic Union. Finally, the paper gives the recommendations, given by the European think tanks to their governments. In particular, the main idea is to develop the most sophisticated and scrutinized expert evaluation of all BRI projects entered by the European countries, and to differentiate among China-oriented initiatives and mutually beneficial ones.

After the October Revolution, increasing the level of adult education was recognized as one of the most important state tasks. Together with the “power”, the proletariat had to gain access to “knowledge”, or, at least, conversance of the political decisions taken by the party leadership. The need to convince the majority of the population that these decisions were the only correct and historically justified, led to an increase in the number of publications aimed to educate people and form a positive public opinion. The revolutionary upsurge in China was the reason for the revitalization of the activities of the USSR in this region, as well as the extreme interest of the Soviet citizens in this country. The publications analyzed in this paper, combining elements of scientific papers, journalism, and reports on the activities of political organizations, should satisfy this interest. Their texts included fragments of historical concepts, an analysis of the current political situation in China, and reflected the struggle that took place within the Soviet party elite.

Based on enormous first-hand data as diaries, memoirs, newspapers, archival materials, books, and journals, this article tries to clarify some important aspects concerning Wen Tien Ke(Ko) (文殿閣) such as when it established, how its inner structure worked and what its major businesses covered. By doing so, the author tells the story of the Wen Tien Ke: how it had witnessed the vicissitudes of its time and its own, how it had contributed to the cultural exchange and communication between China and the West through its daily business activities such as rare book retails, and reprint of books on various aspects of China in English and other languages written by distinguished western sinologists. In all, this article makes efforts to explore the publishing history of Wen Tien Ke from 1934 to 1950s. (Article content in Chinese with English extended abstract)

In this article I attempt to identify some methodological connections between Chinese intellectual history and transcultural studies in Euro-American academia. I will focus on one shared methodological point: the critique of so-called “methodological nationalism,” that is, of the assumption (explicit or not) that the nation is the ultimate framework for research. Although this critique is a constitutive principle of transcultural studies, and it only represents a particular, and not necessarily mainstream, approach in Chinese intellectual history, the two fields have developed a shared agenda in this regard. In order to explain the tensions and convergences, I will first offer a quick historical overview of the two fields. First, I will focus on the contrast between old and new uses of the concept of “transcultural”; then I will contextualize Chinese intellectual history within the longer history of classical sinology and area studies. After this overview, I will explain their respective relations towards methodological nationalism and give evidence, in their recent history, of some intersecting points between the two.

Статья содержит попытку первичного постижения продуктивной инновационной двадцатипятилетней работы востоковедов кафедры этномузыкознания НГК имени М. И. Глинки в научном и педагогическом плане, рассматриваемой в контексте магистральных направлений деятельности вуза и российского востоковедения, в том числе, музыкального. Осуществляется анализ достижений этномузыкологов кафедры в теоретическом осмыслении традиционной профессиональной музыки Востока (школа С. П. Галицкой, Ю. Н. Плахов); в сферах синологии (школа В. В. Мазепуса), арабистики (А. Ю. Плахова), индологии (Г. Б. Сыченко и ее ученики), японистики (школа М. Ю. Дубровской). Предлагается вывод о значимости использования маститыми педагогами и молодыми учеными - востоковедами кафедры этномузыкознания НГК имени М.И. Глинки - прогрессивных подходов фольклористов-этнологов, активной полевой работы и поддержки научных фондов РФ, Европы и Азии. Это позволило востоковедам-этнологам Новосибирской консерватории достичь престижных позиций в музыкальном востоковедении как Российской Федерации, так и стран постсоветского пространства, а также внести достойный вклад в фонд фундаментальных исследований китайской, арабской, южноазиатской и японской музыки, принадлежащих этнологам Зарубежного Востока, США и Западной Европы.

Grace to the famous discovery of Piotr Kozlov’s expedition, a very rich collection of various Tangut books in a mausoleum in the dead city of Khara-Khoto was found in 1908, and almost all the texts in the Tangut language were then assembled in Saint-Petersburg. Because of this situation Russian Tangutology became one of the most important in the world very fast, and Russian specialists, especially Alexej Ivanov, did the first steps to understanding the Tangut language and history, which had for a very long time been hidden from humanity. This tradition persisted in the Soviet Union. Nikolaj Nevskij in 1929 returned to Russia from Japan, where he had stayed after 1917, mainly to continue his Tangut researches. But in 1937, during Stalin’s Purge, he was arrested and executed, Ivanov too. The line of tradition was broken for almost twenty years, and only the 1960s saw the rebirth of Russian Tangutology. The post-War generation did a gigantic work, raising Tangut Studies to a new level. Unfortunately, they almost had no students or successors. The dramatic history of Tangut Studies in Russia could be viewed like a real quinta essentia of the fate of Oriental Studies in Russia – but all the changes and tendencies are much more demonstrative of this example. Mongolian Journal of International Affairs Vol.19 2014: 178-196

This highly individual study is the first-ever attempt to describe Polish Sinology, Polish Sinologists and their individual choices, both vocational and social or political. The author, as an insider, uses interviews with some of the most important representatives of Polish Sinology (mainly of the older generation). He proposes individual systematization, fragmenting the history of the “real socialism” era (1950-1989) and after the democratic breakthrough of 1989 in many chapters, consisting of both collective and individual. Among the major findings is that the initial small circle of highly specialized individuals has recently been quickly growing, and so has the diversification within it. While until 1989 the career choices in this field were limited, basically an official (diplomatic or state bureaucratic) career was the only option, but after this threshold many new windows of opportunities were opened, which included for example personal choices like studying in Mainland China or Taiwan,, opening a business there, creating a website or even opening up a study center. Mongolian Journal of International Affairs Vol.19 2014: 87-115

The Department for the "administration of affairs with Asian nations" at College of Foreign Affairs was established on February 26, 1796 by the imperial decree and the school for Chinese, Manchu, Persian and Turkish languages translators was opened one year later. However, special training of the Russian diplomatic corps, dealing with the relations with Asian nations, was established only in the XIX century. In 1815 Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages was founded. In 1823 Training Department of Oriental Languages at the Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire was established. The tradition was continued by the Soviet Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, which become a leading center for the training of specialists, necessary for most important public institutions and social organizations. Moscow Institute for Oriental Studies inherited traditions and rich library from Lazarev Institute. At the confluence of MGIMO and Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in 1954 the library holdings were transferred to the MGIMO, they now form the basis of the rare fund of the university research library. Development of Oriental School MGIMO historically was influenced by the specifics of the traditional conglomerate of Oriental Sciences and ever increasing needs in the practical application of knowledge about the East. Of course, in addition to the Lazarev Institute other leading centers of domestic study of the East made a considerable impact on the development of Oriental Studies at MGIMO. St. Petersburg (Leningrad) University and the University of Kazan are the most prominent ones, where the Oriental Studies tradition is rooted in the XIX century. Evacuation of many prominent representatives of the Moscow and Leningrad school of Oriental Studies during the Great Patriotic War to Kazan and Central Asia gave new impetus to oriental studies at universities in these regions.

The Department for the "administration of affairs with Asian nations" at College of Foreign Affairs was established on February 26, 1796 by the imperial decree and the school for Chinese, Manchu, Persian and Turkish languages translators was opened one year later. However, special training of the Russian diplomatic corps, dealing with the relations with Asian nations, was established only in the XIX century. In 1815 Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages was founded. In 1823 Training Department of Oriental Languages at the Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire was established. The tradition was continued by the Soviet Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, which become a leading center for the training of specialists, necessary for most important public institutions and social organizations. Moscow Institute for Oriental Studies inherited traditions and rich library from Lazarev Institute. At the confluence of MGIMO and Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in 1954 the library holdings were transferred to the MGIMO, they now form the basis of the rare fund of the university research library. Development of Oriental School MGIMO historically was influenced by the specifics of the traditional conglomerate of Oriental Sciences and ever increasing needs in the practical application of knowledge about the East. Of course, in addition to the Lazarev Institute other leading centers of domestic study of the East made a considerable impact on the development of Oriental Studies at MGIMO. St. Petersburg (Leningrad) University and the University of Kazan are the most prominent ones, where the Oriental Studies tradition is rooted in the XIX century. Evacuation of many prominent representatives of the Moscow and Leningrad school of Oriental Studies during the Great Patriotic War to Kazan and Central Asia gave new impetus to oriental studies at universities in these regions.

The Department for the "administration of affairs with Asian nations" at College of Foreign Affairs was established on February 26, 1796 by the imperial decree and the school for Chinese, Manchu, Persian and Turkish languages translators was opened one year later. However, special training of the Russian diplomatic corps, dealing with the relations with Asian nations, was established only in the XIX century. In 1815 Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages was founded. In 1823 Training Department of Oriental Languages at the Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Empire was established. The tradition was continued by the Soviet Russian Institute of Oriental Studies, which become a leading center for the training of specialists, necessary for most important public institutions and social organizations. Moscow Institute for Oriental Studies inherited traditions and rich library from Lazarev Institute. At the confluence of MGIMO and Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies in 1954 the library holdings were transferred to the MGIMO, they now form the basis of the rare fund of the university research library. Development of Oriental School MGIMO historically was influenced by the specifics of the traditional conglomerate of Oriental Sciences and ever increasing needs in the practical application of knowledge about the East. Of course, in addition to the Lazarev Institute other leading centers of domestic study of the East made a considerable impact on the development of Oriental Studies at MGIMO. St. Petersburg (Leningrad) University and the University of Kazan are the most prominent ones, where the Oriental Studies tradition is rooted in the XIX century. Evacuation of many prominent representatives of the Moscow and Leningrad school of Oriental Studies during the Great Patriotic War to Kazan and Central Asia gave new impetus to oriental studies at universities in these regions.

The article attempts to study whether the Chinese Empire at the time of the Sui Dynasty could be considered an early totalitarian state or not. The analysis, based on historical data, proceeds from a scheme of an early totalitarian state devised by the author and reveals that the Sui state does have the characteristics of an early totalitarianstate with regard to historical-political reasons and foreign policy related factors, and, to a great extent, in administration and economy, whereas the relevant characteristics are indirectly or very slightly explicit in the field of social life. The features of early totalitarianism, within the governance method of the Sui state, aregenerally not evident with regard to legal order and ideology. In conclusion, it is highly probable that the Sui Empire corresponds to an early totalitarian governing system,bearing in mind the external characteristics of state power, not the internal ones. This is a relevant and fundamental difference between the Chinese Qin Empire (221–207 BC), as a purely early totalitarian state, and the Sui Empire as an emerging early totalitarian state. Thus, the Sui Empire was probably becoming an early totalitarianstate, however, this process was discontinued due to the perishing of the dynasty.

In this paper the thesis is submitted that there is something fundamentally amiss in Western Sinology (Zhōngguóxué, as distinct from Hànxué, which is a kind of old-fashioned philology): ‘China experts’ either pretend to be knowledgeable about everything related to China, in which case they cannot be taken seriously, or–– eventually––admit not to be scientific all-rounders with respect to the country, in which case they cannot be called ‘China experts’. The author expects no tenured professor of Chinese Studies/History to share this view. Having exposed the weakness, indeed the scandal of old-style Sinology, he also points out the way junior Sinologists should go. The fork in that road is two-pronged: translating or collaborating.

The Overseas Sinology Database is composed of three databases: scholar, organization, and journal. The thesis database is regard as separate and is attached to the scholar database. The database information comes from major areas of the world, especially the countries adjacent to China, and updates are done continuously. The Sinology Database is in several different languages and should satisfy the differing needs of data collection and database application. The data quality is strictly controlled during the whole data life cycle, which includes data collection, processing, storage, and accessing. In addition, according to the standards and specifications of the metadata, metadata are created to accompany the data, which satisfies the cooperation among different databases. Finally, besides the function of searching, statistical calculation, and sorting, the database is also used for data mining and knowledge discovery. Through these methods, conclusions about changes in Sinology can be drawn, which will aid us in understanding the world and China in particular.