Perception of the East in the epistolary heritage of travelers to China and Mongolia in the 19- the beginning of the 20century

The changing course of foreign policy development actualizes the problem of interaction between the border territories of the country within the framework of retrospective studies. Close international ties of Russia with China and Mongolia in the 19th century led to the creation of a significant epistolary heritage, using which we try to reveal the perception of the East (insiders - outsiders) reflected in the texts. Study of diary entries, memoirs, notes and other sources of personal origin have allowed us to find out two levels of understanding of this term and to reveal its transformation in the course of transcending the border, which had become a demarcation according to the cultural and civilizational characteristics, and the initial acute emotional perception of the "alien" during the 19th century get more balanced features.