An annual scientific conference organized by the China Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences was held on April 7-9, 2008. It was attended by 67 people from various scientific institutions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Kursk, Chelyabinsk and Riga, as well as from Ukraine (about 2/3 of the participants came from institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences), including teachers, postgraduates, students, and library staff. 34 reports were read and discussed. The abstracts were published in the collection "XXXVIII Scientific conference" Society and the State in China " (Moscow, Eastern Lit., 2008). The topics of the problems considered were very diverse. Much attention was paid to the situation and processes taking place in modern China, various aspects of the country's historical past, as well as the ideology and culture of China.

Yu. V. Galenovich (IDV RAS) drew the audience's attention to the fact that currently in China the term "socialism with Chinese characteristics", which determines the general situation in the country and the direction of its development, is increasingly being replaced by another one - "original Chinese socialism". In both cases, socialism appears as something inherent in China, but the difference is still obvious. The Marxist doctrine of socialism and communism at the present stage, according to Chinese theorists, is mainly a Chinese phenomenon, since China is now the only major socialist state in the world. The future harmony on a global scale is associated with the victory of socialism. But at the same time, international affairs are focused on cooperation, not confrontation. In relation to Russia, the intention is expressed for good-neighborly coexistence, although it is recognized that it currently has a completely different society than before. Russia's rejection of socialist ideals is regarded in China as a mistake of the political leadership and is associated with the growing pursuit of enrichment in the country. The difference in ideologies of both countries, the difference in the ways of their development is recognized. Therefore, they don't talk about friendship in its former sense. Both countries need to build relations based on mutual interests.

The report sparked a discussion: to what extent is modern Chinese socialism identical to classical Marxism?

V. G. Gelbras (ISAA at Moscow State University) in his report on the new strategy of the Communist Party of China noted that it led to an increase in the total gross product in the country, but still not on the same scale as it was supposed. The focus on the predominant development of export-oriented industries leads to a lag in the domestic industrial sector. The gap between urban and rural areas is widening. Unemployment in the city reaches 15%, in the countryside-30%. New strata of the poor population have emerged both in the countryside and in the city, which requires additional subsidies from the state. The authorities are looking for a way out of negative situations by trying to modernize the managerial levers - the party apparatus and the entire party system: they are checking and changing cadres, nominating young people, partially reforming the State Council( government), local authorities, and reducing the total number of government bodies. Nevertheless, the number of administrative officials remains significant.

O. Y. Adams (ISAA) spoke about the fight against various administrative abuses in the agricultural sector of the People's Republic of China, in particular with bureaucratization, corruption, and measures aimed at eliminating them, streamlining the election system (elections to local authorities that control the agricultural sector, consolidation of enterprises employed in this sector, improving the accounting of existing business facilities: cultivated areas, fertile land, forest area, etc.).

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O. V. Zotov (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) described the situation in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, where a significant part of the population is made up of national minorities and the Muslim faith prevails. Partisan actions against the authorities are occasionally noted here. A Uyghur council has also been established to maintain illegal contacts with the population outside the PRC. One of the reasons for resistance to the authorities is the Chinese demographic policy aimed at limiting the birth rate in the whole country and in particular in this area. The roots of the confrontation go back to the deep past, when Xinjiang was annexed to the Chinese Empire. A hypothetical, though unlikely at present, secession of Xinjiang from the PRC may have an unpredictable change in the situation throughout Central Asia.

V. S. Kuznetsov (IDV) drew the audience's attention to the current situation with religious beliefs in China. Officially postulated religious freedom is confirmed by government documents. At the same time, they note that religious organizations should serve the people. It is also characteristic that there is no mention of Orthodoxy in the text of these documents. Priority is given to Buddhism.

E. A. Sinetskaya (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) showed how the rise of national consciousness in the PRC is reflected in fiction. Analysis of the text of one of China's iconic novels of the late last century ("Shanghai Baobei") does not confirm the presence of nationalism among the most literate and informed part of the youth of the most cosmopolitan city of China, in contrast to the statements of Chinese political scientists and the conclusions of some Russian Sinologists. At the same time, there is a sense of violated national dignity as an element of historical memory, inherent in the representatives of the "Xinxin Renlei"generation.

A number of reports were devoted to the international relations of modern China and, in particular, relations with Russia. V. Ya. Portyakov (IDV) noted that good-neighborly relations between Russia and China meet the interests and needs of both countries. China attaches great importance to relations with Russia, as well as with Japan, India and the United States. The thesis about the "threat from the North" that used to exist in Chinese propaganda has been removed. In the political aspect, Russia is to a certain extent the guarantor of the political course chosen by modern China. Economic ties between the two countries also benefit both sides. SCO cooperation also plays a significant role here. There are also prospects for establishing a "strategic partnership". A sufficient number of prominent political figures in China support this line. There are, of course, some difficulties associated with the export of Russian oil, gas and timber to China, the uncontrolled relocation of Chinese to the Russian Far East, and the 8% deficit in our trade with China. But all these problems can be solved with the appropriate efforts of both sides.

Yu. V. Chudodeev (IB RAS) devoted his report to the prospects of Russian-Chinese strategic partnership. It is important, he noted, that the term "strategic partnership" is used in the Chinese press. By developing relations with China, he noted, Russia could raise the level of its presence in the Asia-Pacific region, which so far seems somewhat insufficient. The prospects for Russian-Chinese strategic partnership are reinforced by the fact that China's existing system of authoritarian power moves it further away from the leading Western countries. But the development of economic ties with China should be approached taking into account the existing opportunities.

In his speech during the discussion, Mikhail Titarenko (IDV) drew the audience's attention to the current unfavorable situation for the Russian side in the border areas. There is a noticeable sense of abandonment on our territory: empty and crumbling former military camps, lack of development, and bureaucratic red tape when crossing the border. On the Chinese side - modern cities, good roads, clear organization of exit and entry. The population of our border regions travels to China in large numbers and buys goods there. There is no problem of money exchange. Russian currency is accepted. You can easily buy housing in China. However, the Chinese do not call this an "invasion of the Russians", but use the current situation to their advantage. This situation is not good for our country.

The topic of V. P. Nikolaev's speech (Institute of International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences) is China's relations with Australia. They have gone from Australia not recognizing the PRC and maintaining relations with the Taiwanese government to fully recognizing the PRC and noticeably reducing ties with Tai-

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vanem. Recognition followed 35 years ago and is now celebrated by the Australian side as a significant date. China is now an honorable second in the total volume of Australian imports and exports. China buys metal ores, liquefied gas, uranium, etc. from Australia. Cultural exchange has also been established: about 30 thousand Chinese students study in Australia.

A. M. Pastukhov (Moscow), comparing the methods and means of penetration into Siberia and the Far East by Russian voivodes, explorers and colonists, found a certain similarity with those used by the Chinese in their development of the north-eastern territories.

The report of A. N. Khokhlov (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) was devoted to the development of Siberian lands adjacent to China by Russians. He told about a graduate of the school of translators in Omsk, V. V. Vaganov (1821-1851), who participated in expeditions to the Amur lands and left behind notes containing valuable material about these regions. A. F. Popov, the first teacher of the Russian language in China, also made a certain contribution to strengthening mutual understanding between the Russian and Chinese peoples at the Tong Wen Guan School in Beijing, where foreign language courses were opened in 1862.

M. A. Neglinskaya (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) introduced the audience to such a positive phenomenon in the field of cultural and educational activities as the organization of Chinese art exhibitions in our country recently. In particular, the following exhibitions were held in Moscow: "Forbidden City" (objects from the Imperial Palace in Beijing), "Chinese Porcelain", " Modern Painting in the style of "Guo Hua", two exhibitions of Chinese porcelain, ceramics and glass from private collections; two exhibitions of Chinese art were exhibited in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg imperial period, in other cities - the exhibition "Buddhist Sculpture".

A significant place in the conference was occupied by the problems of Chinese history. M. E. Kuznetsova-Fetisova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) presented new data on human sacrifice in China in the XVIII-XI centuries BC, obtained during the ongoing archaeological excavations here. Most often, prisoners captured in clashes with neighboring tribes, mainly from the Qiang tribe, were sacrificed. Victims were brought immediately after a successful battle, sometimes buried alive. This was a cult procedure, not a desire to kill as many opponents as possible. There are no records of what rituals were performed and how the victims were killed. The speaker focused on the recently uncovered burial sites in Yinxue at the same time. There are co-graves here, often teenagers. There is an opinion that these are slaves, which is doubtful, since there are burial grounds where up to a hundred people are buried. Another suggestion is subsequent burials in existing graves. In total, about 3 thousand burials were found. Their culture is also typical of other discovered Chinese tombs of the same period.

S. I. Kucera (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) described the important role played by court women in ancient China. They differed in the ranks they received, like officials. But these ranks were different from those given to men. The highest position was occupied by the Empress. Its main function was to give birth to an heir to the throne. The other women of the court took turns at her bedside. All of them belonged to the privileged category of "officials" (guan) in traditional China, and each of them had their own functions in servicing the life of the ruler's palace.

In order to discuss this report, L. S. Vasiliev (IB RAS) noted that this issue is still poorly understood and needs further research.

N. I. Chuev (Chelyabinsk) introduced the audience to interesting materials from excavations in the Gumugu region of Mongolia, where about 150 burials of the late 2nd millennium BC were discovered and partially excavated by Chinese archaeologists from Xinjiang. The remains were in very good preservation, which allowed us to determine their belonging to the Caucasian type. Ritual objects made of stone, bone and metal were also found in the burials. There are also cenotaphs - false burials with a doll instead of a corpse. No traces of settlements were found in the immediate area.

The report of S. I. Blumchen (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) was devoted to the formation of early Chinese statehood and ideology in the Longshan period (the turn of 3-2 thousand BC). Already at this time, the institute of rulers appeared in China, and the circle and tradition of its various servants and assistants were formed. There is also a certain ritual serving the authorities, designed to preserve its emerging "status quo". It was directly related to cosmological subjects,

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born out of the worldview of the ancient Chinese. Then, on the basis of this ritual, ideological principles that later became traditional arise. But the progressive development of society during the Longshan period was interrupted for some time, presumably as a result of some cosmic catastrophe.

Characteristics of specific holdings in the early period of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-140 AD) were given in the report of M. V. Korolkov (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences). At the beginning of this period, there were several large appanages in the country, the rulers of which enjoyed a fairly large independence, in particular, they had the right to collect taxes from the local population. But if necessary, the emperor could interfere in appanage affairs. From the second quarter of the second century BC, allotments were granted only to relatives of the ruling house. They were given in strategically dangerous areas for attacks from outside, and their main purpose was to protect the capital and the imperial court in case of need. After the holder himself, the chief steward of the shire (xiang) was appointed by the imperial court. The rest of the staff of local appanage officials could be selected by the appanage ruler himself. Over time, as a result of inheritance, there is a process of splitting up the appanages. In general, according to the speaker, the system of appanages in the Han period can be considered a transitional stage of the previous long period of political fragmentation of the country to a single empire.

The problem of the appanages of China, but at a later time - in the Ming period (1368-1644) was also considered in the report of A. A. Bokschanin (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences). The founder of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, in the "Covenants" ("Zu xun lu") compiled on his behalf, set out the rights and obligations of his sons who received allotments. Their main task was to maintain the calm and loyalty of the authorities and the population in the territories scattered throughout the country to the central imperial court, as well as to repel external invasions if necessary. Local authorities were forbidden to interfere in any way in the relations between the sovereign and the appanage rulers. Much attention in the "Testaments" was also paid to the rights and duties of the heir to the throne who remained in the capital of the country.

A. T. Kadyrbaev (IB RAS) traced the history of Jewish penetration into China. Their appearance here is recorded in the Han period (206 BC-220 AD). They settle mainly in the port cities of southern China. During the reign of the Mongols in China (1279-1367), their situation in the country was quite tolerable, as, indeed, did immigrants from other countries. The Mongol-Chinese authorities treated them in the same way as they treated other westerners (samu). At the same time, there were also contradictions between the Jews who settled in China and the immigrants from Christian countries and Christian missionaries who began to penetrate here at the same time.

The report sparked a discussion: how naturalized are Jews in modern China?

S. V. Dmitriev (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) described the extraordinary situation with capital cities that developed during the reign of the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China (1279-1367). In addition to Karakorum (Helin), which was located in Mongolia, Beijing (Dadu) and Kaiping (Shangdu) also had capital status. This situation arose not only in connection with the unification of Mongolia and China, but also with the ongoing internal struggle of various groups in the ruling elite in the Yuan Empire.

N. L. Mamaeva (IDV) highlighted the situation in China related to the study of the problems of the country's modern history. If earlier - after 1949-the history of Modern Times in China was represented by certain stamps adjusted to ideological attitudes, which significantly distorted the real picture, and was mainly reduced to the study of the revolutionary movement, now the situation has significantly changed for the better. Modern history is divided into two periods: 1912-1928 and 1928-1949 and is considered as a complex process that was influenced by many factors. Coverage of the anti-Japanese war does not obscure the positive role of the Kuomintang authorities. The assessment of Chiang Kai-shek's role is being discussed and somewhat revised in a positive direction. The negative phenomena that took place in 1911-1949 are also not hidden. The activities of the Chinese Communist Party are presented as a continuation of the political line adopted by Sun Yat-sen. An all-encompassing approach prevails, covering foreign and domestic policies, wars, actions and positions of the CCP, the Kuomintang, economic development, and culture. As for the Soviet-Chinese relations, there is still some bias.

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Two reports were devoted to the history of Modern Chinese diplomacy. MS Bugrova (MSU) touched upon the complexities and ambiguities associated with the history of the British mission to China via Burma from India in 1875. Information about this event is extremely unclear and contradictory. The mission was associated with military clashes between the Chinese and Burmese. The specific reasons for the conflict are not known. It is believed that this mission marked the beginning of Britain's ties with Tibet. But there are still a lot of rumors and exaggerations surrounding these events.

Z. D. Katkova (IB RAS) noted that the role of the Chinese diplomat Gu Weijun is still underestimated in the research literature. Chiang Kai-shek shifted the main difficult task of negotiations with Western powers to him. In particular, he played a major role in negotiations with France in 1937. It was about the transfer of troops and materials from Europe through Indo-China to the southern provinces of China, where there was already an armed struggle against Japanese aggression. After the defeat of France by Hitler's Germany, these ties ceased. China broke off relations with the Vichy French government. But in 1943 it was possible to restore supplies from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, and Chinese resistance to Japanese aggression somewhat strengthened.

As always, much attention was paid at the conference to the issues of ideology and the classical literary heritage of China. A. M. Kobzev (IB RAS) in his report "Good and Evil in Chinese Culture" noted the importance of adequate interpretation of terms in Chinese classical texts. This applies in particular to the terminology used to define good and evil. These categories are present in Da Xue. The all-encompassing "tao" manifests itself in goodness. Mentor, teacher was also interpreted in classical China as a "kind person". The good is opposed by the "unkind". Chinese classics argued: is man inherently good? Confucians were inclined to a positive answer, Legists - to a negative one, standing on the position that a person should be educated, introducing him to the good. In Taoism, there is also the concept of the beginning, which represents good.

V. S. Yakovlev (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) reported on the latest analysis of 58 tablets (tablets) from the Bamboo Annals, which contain some differences from the canonical text of the "Thirteen Books" known to us, and also focused on the new interpretation of individual signs in the "I Ching" ("Book of Changes"). This, according to the speaker, makes it possible to interpret the hexagrams presented in the text of this monument in a somewhat new way.

T. P. Chibisov (Voronezh) reported on new interpretations of hexagrams from the "I Ching" by the Chinese researcher Yang Xiong.

T. I. Vinogradova (BAN SPb.) gave a very informative talk about printing in China and the great interest in studying Chinese printed graphics.

E. Y. Staburova (Riga University, Latvia) presented an analysis of the content of the text "The Golden Lion", which Chinese court scholars read to the Empress. The question of how much the Chinese terminology of such Old Chinese texts corresponds to the Russian-language equivalents is also considered.

K. I. Golygina (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) proposed a new interpretation of the contents of three classical ancient Chinese treatises - "I Ching" ("Book of Changes")," Shi Ching "("Book of History") and" Shan hai Ching "("Book of Mountains and Seas"). In her opinion, these texts have one common subtext-they reflect the astronomical ideas of the ancient Chinese, in particular, giving cult content to the position of the zodiac constellations. This is also confirmed by the special hieroglyphics of the original text of these monuments.

B. L. Belyaeva (Moscow) and S. V. Sidorovich (St. Petersburg) presented a joint report on their new interpretation of the corresponding translation into Russian of the hieroglyph "bao" (jewel) in the legend (inscription) on old Chinese coins of traditional shape. Since the character " bao "also means " imperial seal", and the image of the print of this seal is found on Chinese banknotes, the speakers suggested translating the character "bao "on the coin not as" jewel", but as"(imperial) seal".

In the discussion on this issue, doubts were expressed about the validity of such a translation, since the hieroglyph "bao" on coins is part of the binomial "tun bao", i.e. "walking jewel". Therefore, the new translation of "the walking imperial seal" proposed by the speakers looks somewhat strange. In addition, the binary formula "tung bao" appeared on Chinese coins long before there were banknotes nominally certified by the imperial seal.

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N. F. Leshchenko (Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences) showed the role of Confucianism in the successful operation of new trading houses that appeared in Japan during the Tokugawa period (XVII-XIX centuries). Many of them were created by samurai. These houses had charters that were based on the use of purely Confucian norms of behavior. Confucianism here was not an abstract theorizing, but served as a guide in life and activity. The specific content of such charters may have been different. But the general Confucian ideological principles are the same. The Confucian foundations of work ethics laid down at this time are now perceived by the Japanese as their own property.

In general, the conference, as it took place in previous years, raised and discussed both topical issues of the current situation in China, and problems of the history and culture of our great eastern neighbor, which are of interest not only to professional orientalists.

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