V. M. Alekseev: hieromonk Alexiy (Vinogradov) versus Vladimir Solovyov

The founder of the Russian sinological school V. M. Alekseev (1881-1951) believed that knowledge of the Chinese language is necessary for everyone writing about China. However, only language proficiency is not enough for high-quality Sinological literature. V. M. Alekseev contrasts the book of hieromonk Alexiy (Vinogradov) (1845-1919/1920) “The Chinese Library and scientific works of members of Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Beijing” (St. Petersburg, 1889) and the article by the philosopher Vladimir Solovyov “China and Europe”, giving preference to the latter. The focus of the article is on the analysis of the book by hieromonk Vinogradov, in order to understand the essence of the claims against it from an outstanding domestic sinologist. The article is the text of a report read at the VII Scholarly Conference “Orthodoxy in the Far East”, held on November 17-18, 2022 at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy and the St. Petersburg State University.