On March 29-31, 2010, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted the 40th conference "Society and State in China", which, according to the tradition established over many years, discussed a wide range of issues related to the history, economy, politics and culture of China.

The conference was attended by 95 participants. In addition to the staff of the Institute of Oriental Studies, scientists, teachers and students from the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Applied Oriental Studies, Eastern University, State University - Higher School of Economics, MGIMO(U) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Moscow International Business School, St. Thomas Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History, Kazan State University, Altai State Pedagogical University, South Ural State University, P. Stradyn University of Riga. Orientalists from Barnaul, Kazan, Vladivostok and Chelyabinsk, scientists from France and Latvia, and representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Moscow were also present.

Since this conference was held in the year of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the prominent Russian sinologist Rudolf Vsevolodovich Vyatkin, who for many years was the Head of the China Department of the Institute of Chinese Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, A. A. Bokschanin's opening speech and speeches by Acad. S. L. Tikhvinsky and S. I. Kucher (Institute of Chinese Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) paid a well-deserved tribute to the grateful memory of this talented and to a bright person and his contribution to Russian Sinology. A. R. Vyatkin (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report on the continuation and completion of the capital work started by R. V. Vyatkin - translation from the Old Chinese language of one of the most important sources on the early history of China - "Historical Notes" of Sima Qian. Initially started in collaboration with V. S. Taskin, an employee of the China Department, and then continued by R. V. Vyatkin, the methods developed in this process later enabled A. R. Vyatkin, A.M. Karapetyants and M. Yu.Ulyanov to complete this capital work. It should be noted that this translation is the first complete translation of the text of "Historical Notes"into a foreign language in the world of Sinology.

The participants ' attention was drawn to the study of processes in the spheres of political and general cultural life in modern China rather more than at conferences held in recent years.

A. V. Lukin (MGIMO University) MFA of the Russian Federation) focused on some problems of research and comparison of the political systems of the PRC and the Soviet Union, based on the prerequisites specific to each of the countries. The disadvantage of Sinology in the USSR was its politicization. During the ideological dispute with the Chinese leadership, there was also a tendency to show the weaknesses of the socialist system on the example of China. There was also a mythologeme about the continuity of Chinese civilization from ancient times. In fact, Chinese civilization was "intermittent": the Zhou conquest of the Shang-Yin state, the foreign Liao and Jin dynasties, the Mongol and Manchu conquests of the country - all this changed the foundations of Chinese statehood to one degree or another. The establishment of a republican China led to the abandonment of the former Confucian ideological foundations. The Cultural Revolution campaign has largely changed political practice. In foreign policy, we can trace the revival of some aspects of the imperial approach. Today's China is almost gone

Marxism, but its policy should not be characterized as "imperial" either. In it, you can find both traditional, and introduced in a revolutionary way, and new features that have appeared. China is evolving and changing. In general, the Chinese civilization is no more unique than other civilizational areas on the globe.

A. A. Pashovkin (St. Petersburg State University) analyzed the CPC documents of the late XX - early XXI centuries from the point of view of their reflection on issues of national and cultural significance. The analysis shows that the national component, i.e. issues of nation-building, occupy a leading place here. This is the main thing in the chosen political course. At the same time, national traditions are supposed to be combined with a socialist orientation. This combination defines the specifics of Chinese socialism. As for the course of cultural construction, it offers a combination of specific Chinese forms and modern global culture.

Yu. V. Chudodeev (Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences) drew the audience's attention to the question: how much has the current global economic crisis affected China? The crisis has undoubtedly affected China as well, but to a lesser extent than other countries. It was reflected here in a weakening of the dynamics of economic growth and a reduction in exports. The management struggled with the crisis phenomena by improving macro-regulation, maintaining employment of the working-age population, and expanding domestic demand. The developed anti-crisis program also provided for the development of capital construction and raising incomes of the population, introducing innovations in production, including with the help of foreign specialists. Investments in the foreign economy are increasing. If we compare the economic strength of China with the situation in Russia, the figures do not speak in our favor. China has an opportunity to overcome the crisis phenomena earlier than other countries. Further prospects for its development may lead to renewal and changes in the global situation as a whole.

The report of P. M. Mozias (HSE) was also devoted to the impact of the global economic crisis on China. China, he noted, has developed a different economic growth model from other countries. It experienced deflation in the 1960s, ending in the 1980s. The share of accumulation was 40% of resources, and the saving rate was 50%. Underdevelopment affected social security and education, especially in rural areas. A high saving rate indicates a low consumption rate; financial and monetary policy is too dependent on the external market. Economic growth was accompanied by high inflation. Hence the government's tight monetary policy. In 2008, the rigidity eases, but there is a decrease in exports by about 6.5%, and economic growth slows down. By mid-2009, the economy is coming to life again and its development is accelerating. But GDP growth slowed down as a result of the possible threat of a new decline in production and the emergence of so-called soap bubbles (short-lived and unsecured enterprises), the problem of "excess capacity" in the economy arose. Further growth in China of factors that to some extent exacerbate economic imbalances may adversely affect the global economy as a whole.

L. S. Vasiliev (ISAA MSU) in the report " Why is China the way it is?" He noted that despite the declared commitment to the communist idea, the country is actually developing along the liberal-democratic path. Although the influence of the top officials - the Presidents of the People's Republic of China - remains very strong, the overall socio-political situation in the country remains in a fairly favorable position. The reason for this situation is the continuity of the Chinese system of government with those centuries - old traditions, when various levels of the administrative ladder were occupied by highly educated and trained people-the Shenshi class. This allows modern Chinese managers of various levels of the administrative apparatus to act rationally, adapt directives coming from above to specific local conditions.

A.V. Yershov's report (IDV RAS) was devoted to the reform activities of the Chinese government, in particular, the modernization of the state apparatus. Noting that the Government has taken several steps in this direction, the speaker believes that the first ones (in 1954, 1958-1959, 1960-1965) were not systematic in nature. Further changes have taken place since the late 1970s.An important role was played by the transformation of revkoms into local People's governments of various degrees and the transformation of the State Council in 1982, as well as a significant reduction in the number of ministries, various committees and the staff of employees. At the end of the same year, local self-government bodies were also reformed. However, in 1889, administrative reforms were suspended. However, these

реформы заложили основы для дальнейших преобразований КНР, совершенствовавших политическую и экономическую ситуацию в стране.

V. S. Kuznetsov (IDV) highlighted such a little-known aspect of the policy of the Chinese authorities in Taiwan as relations with Latin American countries. These ties are strongly supported by the Taiwanese authorities and cover both the political sphere - bilateral meetings of representatives of countries at the highest level, mutual visits of high-ranking officials, regular meetings of parliamentarians, media contacts, and the economic sphere - mutually beneficial trade relations, Taiwan's participation in the Central American Economic Integration Bank, and financial support by the Taiwanese government for some projects of Latin American countries in education, healthcare, and tourism. In turn, some Latin American countries support Taiwan in its quest for UN membership.

F. V. Ovchinnikov (ISAA) drew the audience's attention to the imbalance in the standard of living of the population in various regions of the PRC. In particular, it is highest in the central regions of the country - in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze. For comparison with the situation in China, the example of India, where there is a similar problem, was used in this regard.

The reports of O. V. Zotov (IB RAS), V. S. Boyko (Barnaul) and A. S. Kadyrbaev (IB RAS) addressed the problem of national minorities in China.

According to O. V. Zotov, in Xinjiang, which is vast in territory and populated mainly by non-Chinese peoples, an underground war against the central authorities has been going on for a long time. This is due to the fact that the annexation of Xinjiang to China was a kind of historical accident. The Chinese authorities managed to retain Xinjiang largely thanks to the support of the USSR, when both countries had friendly relations and the Soviet side was interested in the stability of the situation in Central and Central Asia. In turn, Western countries, whose special services were developing plans for the separation of Xinjiang from the PRC, suspended plans to help Xinjiang secede due to the changing international situation - the breakdown of friendly relations between the PRC and the USSR, as well as the rapidly growing role of China in the global scale.

V. S. Boyko's report gave a broad overview of the problems of the current situation in Xinjiang in the domestic and foreign scientific literature, where very ambiguous opinions are expressed about the severity of the situation in Xinjiang and the prospects for its development.

Kadyrbayev noted in his speech that Tajiks living in China are considered somewhat separately from other non-Chinese nationalities. Currently, there are approximately 50 thousand Tajiks living in the Eastern Pamir region. They are little influenced by Chinese culture and retain their identity. There are no violations of the Tajik population by the Chinese and the Chinese authorities. In general, the importance and role of national minorities in China is relatively high.

E. Y. Staburova (Riga P. Stradyn University, Latvia) spoke about different approaches of the EU countries to the PRC. Here, in her opinion, we can distinguish four positions. Some continue to tell the Chinese authorities how to behave in the international arena and in domestic politics. Others (for example, Great Britain) develop trade and economic ties with China, practically without making any claims to it. Still others support the actions of the Chinese government for the sake of their mercantile interests. The fourth group's relations with China are primarily guided by their own interests. There are also fifths (for example, Austria, Luxembourg, and the Baltic states) that are alternately attached to one or another of the above positions. There is also a tendency of some European politicians to direct the course of the Chinese authorities towards the same goals that prevail in the EU countries. There are also fears of a new rapprochement between "totalitarian" countries, such as China and Russia. The marked difference in the approaches of European countries to China is of concern to the European Union, which seeks to unify the European approach to China as much as possible.

As at all previous similar conferences, significant attention was paid to various aspects of China's historical development.

S. I. Kucera dwelled on such a phenomenon characteristic of the early history of China as reports of migrations of individual ancient Chinese peoples repeatedly mentioned in sources.

tribes from one place of residence to another. This is not related to any nomadic traditions, which did not exist in ancient Chinese society. Migrations were carried out both on foot and by water-along rivers and lakes, which required a large expenditure of effort, since carts at that time were very imperfect and few in number. The most ancient Chinese tribes did not yet know horse riding. This phenomenon stopped only with the formation of the early state of Shang-Yin.

The topic of M. E. Kuznetsova-Fetisova's speech (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) is the genesis and purpose of jade tongs, or scepters with inscriptions, found during the excavations of the Yinxu hillfort, a capital settlement of the Shang-Yin period (1766-1122 BC). The purpose of these objects remains not entirely clear, but it is certain that they had ritual character. There are also similar items with inscriptions of a dedicatory nature.

V. V. Baksheev (ISAA) introduced the audience to the history of the establishment of the ruling and dominant elite in the ancient Han Empire. It was formed, according to the speaker, even during the military operations that led to the rise of the Han Dynasty. They were military leaders who commanded an army that fought on the side of the founder of the dynasty. They were mainly from the central region of the country - Guanzhong. Initially, those who surrounded the founder of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, came from the ancient Chinese kingdom of Chu, gradually lost their advantage.

D. A. Khudyakov (ISAA) noted that Russian Sinology has not paid enough attention to the history of non-Chinese peoples ' states that existed on the territory of modern China. To a lesser extent, this applies to the Tanguts, which at one time played a certain role in the history of China and the Far Eastern region as a whole. Such prominent Russian scientists as N. A. Nevsky and E. I. Kychanov made their contribution to Tangut studies. Most of the Tangut hieroglyphs have been reconstructed. This branch of knowledge about the Far Eastern peoples should be developed, and not rely on Chinese scientists who interpret the history of the Tanguts from their own, special, point of view.

A. A. Bokshchanin (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) made a report on women who did not often, but still occupied the position of full-fledged rulers of the Chinese empire, despite the political tradition that did not provide for or encourage such phenomena. Nevertheless, even in Chinese mythology, there is a legend about the creator of the first foundations of Chinese statehood - Nu-gua (or Nu-wa). In the Han era (at the beginning of the second century BC), the real power in the country fell into the hands of Empress Lu. Empress Jia-hou ruled the country at the end of the third century, Wu Zetian-at the end of the seventh century, Wei-hou-at the beginning of the eighth century, Gao-taihou-at the end of the eleventh century, Xie-taihou-at the end of the thirteenth century, Cixi-seized real power at the end of the nineteenth century and actually ruled the Chinese Empire almost to its collapse.

V. TS Golovachev (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) drew the audience's attention to such a custom that existed in China at the beginning of the Middle Ages as matrisuicide (killing the mother of the heir to the throne). This practice was observed, for example, in the Kingdom of Wei in the late fourth and early sixth centuries, but it was introduced here by the Xianbians, the founders and ruling elite of this kingdom. This practice is connected with the customs that accompanied the transfer of the throne, which are not entirely clear, but are practiced among China's northern neighbors.

Yu. I. Drobyshev (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) devoted his speech to the politics of the Khitan people in the X-XII centuries. China's united northwestern neighbors, the Khitan, conquered the empire; but then gradually acquired the Chinese mentality, adopted customs and customs. The Khitan rulers, having gained a foothold in China, continued to wage wars with other steppe tribes and peoples in Central Asia, but they could not subdue this region. In the steppe zone, the power of the Mongols gradually grew.

P. L. Blitzstein (France) considered the role of Chinese officialdom in the Chinese political tradition. The official had a certain charisma. But more important was the "quality of personality", which was manifested in the public behavior of a particular official. This aspect was noted and investigated by Max Weber. In his opinion, the power exercised by the official apparatus was based on two things: law and tradition. There was also a purely rational idea of the exercise of power. An important role was played by the ritual, which was present in the ritual, which is a visible manifestation of power.

The report of P. V. Khalturina (MSU) was devoted to identifying the main directions and methods of foreign policy of the largest and most significant state in the period of political instability.

It was shown that various state formations in China in ancient times conducted their own policy in relations with other state formations. Similar topics were discussed in the report of A. O. Mikhailovskaya (ISAA) on the example of the Nanzhao state, which existed in the VII-XIII centuries.

A number of reports were devoted to the problems of China in Modern times.

Dmitry Kiselyov (Moscow) informed the audience about the situation that was developing in connection with the strengthening of Russian influence in Manchuria and the resistance of the local population to this influence, in particular under the leadership of General Ludantzyr.MO) described the general trends of Chinese domestic and foreign policy at the end of the 19th century, in particular the multilateral political activities of Li Hongzhang.

A. N. Khokhlov (Institute of Chinese Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences) noted the great contribution made to Russian Sinology by Hierodeacon Hilarion, who was in China in the middle of the XIX century. He translated from Chinese the information about Russia collected in the essay "Pindin locha Fangliue "("Brief information on the pacification of the Russians"), and also helped in every possible way to secure the Ussuri region for Russia.

D. E. Martynov (Kazan State University) spoke about the activities of another Russian sinologist, N. I. Sommer, who taught Chinese at Kazan University in the mid-19th century. He also regularly informed Chinese scientists about the state of Chinese studies in Russia. His manuscript heritage in the field of Chinese studies has not yet been published.

Z. D. Katkova (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) presented to the audience the history of the life and work of the Chinese diplomat Shi Zhaoji (1877-1958). Beginning his political career as an interpreter for the student mission at the Chinese mission in Washington in 1893, he became an attache at the Chinese mission in the United States in 1897. Then he repeatedly went on various assignments to foreign countries, including Russia. He worked in the Chinese Foreign Ministry, participated in the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the Washington Conference in 1921-1922, worked in the Committee on Pacific and Far Eastern Issues and other international organizations. In 1923, he was briefly the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and from 1929-the diplomatic representative of China in the United States, since 1931 he was appointed to the Council of the League of Nations. In 1941, Shea lived in the United States, working at the suggestion of Fr. Roosevelt's role in various international organizations. He died in Washington.

A. N. Pastukhov (Moscow) - Non-Shizhen general, who participated in the turbulent events of Chinese history in the first half of the 20th century A. L. Verchenko (IDV) noted in her report that the Xinhai Revolution in China in 1911 helped to overcome many negative aspects in the socio-political life of the country, which were inherited "by the Chinese people". legacy" to republican China. A.D. Sizova (IDV) focused on the life and activities of the Russian diaspora in Mongolia, which was controlled by the Chinese authorities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the versatile assistance provided by the Russian Consulate in Ugra. This was manifested, in particular, in the field of general improvement, medical care, education, and maintenance of religious practice. Similar problems were also raised in the report of O. I. Krutoy (IEA RAS), which examined various aspects of the life of Russians in the so-called Amur California.

A number of reports were devoted to various aspects of Chinese ideology and culture.

S. V. Dmitriev (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) analyzed the author's table of contents placed in the 130th chapter of Sima Qian's "Historical Notes", annotated and written in rhythmized prose. This is undoubtedly a text written by Sima Qian himself, which does not contain any traces of any further alterations. It contains data that was not included in the main text during subsequent revisions and revisions of the text. There is reason to believe that the annotations were not compiled immediately, but separately, at different times for different chapters. Their value, among other things, lies in the fact that annotations to those chapters that were later not included in the "Historical Notes"were preserved. In conclusion, the speaker noted the importance of further research of this monument of Chinese history and culture.

V. E. Yeremeyev (RSUH) showed that in ancient Chinese texts one can find the authors 'desire to compare and relate individual historical events and phenomena, which can be traced in the text of the appendix to the classical treatise" I Ching "("Book of Changes"). The incentive-response binomial contained here is implemented by something like tele-

environmental impact over long distances. To a certain extent, this phenomenon is associated with the ideas of the interaction of the forces of yin and yang (opposite), which was noted by European philosophers, in particular Jung. It is also possible that such ideas among the ancient Chinese were born on the basis of the divination procedure that existed here and indirectly from the idea of the essence of time. The report of E. A. Kiya (St. Petersburg State University) was devoted to the peculiarities of translating Buddhist texts into Chinese. The translator needed not only knowledge of Buddhist postulates and culture, but also the peculiarities of Chinese perception and interpretation of Buddhism, which was demonstrated to the audience by identifying the goals of writing and the structure of the treatise "Trimshika" ("A Treatise in Thirty Verses on Consciousness alone").

In the report of E. A. Sinetskaya (Institute of Internal Affairs of the Russian Academy of Sciences), one significant phenomenon common among the modern Shanghai youth of the "new-new generation" was noted, namely, suicide. Since the May 4 Movement, this phenomenon in China has been viewed not so much as a reaction to life's difficulties and disorder, not as a ritual act or following customs, and not even just as a psychological phenomenon, but as a social and moral phenomenon, which since 1919 has been associated with an increase in individual self-awareness during a period of social and political changes in country.

S. Y. Ryzhenkov (St. Petersburg State University) introduced the audience to the old Chinese treatise "Zhao Lun", in which a modern researcher can trace the denial of the existence of causal relationships in the world around us, as well as the idea of" eternal stay " of certain phenomena in it. G. S. Grebnev (ISAA) focused on the history of the text's creation the treatise "Yi Zhou lu" - "Apocryphal records of the Zhou period". The preserved records of the early Zhou period and their significance as a valuable historical source were the subject of research and the topic of the report of D. A. Komarov (ISAA). The report of S. Y. Rykov (ISAA) focused on ancient Chinese Moism, a philosophical school of the famous ancient Chinese thinker Mo Tzu, which has not been sufficiently studied by modern researchers. The biography of its founder is also not defined. This school is largely paradoxical and quite original. The followers of Mo Tzu have their own logic, which differs in many ways from both Confucian and European, which A. I. Kobzev calls "protology". Moism created its own doctrine of cognition, which involves not only mental perception. And here great importance was attached to the definition - the" name " of the knowable, which could be born in a dispute, i.e., as the fruit of collective reason.

The report sparked an exchange of views on what is "logic" in general and what are the features of Chinese logic. V. I. Yakovlev (IB RAS), in particular, gave an additional interpretation of the sixty-four hexagrams (a combination of continuous and discontinuous features that have a certain symbolic meaning). In particular, he believes that all of them can be divided by qualitative definition into four groups.

З. D. Terekhov (St. Petersburg)GU, Hebrew Academy of Sciences) reported on his discovery of ancient and medieval Chinese sources that report the appearance of a yellow dragon in various places, which was interpreted differently in various texts. Sometimes it was just reports of such facts, sometimes it was regarded as a happy omen, and sometimes, although less often , as an omen of a change of ruler or some danger. In the report of M. Ya. Tseluyko (ISAA), using specific examples from the text of the philosophical treatise of Han Fei-tzu, it was shown how much information on specific history, in particular the history of the Qin period, can be drawn from classical, philosophically oriented, ancient Chinese texts. Another evidence of this is the treatise " The Canon of Great Tranquility "("Tai Ping Ching"), which reflected, as shown in the report of A. Y. Ionov (ISAA), the idea of ancient Chinese thinkers about exemplary state management.

A. L. Ryabinin (Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences) analyzed the content of the medieval Vietnamese chronicle "Dai Nam Thik Luk", in which, along with describing mythical foreign lands, such as the state of Water and Fire, one can find quite real data concerning China neighboring Vietnam, reflecting the ideas of ancient and medieval Vietnamese about the northern neighbor.

A number of reports were devoted to Chinese literature. K. E. Ayrapetova (ISAA) spoke about the work of the writer Wang Meng, who published in the form of a diary in 2006 his impressions of trips to the USSR and then to Russia. There are some inaccuracies and naivety in them, but in general, his perception of Russia is very emotional. The description is given in the style of a peculiar essay. M. A. Gruzdeva (ISAA) noted that at present the short story genre is widely used in Chinese literature. It can be traced as a commitment to tradition,

so is innovation. This combination, in particular, can be seen in the example of Mo Yan's short story "Striking Ray", where there is a lot of mysticism and fantasy. M. Semenyuk (ISAA) in her speech showed how real reality turns into artistic reality on the example of the analysis of Wang Anyi's novel "Song of Endless Longing". L. A. Ivlev (St. Petersburg State University He described the work of the writer Xiao Hong (1911-1942), emphasizing that it was based on the general political circumstances of the time in which her childhood and youth took place. T. I. Vinogradova (BAN, St. Petersburg) presented an overview of the so-called illustrated literature (xiuxiang xiaosho), which originates from " picture books"- a kind of genre that existed in traditional China.

The report of Y. A. Kuznetsova (ISAA) was devoted to the reform of the literary language in China - the transition from the old Chinese style of Wenyan to modern Baihua in the XX century. On the example of the work of famous writers Hu Shi and Lu Xin. K. V. Makarova (St. Petersburg State University) spoke about a peculiar phenomenon in the life of one of the national minorities of China-the Yao people . the secret script used by local women, P. A. Tugarinov (Spb.GU, IVR RAS) - about the study of the cultural traditions of the Yizu people living in the Liangshan region.

Relatively few topics related to the visual arts of China were covered at this conference. A. I. Kobzev (IB RAS) made a report on such a widespread genre in the historical past of China as erotic pictures. A pioneer of research in this area was Wang Gulik, who published a collection of Chinese erotic pictures in three volumes, but in a very limited edition - only 50 copies. There are practically no scientific works devoted to Chinese eroticism yet. The origins of these drawings go back to the Tang period (VII-X centuries). Erotic drawings also played the role of amulets, in particular in relation to the prevention of fires. Chinese erotic images have also influenced foreign art of this kind. It still exists today in considerable volumes, but it is distributed illegally.

The influence of foreign art on Chinese art was discussed in the report of M. A. Neglinskaya (IB RAS). In her opinion, the Chinese art school of Guo Hua focused on the French, or rather, on the Parisian painting practice. Russian realism, then European impressionism, and later abstractionism had a well - known influence on Chinese visual art. In China, there was even a discussion about abstract art. Western, primarily Euro-American influence on Chinese fine art can be traced to the present day. This is reflected even in the traditional national style of painting - Guo Hua. Whether this phenomenon is temporary or not, the future will show.

In conclusion, we can say that this conference once again confirmed the relentless interest in domestic scientific circles in neighboring China and the peculiarities of its development, as well as in Chinese ideology and culture. There is also a natural tendency for students from Moscow and St. Petersburg to actively participate in the forum.

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