Illarion Rossokhin’s scientific heritage in the context of cultural interaction between Russia and China (1730s-1760s)

The author determines the significance of the activities of Illarion Rossokhin, the first Russian Sinologist, in the cultural contacts between Russia and China, as well as in the formation of the image of China in Russia. The study is based on the analysis of Rossokhin’s written translations of Chinese classical works, most of which exist in handwritten versions. The main methodological tool was the historical-systemic method used in combination with the principle of historicism; elements of hermeneutic analysis and techniques inherent in the biographical method were also used. Rossokhin’s participation in the work of the Second Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing is studied; his activities at the Academy of Sciences as a translator from the Chinese and Manchu languages are analyzed. The period following the reform of the Academy in 1747 is considered, one of the particular results of which was increased attention to the activities of translators. Translations of oriental works made by Rossokhin on behalf of the members of the Academy are characterized. The article presents an analysis of the content of the translations made by Rossokhin, the results of which are integrated into the general historical and cultural context of Russia in the 18th century, which made it possible to identify the motives for creating these translations and their influence on the perception of China by Russians. An important part of the study was the examination of the texts translated by Rossokhin in collaboration with students of the school of Chinese and Manchu he opened. The author divides their corpus into historical works and texts of philosophical and ideological content. It was established that the translations were prepared within the framework of a state order aimed at the creation of scientific and other analytical works by academics; translations of philosophical and ideological texts were made for educational purposes. The author identified Rossokhin’s contribution to the development of cultural contacts between Russia and China, consisting in the following: (1) the texts translated by him and his students contained reliable data on the history and cultures of the peoples of China, presented for the first time in a form accessible to native Russian speakers; (2) Rossokhin was at the origins of the teaching of the Chinese and Manchu languages in Russia; (3) Rossokhin’s activities contributed to the formation in Russia of ideas about China as a state with a deep history, distinctive culture, and a developed system of government.