In November, the staff of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences celebrated the 70th anniversary of Alexey Anatolyevich Bokshchanin, a sinologist, a wonderful person, an excellent specialist, and the author of numerous works on medieval China.

A. A. Bokshchanin was born on November 7, 1935 in Moscow, in an intelligent family. His father was a well-known expert on the history of Rome, professor of Moscow State University A. G. Bokshchanin, his mother was an art critic and musicologist. Since childhood, he had a great home library at his disposal. In 1953, he entered the Eastern Department of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. Even then, he showed an interest in the medieval period of Chinese history. Fellow students recall that while studying at the university, A. A. Bokshchanin methodically worked on the lecture material - probably, in the future, this quality often helped him in the critical analysis of medieval Chinese sources. A. A. Bokshchanin graduated from Moscow State University with a red diploma. Paying great attention to his studies, he took an active part in all the activities of student life and was surrounded by friends, preserving their friendship for many years.

In 1958, after graduating from Moscow State University, he became an employee of the Institute of Sinology of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1965, he defended his dissertation on "China's foreign relations with the South Sea countries at the end of the XIV-XVI centuries", receiving the title of Candidate of Historical Sciences. In the 1960s and 1970s, A. A. Bokschanin's research focused on China's contacts with the countries of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean basin, where he described in detail the history of the Chinese fleet under the command of the famous navigator Zheng He.

Later, A. A. Bokshchanin became interested in other aspects of the history of late medieval China, primarily its political and economic institutions. In 1985, he defended his doctoral thesis on "The evolution of the specific system in China at the end of the XIV-beginning of the XV century." and later studied the Ming Dynasty period.

A. A. Bokshchanin made a great contribution to the development of Russian sinology. In the course of his scientific research, he used Chinese sources in the original texts. In his PhD thesis, he set himself the task of studying China's foreign relations with the countries of the South Seas. A. A. Bokshchanin writes that in Asia, long before the arrival of Europeans, there were states that had long maintained diplomatic and trade relations with each other, and this, in turn, required the development of certain norms and methods of foreign relations. These norms had to be specially studied, since they were an integral part of the history of international relations in general. It was important for A. A. Bokschanin to study the international situation of China before and during the process of penetration of foreigners into the Middle Kingdom. The disclosure of this topic was important because it provided an opportunity to understand the traditions of China's diplomatic methods. Thus, the main task of A. A. Bokshchanin was to study the methods and trends characteristic of the theory and practice of China's foreign policy in the late XIV-XVI centuries on the example of its relations with the countries of the South Seas.

In the course of the work, the author noted that the foreign policy theory and practice of this period had a great influence on the subsequent policy of China, and many traditional features of Chinese foreign policy and diplomacy were preserved to one degree or another until the 19th century, in some cases until the creation of the PRC in 1949. the evolution of the diplomatic methods of Chinese policy with the countries of the South Seas for almost three centuries. In 1976, A. A. Bokschanin published his monograph "Imperial China at the beginning of the XV century", which was devoted to the internal political history of China at one of the most acute moments - the internecine war at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. and the subsequent period of so-called prosperity, which manifested itself in a certain stabilization of the situation inside the country, strengthening its external positions and pr.

The main purpose of this book was to show the place of the studied period in the internal political history of China. A. A. Bokshchanin traced the most characteristic methods of government action in the sphere of domestic policy as during an acute outbreak

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civil strife in the country, and in relatively quiet years. He concluded that the stabilization of the domestic political situation in China achieved in the first quarter of the 15th century did not lead to a clear progress in the country's political and economic life in the future. According to A. A. Bokshchanin, from the second half of the 15th century, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) gradually entered a period of prolonged socio - political crisis, which ultimately led to its fall and the establishment of the power of the Manchu conquerors in the country.

The topic of A. A. Bokschanin's doctoral dissertation - "The evolution of the specific system in China in the late XIV-early XV centuries" - was interesting and important, since studying the problem of the specific structure in ancient and medieval China made it possible to better understand the general and special features of Chinese society in historical retrospect. This topic was not specifically covered in either domestic or foreign sinology. Therefore, the merits of A. A. Bokshchanin in the study of this system are indubitable. He comprehensively outlined its main contours at the beginning of the Ming dynasty. A. A. Bokshchanin in his work sought to determine the reasons that caused the appearance of the specific system in the Ming Empire, to compare the ideal model of this system, which was reflected in various statutes and legal regulations of the time described, with what it turned out in practice.

According to the author, in historical sources, the appanages were represented as the possessions of individual rulers who had their own special relationships with the central government. For A. A. Bokshchanin, it was important to identify common features and trends that would give the right to consider the mentioned appanages as a developing system. The author's interpretation is very interesting - the specific system appears as a complex whole. At the same time, he took into account the specifics of each of the destinies - its location, economic and military capabilities, authority and position in the imperial family, etc.

According to A. A. Bokshchanin, the specific structure had a significant impact on the internal political, social and economic development of China, which is why its study as an independent phenomenon in the historical development of the country is so important. The specific structure in all periods of existence in China was closely related to such facts as the unity and disintegration of the country, its centralization and fragmentation, the relationship between the central authorities and the local administration apparatus. The specific structure as one of the variants of internal political organization was almost never overlooked by Chinese thinkers and ruling circles until the Ming period studied in the dissertation. It was one of the possible models of the political system, and therefore it was considered as an integral part of the state apparatus, i.e. studying the specific structure in different periods of Chinese history would allow us to better highlight the problems associated with the state system of ancient and medieval China.

In the book" The Appanage System in Late Medieval China " (1986), A. A. Bokshchanin noted that the most noticeable changes in the political and administrative situation of the appanages occurred at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, more precisely, at the end of the XIV-beginning of the XV century. It was then that the question of what place the appanages would occupy in the state body of the empire was resolved. In this connection, this stage in the evolution of the specific system of the Ming Empire attracted the author's attention. A. A. Bokshchanin came to the conclusion that " ... the social structure of Chinese society at the end of the XIV-beginning of the XVII century was more complex than it might seem from the scheme usually used to characterize the traditional Chinese society: despot-officials-commoners - inferiors"(p. 237).

The author emphasized that the appanage aristocracy was by no means the only stratum in China that acquired its rights and privileges by birthright. This is an important fact that has corrected the prevailing idea among many sinologists about special, specific ways of social mobility and the formation of a dominant class in the Middle Kingdom. As a result, the principle of meritocracy (selection on merit) began to look even less universal, taking into account the reservations made by experts on this topic.

A. A. Bokshchanin for the first time raised the question of the reasons that forced the majority of appanage rulers to refrain from directly supporting Zhu Di, who spoke out on their behalf against the central government of Yan Wang. The author also suggested that, despite the paramount importance of Zhu Di's policies for weakening the role and significance of the appanages in the life and governance of the state,-

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At the time of his death, the confrontation between the lords of the shires and the central government was still incomplete.

In his monograph "Imperial China at the beginning of the 15th century" and the book written jointly with O. E. Nepomnin "Faces of the Middle Kingdom" (Moscow, 2002), A. A. Bokshchanin pays great attention to the description of the Chinese emperors of the Ming dynasty.

In his work "Modern Historians of the People's Republic of China on the problems of feudalism in China" (1998), A. A. Bokshchanin introduces readers to various concepts on this topic, while summing up the discussion of Chinese scientists on the problems of the feudal social system. This is important, because researchers associate this issue and its special ways of development with the historical destinies of the country, and, as a result,with the current situation...the need to supplement the formational approach (or individual elements drawn from it) with a civilizational one, based on taking into account not only socio-economic development, but also the cultural and historical background, specific features of a particular society" (p.128).

In total, A. A. Bokschanin published more than 80 works (some of them written in Chinese, others translated into English, Italian and Vietnamese), which are based on a huge amount of medieval Chinese sources, thoroughly worked out and critically understood by him. You can also describe his lectures on the ancient and medieval history of China, which he has been giving for many years to students of Moscow State University. At the Department of Chinese History at ISAA, A. A. Bokshchanin works in a team of specialists whose research interests cover almost all periods of Chinese history. He deals with the problems of the history of China and neighboring countries in the Middle Ages, issues of source studies of Chinese history, the functioning of Chinese history and imperial power in late Medieval China.

A. A. Bokshchanin is also a participant of many scientific congresses and conferences, including international ones, where he made presentations.

Since 1990, A. A. Bokshchanin has been the Head of the China Department of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. And all these years, under his leadership, the annual scientific conference "Society and the State in China" continues to work. Colleagues note his amazing intelligence, modesty, politeness and responsibility. When selecting members of the Academic Council of the Institute, they are voted for unanimously.

A. A. Bokshchanin is not only a prominent scientist, the author of many scientific and popular scientific works, who follows the latest developments in modern humanitarian research, but also a person of high culture, who has a deep knowledge of classical and modern art. He is still aware of new directions in cinema and theater, a lover of travel and exhibitions, a keen collector-numismatist and philatelist. And not only is he fond of it, but he also knows how to attract others. Alexey Anatolyevich seemed to recall the precepts of Confucius, who said: "By the time I was seventy, I was following my heart's desires without breaking a rule."

Congratulating Alexey Anatolyevich on his 70th birthday, we wish him eternal youth, health and new creative successes.

FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES

MAIN SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF A. A. BOKSCHANIN*

Visit to Africa by Zheng He sea expeditions in the early 15th century // Vestnik istorii mirovoi kul'tury [Bulletin of the History of World Culture], Moscow, 1959, No. 6, pp. 87-96.

K istorii plavaniy Zheng He [On the history of Zheng He's voyages]. Chinese Collection, Moscow, 1962, N 53, pp. 65-77.

Strany Yugo-Vostochnoy Azii i basseina Indskogo okeana v kitayskoi geograficheskoi terminologii XIV-XVI vv. [Countries of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean basin in Chinese Geographical Terminology of the XIV-XVI centuries]. Istoriya i istoriografiya stran Dalnego Vostoka [History and Historiography of the Far East countries], Moscow, 1964, No. 85, pp. 43-46.

On the History of Merchant Ship Management in China / / Countries of the Far East and South-East Asia. Istoriya i ekonomika [History and Economy], Moscow, 1967, pp. 3-10.

* Comp. by E. A. Sinetskaya.

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China and the countries of the Southern Seas in the XIV-XVI centuries. Moscow: Nauka, 1968. 212 p.

On the strengthening of despotic power in China at the end of the XIV century / / Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1969. N 1. pp. 54-65.

China and its Neighbors in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Moscow, 1970: An Essay on Sino-Indian relations (from Antiquity to the 16th century), pp. 101-133; History of China's relations with the countries of the South Seas (from antiquity to the 16th century), pp. 134-176.

Mongol-Chinese invasion attempts in Southeast Asia // Tatar-Mongols in Asia and Europe, Moscow, 1970, pp. 294-310. The same thing. 2nd ed. Moscow, 1977, pp. 306-322.

Zheng He's expedition in the early 15th century. v osveshchenii kitayskikh istorikov [in the coverage of Chinese historians]. Istoricheskaya nauka v PRC, Moscow, 1971, pp. 121-130.

On the medieval Chinese Strategy and tactics on the example of the Jingnan War (1399-1402) / / China: Society and State, Moscow, 1973, pp. 116-135.

Istoriya i kul'tura Kitai (Sbornik pamyati akademika V. P. Vasilyeva) [History and Culture of China (Collection in memory of Academician V. P. Vasiliev)], Moscow, 1974, pp. 294-306.

Imperial China in the early 15th century. (Vnutrennaya politika), Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1976, 323 p.

Features external relations of the Ming and issues of continuity // China: tradition and modernity. M., 1976. Pp. 129 - 142.

Qing Government's relationship with Vietnam in the second half of the 17th century // Foreign policy of the Qing State in the 17th century, Moscow, 1976, pp. 229-264.

Politics of the Chinese Empire on the national fringes in the early 15th century // Questions of history. 1977. N 3. pp. 68-84.

"Shi ho chih" from dynastic histories. Materials on the economic history of China in the Early Middle Ages, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1980, 256 p. (translated from Chinese by sovm. with Lin Kyunyi).

About runaway peasants in China at the beginning of the XV century // Voprosy istorii Kitay [Questions of the History of China], Moscow, 1981, pp. 99-118.

Specific rulers in China (late 14th century) / / Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1983. N 2. pp. 46-54.

China: the Middle Ages / / Istoriya narodov Vostochnoi i Tsentral'noi Azii [History of the peoples of Eastern and Central Asia], Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1986, pp. 169-208.

Social Sciences in the People's Republic of China. Moscow, 1986. - Author: Chinese historians on the characteristic features and peculiarities of the feudal system in China. pp. 85-116; Assessment of the role of Zhu Yuanzhang as the leader of the peasant uprising and as a monarch. pp. 117-132.

Specific system in the Late Middle Ages in China, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1986, 263 p.

From the history of the conflict between the inheritance and the Central government in the Ming period - relations yard with a lot of NIN // XVII scientific conference "Society and state in China" (hereinafter - NCAGC). M., 1986. Part 1. Pp. 175 - 180.

Administrative functions of appanages in China in the 14th-early 15th centuries / / Gosudarstvo v dokapitalisticheskikh obshchestvakh Azii [State in pre-capitalist societies of Asia], Moscow, 1987, pp. 108-120.

Zhu Yuanzhang's struggle with "treacherous dignitaries", reflected in the text of his "Testaments" / / XVIII NCOGK. Moscow, 1987. Part 1. pp. 194-200.

"Honored dignitaries" and their role in the socio-political system of the Ming Empire / / XIX NCOGK. Moscow, 1988. Vol. 2. pp. 82-88.

The role of ritual in the organization of appanages in China at the end of the XVI century / / Ethics and ritual in traditional China. Moscow, 1988. pp. 309-323.

Main stages of city development in medieval China //Foreign East: economic history of the city. M., 1990.

Fujian-China's Sea Gate // Proceedings of the Historical Fact of Peking University. Beijing, 1990 (in Chinese).

Neordinarnye organy upravleniya v istorii kitayskogo gosudarstva [Extraordinary governing bodies in the history of the Chinese state].

Society and the State in China: new facets of traditional problems and the originality of approaches to its development / / Orient (Oriens). 1992. N 6. pp. 134-141 (together with A. N. Khokhlov).

Izuchenie Kitay v Institut vostokovedeniya RAN [Studying China at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. 1993. N8 (in Chinese).

Ocherk istorii gosudarstvennykh institutov v Kitayskoy imperii [Essay on the history of state institutions in the Chinese Empire].

Hidden historical realities in Chinese history / / XXIV NCOGK. Moscow, 1993. Vol. 1. pp. 3-6.

Istoriya Vostoka, Vol. 2. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1995. Author: Kitay v III-VI vv. p. 67-82; Kitay v kontsey VI-nachale X vv. (imperiya Sung i Tang). p. 157-174; Kitay v X-XIII vv. (imperiya Sung, gosudarstva Liao I Jin). p. 298-320; Mongol rule in China (Yuan Dynasty). p. 384-398; China in the second half of the XIV-XV centuries (Ming Empire). p. 528-546.

Cautions to "honored dignitaries" at the beginning of the Min period / / XXVI NCOGK. Moscow, 1995. pp. 41-46.

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Preface / / Ta Ngoe Lien. Quen he giua Viet Nam and Trung Quoc the ky XV dau the ky XVI. Hanoi; 1995. C 6 - 12.

Conflict relations between the imperial power and "honored dignitaries" at the beginning of the Ming period / / XXVII NKOGK. Moscow, 1996. pp. 68-72.

The Institution of Meritorious in China in Early Ming Times // Study in Onore di Lionello Lanciotti. Naples, 1996. P. 83 - 95.

Modern historians of the People's Republic of China on the problems of feudalism in China. Moscow: IV RAS, 1998. 140 p.

The state in the history of society (To the problem of criteria of statehood). Moscow, 1998. - Author: The origin of the administrative administrative apparatus in ancient China. P. 204-224; The formation of state-administrative institutions in China (Shang Yin era, XVI-mid-XI centuries BC). p. 225-249. The same thing. 2nd ed. Moscow, 2001, pp. 233-258.

Kitay v XVI - nachale XVII vv. [China in the XVI-early XVII centuries]. Istoriya Vostoka [History of the East], Moscow, 1999, pp. 268-301.

The main stages of development of the city in medieval China // Foreign East: economic history of the city. M., 1999. Pp. 59 - 92.

Chinese Embassy to the country of the Red Earth at the beginning of the seventh century / / XXIX NCOGK. Moscow, 1999. pp. 69-75.

The struggle for the succession to the throne in China at the end of the XIV-beginning of the XV century. Politicheskaya intriga na Vostoke [Political Intrigue in the East], Moscow, 2000, pp. 186-205.

To the history of three government chambers in ancient and medieval China / / XXX NCOGK. Moscow, 2000. pp. 35-43.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2000. N 4. pp. 35-43.

Russian and Soviet scientists on the Yihetuan movement in China / / Yihetuan yanjiu and bai nian. Jinan, 2000. pp. 333-346, 781-795 (in Chinese).

Personality of the founder of the Ming dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang in his "Testaments" / / Russian Oriental Studies in memory of M. S. Kapitsa. Moscow, 2001. pp. 169-177.

Stanovlenie morskikh rubezhey Kitay [Formation of China's sea borders]. Granitsy Kitay: istoriya formirovaniya [Borders of China: history of formation], Moscow, 2001, pp. 403-414.

What Christopher Columbus and his contemporaries and followers hoped to find beyond the Western Ocean / / XXXI NCOGK. Moscow, 2001. pp. 91-97.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2001. N 5. pp. 146-149.

Sedition and means of its prevention in the view of the founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) / / XXXII NKGOK. Moscow, 2002. pp. 78-87.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2002. N 3. pp. 157-160.

Liki Sredinnogo tsardva [Faces of the Middle Kingdom], Moscow: Vostochny lit., 2002, 430 p. (co-authored with O. E. Nepomnin). Names-invocations in the "Testaments" of the founder of the Ming dynasty Zhu Yuan-zhang / / XXXIII NKOGK. Moscow, 2003. pp. 64-69.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2003. N 5. pp. 162-166.

Empress Feng: the uncrowned ruler of China / / XXXIV NCOGK. Moscow, 2004. pp. 218-222.

L. P. Delyusin in the China Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies // Society and the State in China. Special issue, Moscow, 2004, pp. 32-35.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2004. N 4. pp. 151-156.

Society and the State in China / / Orient (Oriens). 2005. N 3. pp. 146-149.

Duties of the Emperor, his personal qualities and personal life in the interpretation of the founder of the Ming dynasty Zhu Yuanzhang / / XXXV NCOGK. Moscow, 2005. pp. 117-125.

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