Arriving in the capital of the Celestial Empire, Father Iakinf, not bothering himself with church affairs, disappeared in bazaars and taverns, mastering the Chinese language, which is most difficult for a European. Two years later he spoke and wrote fluently in it, bought ancient chinese books and wrote down his observations. “In such a state,” he wrote, “there is a lot of curiosity, a lot of good, instructive for Europeans, swirling in a whirlwind of various political systems" Bichurin was the first among European scientists to recognize the originality of Chinese culture, while his predecessors traced the roots of the Chinese to Egypt and even Babylon.
Beijing Orthodox monastery and the embassy courtyard.
During his 14 years in China, Bichurin acquired (and then transported to Russia on a caravan of 15 camels) a collection of Chinese and other publications and manuscripts of exceptional scientific value. Essentially, he opened for domestic and world science the most valuable wealth of Chinese official historiographical literature - dynastic chronicles, so-called “reports from the field”, which were added to the chronicles of descriptions of travelers, etc.
The first Chinese-Russian handwritten dictionary.
Shot from Channel One
Absorbed scientific studies, Bichurin neglected his “pastoral” affairs so much that the state of the mission he led turned out to be deplorable. After 14 years, Bichurin was recalled: the Synod charged him with neglect of church affairs and carnal addiction to Chinese women. “What good did you find in narrow-eyed people?” they were sincerely surprised in Russia. “Chinese women are so pleasantly treated,” came the answer, “that you can’t find them in the whole world, and they will never cause a scandal, as is customary in civilized countries.”
In short, Bichurin did not make a monk, but he did make an excellent sinologist, because his true passion was not Chinese women, but science. Returning to St. Petersburg, Nikita Yakovlevich began writing. For them he received several Demidov Prizes, recognition of orientalists around the world; His works were ordered by the Highest to be in universities and gymnasiums. And his 16-volume history of China, entitled The Pervasive Mirror, is still one of best works on the history of our great eastern neighbor.
If we, from the time of Peter the Great until now, had not been carried away by constant and indiscriminate imitation foreign writers, then they would have long ago had their own independence in various branches of education. Those who believe that Western Europeans were long and far ahead of us in education are very wrong, therefore, we can only follow them. This thought weakens our mental capacity, and we almost make it our duty to think about something with others, and not with our own minds. The same thought stops our progress in the field of education in different sciences. If we blindly repeat what a Frenchman or a German writes, then with the repetition of such backsides we will always be backwards and our mind will forever imagine a reflection of other people's thoughts, often strange and often absurd.
Iakinf Bichurin
Archimandrite Iakinf (in the world Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin; August 29 (September 9), 1777 Akulevo village, Cheboksary district, Kazan province - May 11 (23), 1853, St. Petersburg) - archimandrite of the Orthodox Russian Church; diplomat, orientalist and traveler, expert in Chinese, one of the founders of Russian sinology. Corresponding member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (December 17, 1828).
He left a significant number of essays about China and neighboring countries. Introduced into the world scientific circulation a significant number of Chinese historical sources, including “Descriptions of the Daiqing Empire”.
Youth
Born on August 29, 1777 in the family of sexton Yakov Danilovich Bichurin (1749-1812) in the village of Akulevo (Chuvash Shemper). By nationality - probably half or a quarter - Chuvash, his mother is Russian, his grandfather Danil Semenov is assumed to have been from the Chuvash. Elementary education received from the music singing school in Sviyazhsk. From 1785-1799 he studied at the Kazan Seminary, where he received the surname Bichurin, and graduated with honors. After graduating from the Kazan Theological Academy in 1799, he remained as a teacher at the academy. He taught grammar and rhetoric. While on teaching work, took monastic orders and served as rector of the Kazan Ioannovsky Monastery for a year. He was an interpreter and carried out translations from Russian into Chuvash.
In 1802, he was appointed archimandrite of the Ascension Monastery in Irkutsk and rector of the theological seminary, but he had conflicts with the seminarians, and he was also accused of violating the charter.
Service in China
In 1807 he was appointed head of the spiritual mission in Beijing, where he remained until 1822. He mastered the Chinese language perfectly and compiled a dictionary, which he personally rewrote four times.
In Beijing, Bichurin began translating Chinese sources into Russian: “Syshu” (Four Books) - a set of teachings of Confucius and the Confucians, a geographical work in three volumes, a consolidated history of China in 17 volumes, Chinese chronology, “Description of Tibet”, “Description of Zhungaria”, “Description of Beijing”, works on religion, philosophy, law, medicine, economics, agriculture, trade and others. Bichurin compiled a multi-volume Chinese-Russian dictionary and translated a Manchu-Chinese dictionary in 4 volumes into Russian.
During the fight against Napoleon, the Russian government had no time for China, as a result of which the mission lacked funds and was completely devastated. For this, the head of the mission was deprived of the rank of archimandrite and exiled to the Valaam Monastery. In May 1821 he left Beijing.
Return to Russia
In 1826, he managed to move to St. Petersburg, where he received the position of translator from Chinese at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this was facilitated by sinologist E. F. Timkovsky and, possibly, Schilling von Kanstadt, who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1828 Bichurin was elected corresponding member Russian Academy sciences in the category of literature and antiquities of the East. In 1828 he worked at the St. Petersburg Public Library; elected honorary librarian. By the end of 1829, he prepared the first bibliographic work - “Register of Chinese and Manchu books located in the imperial Public library" In 1830 he made an expedition to Transbaikalia, from where he brought Tibetan and Mongolian books, Buddhist temple utensils and more.
In Kyakhta he opened the first Chinese language school in Russia. He taught at school and created the first textbook of the Chinese language (“Chinese Grammar”).
Since 1831, member of the Asiatic Society in Paris. Repeated winner of the Demidov Prize.
In St. Petersburg, Father Iakinf receives secular recognition, among his acquaintances are A. S. Pushkin, A. A. Kraevsky, V. F. Odoevsky, K. M. Shegren, I. A. Krylov, I. I. Panaev, A. V. Nikitenko and many other writers published in the Moscow Telegraph magazine.
In Transbaikalia he met with the Decembrists: the Bestuzhev brothers, I. I. Pushchin and others.
In 1848 he began to create his own last work"Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia ancient times". Labor in three volumes with the appendix of maps was published in 1851. By that time, the sinologist’s health had greatly deteriorated, although he survived the cholera epidemic. He died in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in 1853.
Tribute to memory in literature
IN fiction the life of Iakinthos was reflected in the novel-diology by V. Krivtsov “Father Iakinthos”. The author, being an orientalist, processed a lot of sources and followed the route of the mission in which Iakinthos went to China.
Preface
In the necropolis of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Leningrad, the attention of visitors is attracted by a modest black obelisk with the inscription Chinese characters. On a stone grayed by time and bad weather is engraved:
IAKINF BICHURIN
And it is written in Chinese characters: “He constantly worked diligently to perpetuate his glory historical works", and then follow the dates - 1777-1853. Here lie the ashes of the monk and scientist, Russian orientalist Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, known under the monastic name of Iakinthos.
It was outstanding man of his time, “a freethinker in a cassock,” the founder of scientific Chinese studies in Russia, the author of many fundamental works on the history, geography and culture of the peoples of China, Central and Middle Asia, Southern Siberia and the Far East. N. Ya. Bichurin brilliantly mastered the Chinese language, had enormous knowledge in the field of Oriental studies, therefore in his works we find a wealth of valuable information about the history, life, material and spiritual culture of the Mongols, Chinese, Tibetans and other peoples of the Asian East. Modern researchers pay tribute to the multifaceted activities of N. Ya. Bichurin and note that.
Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin was born on August 29 (September 9), 1777 in the village of Akulevo, Sviyazhsk district (later Cheboksary district, Kazan province) in the family of a priest. He received his surname from the name of the village of Bichurin, in which his father’s parish was located. Little Nikita began his studies at the music singing school in Sviyazhsk, and from there in 1785 he entered the Kazan Theological Seminary, where he studied grammar, arithmetic, poetry, rhetoric, theology and Greek language. Here his extraordinary abilities manifested themselves very early. In 1798 The Kazan Seminary was transformed into a theological academy. After successful completion studying at the academy in 1799, N. Ya. Bichurin was left as a teacher there.
On June 18, 1800, in the Kazan Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, he was tonsured a monk and named Iakinthos. This rash step young man when, according to the biographer, he “became a monk out of appearances, and not by vocation,” had tragic consequences for Iakinthos Bichurin. All his life he was burdened by his monastic title, to no avail he submitted petitions to the Synod to remove him from the clergy. But that was all later, and then, as P.E. Skachkov points out, “Bichurin’s transition to the so-called black clergy can be explained exclusively by the special privileged position occupied by the “monastics”: all the highest posts of the church hierarchy could only be occupied by monks. Thanks to patronage former head Kazan diocese of Ambrose Podobedov, Iakinf was elevated to the rank of archimandrite and appointed rector of the Ascension Monastery near Irkutsk. A brilliant spiritual career awaited him, but fate decided otherwise.
In Irkutsk, having taken the monastery under his care, Fr. Iakinf simultaneously becomes the rector of the Irkutsk Theological Seminary and a member of the consistory. However, a year later, a conflict with the local clergy and seminarians, as well as Iakinthos’s reluctance to comply with the strict requirements of the monastery charter, caused his excommunication from all posts and exile to the Tobolsk monastery.
Iakinf spent about two years in exile in Tobolsk. At this time, the next (ninth) Russian spiritual mission in Beijing was preparing to be sent to China, and the Synod appointed the head of this mission and the archimandrite of the Sretensky Monastery, located in the capital Chinese Empire, Iakinfa Bichurina.
The Russian spiritual mission in Beijing was established in 1715 by decree of Tsar Peter I and was called upon to support Orthodoxy among Russian prisoners settled in Beijing, captured by the Chinese during the capture of the Albazin fortress in 1685, and their descendants. The Qing dynasty that ruled China pursued an isolationist policy and did not allow residents of other countries to come to their country, so the spiritual mission was the only representation of Russia in China for a whole century. For the tsarist government, it was also the only source of information about its Far Eastern neighbor, and through it all relations between the two countries were maintained. The significance of the Beijing spiritual mission for the development of Russian Sinology, Mongolian studies and Manchu studies was exceptionally great. It was a kind of university, from which came a whole galaxy of major Russian sinologists (Iakinf Bichurin, Pallady Kafarov, V. Vasiliev, etc.); talented translators of Chinese and Manchu literature (Z. Leontievsky, A. Leontiev, I. Rassokhin), experts oriental languages, teachers, missionaries, practical workers, changing from generation to generation.
In the same row we can name Anton Grigorievich Vladykin (1761-1811), a Kalmyk by nationality (“from loyal Torgouts”), who, having been baptized in Astrakhan, graduated from the Trinity-Sergius Seminary in philosophy and was sent to Beijing in 1780 He was the first Russian Manchu linguist, the first teacher to compile dictionaries and other manuals for the study of the Manchu language, including the first Manchu grammar 3. A. G. Vladykin’s student Mikhail Sipakhov was included in the ninth spiritual mission under the command of N. Ya. Bichurina.
On September 17, 1807, Bichurin with the new composition of the spiritual mission crossed the then Russian-Chinese border near Kyakhta. The first country on his way was Mongolia. The first vivid impressions of his stay in this country, personal observations during the trip largely contributed to the awakening of Iakinthos’ interest in the history of the Mongols and formed the basis for his future books. On January 18, 1808, he arrived in Beijing.
Upon arrival in Beijing, Iakinf very quickly cooled down to purely missionary activity, especially since it could only be carried out in narrow circle few Albazinians, and active religious propaganda among the Chinese was prohibited. The mission itself and the monastery did not take up very much time, so natural curiosity and active nature forced Iakinthos to energetically begin studying language, history, literature, geography, government and social order China and the peoples who inhabited it. He did not want to live in the country as a stranger who understood nothing and knew nothing. In one of his letters sent home two years later, Iakinf wrote: “Without praising myself, I can say that I live here solely for the fatherland, and not for myself. Otherwise, in two years I could not have learned to speak Chinese like that.” as I say now."
Brilliant linguistic abilities and knowledge of Latin, Greek and received at the Theological Academy French served Iakinthos well. He not only quickly mastered spoken Chinese, but also mastered hieroglyphics and written language, which allowed him to translate from Chinese into Russian whole line works, mainly geographical and historical content. Constant contacts with Catholic missionaries who were in Beijing, and the study of the works of Western European sinologists A. Semedo, J. Maya, J.-B., stored in the library of the Portuguese mission. Grosier, J.-B. Dugald and others undoubtedly made it easier for N. Ya. Bichurin to get acquainted with China and helped him in his further work.
The Beijing period of Iakinthos' life was extremely fruitful and filled with hard work. He compiled several dictionaries of the Chinese language, including a large Chinese-Russian dictionary in nine volumes, which remained unpublished. In addition, in Beijing, Iakinf wrote the main works, subsequently published in Russia, or prepared comprehensive materials for them. Among them, P. E. Skachkov names the manuscripts “Description of Beijing”, “History of the First Four Khans”, “History of Tibet and Tangut”, “Description of Tibet”, “Description of Zungaria”, “Description of the Mongolian People”, “Treatise on Smallpox Vaccination” , "Official (forensic - V.S.) medicine of the Chinese", "System of the universe", "On strengthening the Yellow River and the transport canal", "Mongolian Code". Most of the works mentioned were published after Iakinthos returned to Russia, the rest remained in manuscripts.
N. Ya. Bichurin stayed in China for 14 years. He returned to St. Petersburg in January 1822. In addition to a huge number of personal impressions, Iakinf brought with him to his homeland a unique collection of valuable books in Chinese and Manchurian languages, manuscripts of his works with a total weight of about four hundred pounds (a whole caravan of 15 camels). But at home a severe punishment awaited him. During the years of his stay in Beijing, the Synod received complaints from students and members of the mission who were dissatisfied with the severity of Iakinthos and his requirement of diligent study of the Chinese and Manchu languages. Entirely occupied with scientific concerns, Iakinf paid insufficient attention to his missionary duties and mission affairs. Meanwhile, the economy of the mission, which had ceased to receive financial assistance from the Russian government, busy with the war with Napoleonic France, fell into decay. In order to somehow improve the disastrous situation, sometimes it was even necessary to sell church property. Therefore, Iakinthos was brought to the church court, for “neglect of sacred rites and illegal actions” he was deprived of his dignity and sent into lifelong exile to the Valaam Monastery, which was then a prison for those convicted of various religious crimes.
Introduction
I chose the biography and activities of the great Russian orientalist Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin (Father Iakinthos) as the topic of this essay. He made an outstanding contribution to the development of domestic and world science. His works are a rich source of materials and versatile observations for researchers and scientists in China, Central and Central Asia. His work revealed the best features characteristic of traditional Russian research culture. He laid the foundation for the study of the Chinese Empire, aroused public interest in the East, and showed what an opportunity the rich Chinese literature has for the study of Central Asia. Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin was the first scientist who understood the importance of publishing translations of sources that provided materials for studying the history of China, Central and Central Asia. His first outstanding work was a Chinese-Russian dictionary. Then the Chinese grammar, which played big role in the development of Russian Sinology. The name of the scientist is included today in many reference books about his role in the development of Oriental studies in Far East Many articles and scientific books tell the story. That is why it is impossible not to agree with the relevance of the chosen topic. The main goal of my essay is to understand what contribution Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin made to the history of the development of Oriental studies and for this I set myself tasks. First, get acquainted with the biography of the great orientalist. Secondly, study the progress of his research and analyze his activities. Then draw your own conclusions. My abstract consists of one chapter, “The Personality of N. Ya. Bichurin in the History of the Development of Oriental Studies,” which is divided into three subsections: “Brief Biography,” “The First Stage of N. Ya. Bichurin’s Research Activity,” and “The Second Stage of N. Ya. Bichurin’s Activities.” Bichurin." To write the abstract, I used information from the books of S. L. Tikhvinsky “China and World History”, P. E. Skachsky “Essays on the History of Russian Sinology” and “Chinese literary heritage and modernity" Fedorenko N.
1 The personality of Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin in the development of the history of Oriental studies
1.1 Brief biography
Iakinf Bichurin, before monasticism Nikita Yakovlevich Pichurinsky, was born in September 1777. in the village Akulevo, Sviyazhsk region. His father, who did not have a surname because he came from simple peasants, was a parish priest in the village of Bichurin, where Nikita was transported when he was 2 years old. In 1785 he entered the Kazan Theological Seminary. Bichurin was a very diligent student; books were his true friends. “Every evening, returning from the academy, he sat down at the table, drew a candle and read ancient and modern, improved himself in Latin and Greek, leafed through old chronicles. With furious bitterness, he punished himself for frivolity, for boyish initiative, for daring, unrealizable dreams. No, love and happiness are not for him. He doesn't need empty dreams... A different life awaits him. The service of science is his path, his calling.” 1 Here he received the surname Bichurin, after the name of the village where his father’s parish was located. After graduating from the Kazan Theological Seminary, he remained to work there as a grammar teacher.
At the age of 22, N.Ya Bichurin became a monk, but not according to his calling, and this had tragic consequences for him. This can be explained by the special position that the “monastics” occupied. In 1801, Bichurin was appointed rector of the Kazan Ioannovsky Monastery, a year later he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite, then placed at the head of the Irkutsk Ascension Monastery and Theological Seminary, thanks to the patronage of the former head of the Kazan diocese, Ambrosy Podobedov. But a year after his appointment, Iakinf was demoted and exiled to the Tobolsk monastery until 1807. The reason for this was a violation of the monastery charter and a conflict with the seminarians. In the same year, the Synod appointed him head of the ninth Russian spiritual mission and archimandrite of the Sretensky Monastery in Beijing. The spiritual mission was the only representation of Russia in China for a whole century. All relations between the two countries were maintained through it.
1.2 First stage of research activities
On September 17, 1807, Bichurin set off from Kyakhta to the Chinese capital, staying on the way to Great Wall four difficult and surprising months, he arrived there on January 17, 1808. A new, most important stage in the life of Iakinthos began precisely from this year. The Beijing period, which lasted 14 years, was fruitful and eventful for Iakinthos. The official purpose of the embassy to China was to notify a neighboring monk about the accession to the throne of a new All-Russian autocrat. The mission was accompanied as a bailiff by the official Semyon Pervushin, who received instructions from the Collegium of Foreign Affairs with instructions to find out along the route and in Beijing questions related to the intensification of English policy in China, about the attitude of the Chinese towards the British, about what English goods are sold in Chinese shops. The mission was also accompanied by the first Russian artist to visit China, centurion Shchukin. He was instructed to buy good paints, watch how the Chinese artist composed paints, and make sketches of what seemed interesting to him.
Arriving in Beijing on January 10, 1808, Bichurin attended to his duties - mission affairs. He tried to support Orthodoxy among the Albazinians, but did not achieve much success. After becoming closely acquainted with the affairs of the mission, he became convinced that the Albazinians were converting to Orthodoxy “not for Jesus, but for bread” 1, and began to neglect his duties and service in the church, the reason for this was his accusation and punishment after his return to St. Petersburg.
Discipline in the mission was at an extremely low level, so for Bichurin monitoring his subordinates was unpleasant and burdensome. Due to the war with Napoleon in 1811, the tsarist government stopped sending money intended for the maintenance of the mission. Thus, the members of the mission found themselves in a difficult situation, they had to exist on a modest salary from the Manchu government, but this was not enough and the members of the mission began to look for a means of livelihood: “some of them, having studied the spoken language, took up the practice of law in private cases, gaining the upper hand not so much by eloquence, but by the fear produced on the judges, others embarked on trade, and still others, they say, on gambling” 1. To improve difficult conditions the lives of mission members and students, Bichurin began to sell and mortgage church belongings, houses and lands that belonged to the mission, which later served as an accusation brought against him upon his return to his homeland. In 1815, material conditions improved when money was sent from Russia to support the mission. Despite all the difficulties, N. Ya. Bichurin with amazing energy began to study the Chinese language and most devoted time to studying the country. The abilities demonstrated at the Theological Academy, knowledge of Latin, Greek and French helped Bichurin quickly master the Chinese language. During his first years in Beijing, he began to study Manchu and Mongolian languages, but, making sure that the main literature was written in Chinese, he decided to leave his studies in Manchu studies. The main difficulty in learning Chinese was the lack teaching aids, especially Chinese dictionary. Bichurin immediately began to compile it, the basis of which was to be the spoken language. “Therefore, dressed in a Chinese costume, he walked around bazaars, fairs, shops and, pointing to some object, asked to write the name of this object in hieroglyphs and wrote down the pronunciation. He checked the information thus obtained at home with his Chinese language teacher.” 2 Conversations with his good friends also helped him quickly master the spoken Chinese language. The result of this, 4 years later, was the release of a small Chinese-Russian dictionary.
Bichurin's acquaintance with China made it easier for him to study the works of Western sinologists Semedo, Maya, Grosier, and Dugald and helped in his further work on the Chinese language. Dissatisfied with the compiled dictionary, he began to work on a larger one, which required persistent, many years of work. In the seventh year of his life in Beijing, Bichurin translated the “Four Books” with explanations, despite the fact that it constitutes the key to the translation of learned Chinese books into other languages. During his last years in Beijing, translations of geographical descriptions of China contributed to his mastery of written Chinese and his thorough study of the history, geography and culture of China. The compilation of a Chinese-Russian dictionary and translations of multi-volume works required hard work, but they helped Bichurin in preparing his scientific works. His works included: an abbreviated summary of the Mongolian codes, Description of Beijing, History of the First Four Khans, History of Tibet and Tangut, Description of Tibet and others.
Scientific interests of N.Ya. Bichurin lay in the field of studying the history of China, for this he chose the chronicle “Tzu-zhi tong-jian gan-mu”. The choice was determined by the completeness of this work, which covered the history of China from legendary period until the end of the Ming Dynasty. The scientist's honesty prompted Bichurin to prepare a complete and thorough translation of the sources, and not a tendentious retelling, as was practiced in the West.
On November 18, 1816, Bichurin wrote a lengthy letter to the Synod, in which he summed up the results of his almost ten-year stay in China and critically assessed the results of the hundred-year existence of the Beijing spiritual mission. “In his opinion, for a hundred years the mission had not brought any benefit. Translations from Chinese and Manchu languages, in addition to factual errors, suffered from roughness of style. Leontyev's dictionary, translated from Chinese-Latin into Little Russian, had many errors and was not understandable in places” 1. Proving the need for an in-depth study of China, Bichurin asked the Synod to leave him for the next decade for a more in-depth study of the country’s language. However, his request was not granted.
In 1820, a new tenth mission arrived in Beijing. The mission was headed by P.I. Kamensky, E.F. was appointed bailiff. Timkovsky, who played a big role in Bichurin’s life. After 2 months of travel, the mission arrived in Urga, and after another 15 days - in Kyakhta. “Bichurin brought with him 12 boxes of books in Chinese and Manchu, a box of his manuscripts, a box of paints and six tubes with maps and plans” 2
Kyakhte Bichurin met the local merchant N.M. Igumnov, who soon after they met had the idea of opening a Chinese language school, and Bichurin - about writing a grammar of the Chinese language for this school, which he later did.
During his trips to Transbaikalia, Bichurin met with exiled Decembrists and became closely acquainted with them. He became especially close friends with N.A. Bestuzhev. “The Decembrist painted a watercolor portrait of Iakinthos and gave him a rosary made from his shackles, which Bichurin kept all his life and only shortly before his death gave to his grandniece N.S. Moller” 3. Bichurin spent about two years in Kyakhta. During this time, he completed most of his program and provided invaluable services to the expedition in studying the possibilities of developing Russian-Chinese trade. He also founded a Chinese language school.
In October 1831, Bichurin submitted a petition to the synod to remove him from the priesthood. However, in May 1832, the tsar rejected the request, ordering “to leave him as before in the Alexander Lavra, not allowing him to leave monasticism.” Upon his return from Kyakhta to St. Petersburg, Bichurin published in 1833 “The History of Tibet and Khukhunor since 2282.” X. and until 1227 AD. in 2 parts" with many applications.
A year later, his book “Historical Review of the Oirots, or Kalmyks, from the 15th century to the present” was published, with a map of Mongolia, comments and a name index attached to it. This work was awarded in 1834 with the Demidov Prize for the best domestic work, since it was an independent historical study by Bichurin.
The successes achieved by Bichurin in teaching Chinese at the Kyakhta school prompted the director of the Kyakhta customs to contact the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 1834 with a request to again send “for the institution educational order in this school, appointment to this school, although for two years, as a teacher of the Chinese language, Father Iakinthos, and to publish the grammar he compiled of the Chinese language" 1
In 1815, Bichurin again came to Kyakhta and brought with him a grammar of the Chinese language he had published. On May 18, 1835, the grand opening of the school took place. The course of study was designed for 4 years. The program was compiled by Bichurin himself and marked the beginning of the methodology for studying the Chinese language in Russia.
At the beginning of 1838, Bichurin left St. Petersburg, and the Kyakhta School remained in the care of K.G. Krymsky, who taught there for about 30 years. In 1854, Krymsky was appointed translator of the seventh class of the Asian Department. In 1856, he took part in an expedition along the Amur River, where he translated various documents from Chinese and Manchu languages and was a translator during negotiations. In 1861, Krymsky died and soon in 1867 the Kyakhta School ceased to exist. The school played a big role and produced many students who applied the knowledge of the Chinese language they acquired in practice “P. Nefed'ev, M.G. Shevelev, Stepan Pezhemsky, A.I. Zhuravlev, Andronov and others.” 2
The Chinese grammar, published in 1835, ended the first period of Bichurin's scientific activity. It played a big role in the development of Russian Sinology and served as a teaching aid not only at the Kyakhtinsky School, but also at the oriental faculties of Kazan and St. Petersburg universities. In 1839, N. Ya. Bichurin was awarded the Demidov Prize for the second time.
Iakinf(Russian doref. Iakin; Chinese trad., ex., pinyin: Yqnt, pal.: Iatsinte; in the world Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin, whale ex. , pinyin: Bqiln, pal.: Biqulin; August 29 (September 9) 1777 - May 11 (23) 1853) - Archimandrite of the Russian Orthodox Church(in 1802-1823); orientalist and traveler, expert on the Chinese language, one of the founders of Russian sinology, the first Russian sinologist to gain European fame.
He came from the family of a rural priest, graduated from the Kazan Theological Academy, where he remained as a teacher. In 1808-1821 he was in Beijing, heading the Ninth Spiritual Mission. Due to his careless attitude towards missionary activity, he was subjected to the trial of the Holy Synod and in 1823-1826 was in exile on the island of Valaam. After his release, he was elected a corresponding member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (from December 17, 1828), an honorary foreign member of the Paris Asian Society (from March 7, 1831). Three-time winner of the full Demidov Prize (1835, 1839 and 1849) and one half (1841). In 1819-1851 he published 14 books and about 100 articles about China and neighboring countries, considering it his responsibility to also popularize information about the Far East; many works remained unpublished.
First showed the importance Chinese sources for studying world history and determined the development of Russian Sinology as a comprehensive discipline for many decades to come. He was also the first Russian sinologist who operated on large volume namely Chinese, not Manchu sources; before him, no one in world sinology in such a large volume of Chinese historical sources didn't use it. His works are republished in the 21st century.
Origin. Childhood
The autobiographical note stated: “Father Iakinf Bichurin was born in the Kazan province in the Cheboksary district in the village of Bichurin in 1777 on August 29.” This information was used by almost all biographers of the 19th and 20th centuries and was not subjected to critical verification. Only in the 1960s did a study of the Chuvash archival funds begin, as a result it turned out that Nikita Bichurin was born in the village of Akulevo (now the village of Tipnery, in Chuvash - Tipner; not to be confused with the modern village of Akulevo, Chuvash name which Shemsher), where his father Yakov Danilov served as a deacon. By origin, Nikita was probably half or a quarter Chuvash, his mother was most likely Russian; it is assumed that his grandfather Danil Semyonov was from the Chuvash. Only in 1779 did the head of the family receive the priesthood and move to the village of Bichurin (“Pichurino” in the spelling of that time). No memories of my childhood and youth Bichurin did not leave, although his epistolary legacy indicates that he maintained contacts with relatives until old age.
Judging by archival data, Nikita spent his childhood in a harsh environment. In June 1777, the priest of the local parish, Prokopiy Stepanov, was killed by his own colleagues; the Bichurin parish was given to his son, Peter Prokopyev, who treated the Chuvash parishioners and members of the clergy very cruelly, which was described in a petition addressed to the Kazan spiritual consistory in 1791. On August 11, 1794, while drunk, he “beat to the point of blood” Bichurin’s mother, Akilina Stepanova, but only on April 4, 1796, the Consistory decided to ban him from ministry for 4 months and send him to the Cheboksary Trinity Monastery.
The parish of the Resurrection Church included 5 villages and was classified as low-income. Bichurin's father was engaged in peasant labor (“an exercise in agriculture, as if unusual for the rank”), but not very successfully, being in “a bad state due to drunkenness.” The head of the family got into debt; in 1796-1797, the Consistory demanded that he urgently repay the debt of 39 rubles. Pyotr Prokopyev and 75 rubles - the singer Savinovsky.
In 1785, Archbishop of Kazan Ambrose (Podobedov) issued a strict order to bring the children of the clergy to Kazan for enrollment in the Theological Seminary and to fine those who tried to exempt them from theological schools. Disobedience was punishable by “menial labor,” prohibition from serving, and the surrender of those guilty as soldiers. Holy Synod At the same time, he did not allow children of clergy to study in secular institutions instead of religious ones. Iakinf in his autobiographical note stated that in the same 1785, at the age of 8, he entered the Kazan Seminary, that for a long time also not tested by researchers. However, already A. N. Bernshtam in biographical sketch In 1950 he wrote that Nikita began studying at the music singing school in Sviyazhsk, and from there he was transferred to the seminary. I. D. Murzaev established that the school of musical singing in the Sviyazhsky monastery was opened only in 1786; Nikita Bichurin as part of the family of Yakov Danilov was not mentioned in the spiritual paintings of the Resurrection Church from the same year. From this I.D. Murzaev and P.V. Denisov concluded that he began his education at the Sviyazhsk New Epiphany school.