Iakinf(Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin), archimandrite, famous sinologist, son of a sexton in the village of Bichurin, Kazan province, Cheboksary district, b. August 29, 1777, died May 11, 1853. He began his studies at the music singing school in Sviyazhsk; in 1785 he entered the seminary, and received his last name; here, with his abilities, he attracted the attention of the Kazan Bishop Ambrose (Podobedov), and in 1799, after completing the course, he took the post of grammar teacher in the same seminary, which had already been transformed into the Academy; in 1800 he took the monastic vows and was made a teacher of higher eloquence. In 1802, with the rank of archimandrite, he was appointed to the Ascension Monastery in Irkutsk and at the same time received the post of rector of the seminary; but, always distinguished by a too energetic, resolute character, here, with his strictness and ardor, he caused a stir among the seminarians and after that he was transferred to the Tobolsk seminary as a teacher of rhetoric with a prohibition to perform sacred rites. In 1805, a new, ninth, spiritual mission for a ten-year term was sent to China to replace the previous eighth. Its head, elected in St. Petersburg, Archimandrite Apollos, having reached Irkutsk, wished to remain in this city. Then the Holy Synod appointed Archimandrite Iakinf as the head of the mission, who gladly agreed to this appointment; he aspired to countries unknown to him in order to study them. On July 18, 1807, the mission left Irkutsk. From the very first day after crossing the Russian border, Iakinf began a diary of his journey and collected information about the country and people, on the second day after his arrival in Beijing (the mission reached Beijing on January 10, 1808) he began to study Chinese; he preferred this language to Mongolian and Manchu because the main literature for studying northeast Asia is Chinese. Archimandrite Iakinf studied Chinese theoretically and practically. Combining with an extraordinary ability to learn languages ​​and remarkable diligence, Father Iakinf so mastered the Chinese language that he later spoke it as the most educated Chinese. During his stay in China, he began to compile a dictionary, which included 12,000 hieroglyphs, made many translations into Russian from Chinese writings, historical and geographical; in addition, he became close friends with Catholic missionaries, who introduced him to the works of the Jesuits in the study of China. Translating a lot from Chinese, he also translated into Chinese from Russian, a liturgy, a short sacred history and presentation Orthodox faith. But soon Iakinf and the whole mission found themselves in a critical situation. Money for the maintenance of the mission was usually sent for 5 years; but in 1812 the government was so busy fighting Napoleon that no money was sent. Exist at the expense Chinese government, which released on a mission in the year 855 rubles. 50 kop. ser. with our money, it was not possible; had to borrow money from Chinese moneylenders for high interest; finally it came to the pawning of church plate; Under such circumstances, disorders and various undesirable phenomena naturally arose in the way of life of the members of the mission. The mission was remembered when it was to be equipped to replace it with a new one; but this equipment was delayed. The tenth mission arrived in Beijing on December 1, 1821, and only on May 15, 1822, Iakinf left Beijing with his mission, having spent there, instead of the prescribed 10 years, 14 years and 4 months. Father Iakinf came to St. Petersburg with such a rich stock of information about the past and present of China, which the members of the previous missions did not have; he was ready to share this knowledge with anyone, as evidenced by Timkovsky's excellent essay on China, who made extensive use of the erudition of Father Iakinf; in addition, Iakinf brought with him big meeting translations from Chinese, some completed, some just begun. But in St. Petersburg, he was put on trial for disrupting the mission, was found guilty, deprived of the rank of archimandrite and exiled to imprisonment in the Valaam Monastery, where he remained in oblivion for about 4 years. There he found consolation in his work: he corrected previous works, finished what he had begun. Baron P.L. Schilling-von-Kanstadt accidentally visited the Valaam Monastery and noticed a monk in one cell who was diligently writing something. The baron became interested in him and, having learned that it was Iakinf, former boss Russian mission in China, began to fuss about moving him to St. Petersburg. In 1826, Father Iakinf was assigned to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a translator of the Chinese language and placed to live in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. From this time begins his tireless literary activity, amazing not only Russian, but even foreign academia. Klaproth bluntly stated that Father Iakinf alone did as much as only a whole learned society can do. Indeed, he wrote about modern China in magazines, printed books about this country, published translations of Chinese writings, both about China itself and neighboring countries: about Mongolia, Dzungaria, Tibet. In the full sense of the word, he laid the foundation for the study of Chinese empire and its vassal lands, aroused public interest in extreme East, showed how important it is for the study Central Asia the richest Chinese literature and paved the way for the work of other Sinologists. To this we must add that the works of Iakinf are almost not outdated until now and not a single researcher of the past of the Middle and Northeast Asia cannot do without them. The mass of new information introduced into science by Fr. to some extent common to all scientific work that time. Iakinf was rightly accused for the lack of criticism, for excessive credulity to the testimony of the Chinese, for little acquaintance with European literature; his commentary is often weak, and sometimes completely wrong. Apparently, he recognized the validity of the reproaches addressed to him and, perhaps, therefore avoided polemics. Even more important are other shortcomings in the works of Father Iakinf. He, due to passion and misunderstanding about the whereabouts of some peoples, compiled the Mongolian theory of the origin nomadic peoples Central Asia and saw the Mongols where they were not at all. Father Iakinf's translations, always made in excellent Russian, in many cases represent an abbreviation of the Chinese original, sometimes difficult passages are transferred from him at random, without appropriate reservations, sometimes there are important omissions that obscure the connection of events. From all these shortcomings, the most fundamental work of Father Iakinf, one of his last works: “Collection of information about the peoples of Central Asia” is not free; this work was compiled on behalf of the Academy of Sciences, according to its own program, and required 4 years of assiduous studies. The Academy of Sciences was generally very sympathetic to the works of Fr. in 1831 he was elected a member of the Asiatic Society of Paris. In 1829-1830. Iakinf, on behalf of the Asian Department, made a trip beyond Baikal together with Baron Schilling; in 1835 he was sent to Kyakhta to open and set up a Chinese language school there. Otel Iakinf lived to a respectable old age and worked tirelessly until almost his death; he owns, in addition to many articles, the following works, published as separate books: "Answers to questions about China"; "Description of Tibet in its present state" - abbreviated translated into French Klaprotom; "Notes on Mongolia", translated into French and German languages(1828); "Description of Chzhungaria and Eastern Turkestan", "San-tzu-jin or Three Words"; "Description of Beijing" - translated into French and German; "History of the first four khans from the house of Genghis" (1829); "History of Tibet and Hukhanor" (1833); "Historical review of the Oirats or Kalmyks" (1834); "Chinese Grammar" (1835); "China, its inhabitants, morals, customs, education" (1840); "Statistical Description of the Chinese Empire" (1842); "Agriculture in China" (1844); "China in its civil and moral state" (1848); "A collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times"(1851); his works remain in the manuscript: a dictionary of the Chinese language in the Russian alphabet, a small Chinese vocabulary by subjects and translations: geographical description China in 18 volumes, the history of China, an abbreviation of the Mongolian code and several Chinese writings about Tibet. In 1830, upon returning to St. Petersburg, he submitted a petition to the Synod to be allowed to resign from his monastic rank, because he could not keep monastic vows. The Synod agreed to his request, but this decision was not approved by the Sovereign.

Autobiographical note of father Iakinf in " Scientific notes» Academy of Sciences, III, 665-672; N. Shchukin's article in Zhurn. Min. Nar. Enlightenment, part 95, 111-126; Adoratsky's articles in Pravoslav. Interlocutor, 1886, Nos. 2, 3, 5, 7 and 8; Petersburg. Vedomosti, 1853, No. 130; Nikitenko, Notes and Diary, III, 37-38; article by H. Moller in Rus. Antiquity, 1888, August, 271-304, September, 525-500; "O. Iakinf Bichurin”, Kaz., 1886; archive of the Holy Synod, files of 1802, no. 219, 1803, no. 183, 1809, no. 152 and 1831, no. 837.

Most famous travelers Russia Lubchenkova Tatyana Yurievna

NIKITA YAKOVLEVICH BICHURIN (FATHER IAKINF)

Father Iakinf (Bichurin) was born on August 29, 1777 in the village of Bichurin, Cheboksary district, Kazan province.

In 1785, at the age of eight, Nikita entered the Kazan Seminary, where, in addition to theological subjects, he studied Latin, Greek and French.

This seminary, which was important center training Orthodox figures for a vast area (from the Volga to the "Asian" East), Nikita spent about 15 years, being all this time, however, like the sons of other clergymen, on the support of his father.

In the family of the latter, besides Nikita, there were three more children: two daughters, Tatyana and Matryona, and a son, Ilya. The family was often visited by poverty, and Yakov was forced to borrow money from his colleagues and wealthy Chuvash peasants. Money went to material support Nikita in the seminary, preparing a dowry for her growing daughters and caring for her elderly father.

In 1794, Nikita Bichurin headed the parish of the village of Bichurin for several months instead of his father, while Yakov was treating his hand: when he once slept in a hut in his backyard garden, unknown people cut off four fingers on his left hand. But it didn't improve financial situation the Bichurin family.

At the time when Nikita was graduating from the Kazan seminary, the situation of his relatives became even more complicated. His mother and grandfather died, and father Yakov completely abandoned the farm out of grief. In 1801, Nikita, under the name of Hieromonk Iosaph, retired to the Cheboksary Trinity Monastery.

But, despite significant difficulties, Nikita Bichurin was extremely purposeful person, possessed good abilities And How best student seminary, enjoyed the patronage of Ambrose Podobedov, who for four years led the Kazan diocese.

Nikita Yakovlevich during the years of study in Kazan brilliantly learned Greek and latin languages as well as French and German. He learned to draw well and subsequently accompanied his historical and ethnographic studies with good illustrative material.

And finally, in Kazan, Bichurin developed an interest in the life and culture of other peoples, which, apparently, determined his future activities.

In 1799, Nikita Yakovlevich graduated from the seminary (at that time already an academy) and began teaching grammar there. In 1800 he was tonsured a monk under the name Iakinf, and then became a teacher of higher eloquence.

In 1802, Bichurin became archimandrite and a little later rector of the Irkutsk Seminary. However, Bichurin's biographers could not understand for a long time why the young, talented teacher suddenly became a monk, although he managed to make a good spiritual career.

Father Iakinf (Bichurin) is known to us primarily for his spiritual missions to China. He first heard about these missions while still studying at the theological seminary, for they included representatives of the Kazan clergy and students. Officially, these spiritual missions arose as early as 1716 to meet the religious needs of the Siberian Albazin Cossacks living in Beijing from late XVII century.

The Moscow government concluded an agreement with China, according to which the composition of the spiritual mission in Beijing changed every seven years. By various reasons the terms of stay of mission members in Beijing increased, and salaries were not always received from Russia, which significantly worsened material life monks: some missionaries simply died of hunger.

The selection of candidates for each mission was a difficult task for the Synod and the Collegium of Foreign Affairs.

Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin became the head of the 9th spiritual mission to China.

Scientific and educational material on the history and ethnography of peoples Overseas Asia, accumulated during the first century of the existence of the Russian spiritual mission in Beijing, was very scarce. Therefore, it is extremely important that Father Iakinf from the first days of his journey, on his own initiative, kept a detailed diary, which was the result of communication with the inhabitants of China and Mongolia, their way of life, economy, customs, etc. The entries in the diary date from September 1807 to January 1808, that is, the time when the mission went from Kyakhta to Beijing. Bichurin did not dare to give this material for publication, only a relatively small part of it was used in the first original work, Notes on Mongolia, which was published in St. Petersburg in 1828.

Iakinf Bichurin knew that the success of the church mission and the implementation of his (Bichurin) personal scientific interests depends on how you manage to establish contacts with local population. Bichurin, observing the life of the Albazins, came to the conclusion that almost a century missionary activity brought little benefit. By the time the 9th mission arrived, only 35 men were Orthodox among the Albazins, and most of them did not have Christian names and did not know the Russian language. Their “observance” of Orthodoxy had to be supported by material rewards and fictitious positions in the mission. Bichurin's mission could bribe the Albazians financially only at first, but then the money ran out, and only 22 Orthodox people remained in Beijing.

As long as the mission had enough money, the inclination of its participants to live in the world, and Father Iakinf to scientific activity, was clearly not found. But soon the money from St. Petersburg stopped coming due to the beginning Patriotic War 1812. The existence of missionaries in Beijing was remembered only after Congress of Vienna. And Bichurin had to decide next problem: should the Albazins be converted to Christianity or save themselves and their subordinates from starvation? Iakinf chose the second and began to sell church houses and lands and pawn church things, for which the Synod later accused him of apostasy. However, despite these drastic measures, the members of the mission continued to suffer and starve. Services were gradually stopped in the Assumption and Sretenskaya churches, the clothes of the monks were so worn out that they had to wear Chinese costumes. There was no doctor among the missionaries, and many died of various illnesses or went insane. So Iakinf Bichurin, as a missionary, was persecuted until the end of his life, but he gained fame as a scientist.

Monk-missionary N.Ya. Bichurin was the first Russian scientist who began a global study of the history of the peoples of Central and Central Asia, taking as a basis sources on Oriental languages. In particular, Bichurin was the only one of all the missionaries who learned Chinese, having neither dictionaries nor relevant literature. Iakinfu had to turn to the missionaries for help Roman Catholic Church who got him an inferior Chinese dictionary by Basil de Glemont with Latin translation. It was absolutely impossible to learn Chinese using such a manual, and Bichurin used the ancient method: communication with the local population in everyday life.

At the same time, Bichurin began to study the works and written sources on history, geography, ethnography, medicine and other areas of knowledge of the peoples of China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan, etc. In an effort to learn more about the scientific activities of Western Orientalists, Nikita Yakovlevich carefully studied their works stored in the library of the Portuguese Catholic mission in Beijing.

On July 31, 1821, Bichurin's church mission returned from Beijing to Kyakhta, and then moved to Russia.

Naturally, in St. Petersburg, Bichurin was awaited by denunciations written against him by the Irkutsk governor Treskin and Archimandrite Kamensky. Since 1822, the Synod and the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs began to prepare charges against the monk. Bichurin was in custody in the cell of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra and there was no one to support him: the former patron Ambrose Podobedov had already died, and his place was now taken by Arakcheev's favorite Seraphim. The church court sentenced N.Ya. Bichurin to imprisonment in a monastery on the island of Valaam. Initially, the Solovetsky Monastery was chosen as the place of detention, but Alexander I made an amendment.

While in prison, Iakinf continued to work: he completed the translation of two classical works of Chinese science - the historical and geographical works "Tongjian Gangmu" and "Daiqing and Tongzhi" - begun in Beijing.

Bichurin was imprisoned until 1826. All this time, prominent officials of the Asian Department E.F. Timkovsky and P.L. Schilling, friends of Bichurin, sought his release. Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Nesselrode, gave in, who, given the lack of specialist scientists for China and Central Asia, submitted to Nicholas I a petition for the reckoning of Father Iakinf to the Asian Department. By a special decree, the emperor transferred Iakinf to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, so that he, due to his excellent knowledge of the Chinese and Manchu languages, “could be useful in State Collegium Foreign Affairs". Timkovsky and Schilling also ensured that the monk Iakinf received an annual salary of 1,200 rubles and 300 rubles for books and manuals. Thus, the friends managed not only to rescue Bichurin from prison, but also to arrange him for decent job with a good salary.

The most brilliant period of Bichurin's life began - the time of his tireless scientific and social activities.

The highest creative rise of N.Ya. Bichurin dates back to 1827-1837, when he almost completely fulfilled his plans scientific research in the field of Oriental studies. Scientific works of Bichurin received appreciated not only in Russia, but also abroad. The year 1828 turned out to be very significant for Father Iakinf, when the Russian Academy of Sciences elected him a corresponding member in the category of literature and antiquities of the East. This appointment was a high recognition of the scientific value of Bichurin's works in the field of Oriental studies and made it possible to continue the publication of research results. Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin collaborated with the Academy of Sciences until the end of his life.

In 1830, Bichurin left St. Petersburg and went to new expedition in Asian part Russia. While there, he turned to K.V. Nesselrode, so that he would allow him to “appear” before the Synod and resign his monastic rank, for it prevents him from fulfilling job responsibilities. Nesselrode, respect academic merit Father Iakinf, on May 29, 1831, addressed this question to the Chief Procurator of the Synod, Prince Meshchersky. However, Bichurin's opponents did not want to give up so easily and did not remove the monastic dignity from him, although this was possible. Therefore, Nikita Yakovlevich had to remain father Iakinf until his death, and the synodal authorities, therefore, were not deprived of the right to follow his activities and, on occasion, speak maliciously on this matter.

Vigorous activity of N.Ya. Bichurin as a member of P.L. Schilling significantly enriched oriental science with new acquisitions: for example, libraries were replenished with a unique collection of Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese books.

The activities of Nikita Yakovlevich were not limited to historical, ethnographic and statistical studies. Upon arrival in Kyakhta, he began to seek the creation of a Chinese language school there for the children of Kyakhta merchants. In Russia, he had the idea of ​​creating an educational institution for Chinese translators, so necessary for strengthening Russian-Chinese trade relations.

On January 11, 1834, the Kyakhta customs authorities, interested in the successful functioning of the school, sent a petition to the Asian Department to appoint Bichurin as a teacher of Chinese, at least for a while. The department agreed, and in February 1835 Bichurin left for Kyakhta.

Nikita Yakovlevich paid much attention to educational and methodological issues of teaching Chinese. Especially for the Kyakhta School, he wrote the textbook "Chinese Grammar". Great help in pedagogical activity Father Iakinf was provided by his assistant K.G. Crimean, former student tenth spiritual mission in Beijing.

Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin is the author of quite a large number books about China and neighboring countries. His most fundamental work on this topic is "A Statistical Description of the Chinese Empire". The book is divided into two parts: the first deals with the political, historical and geographical information about China, in the second - the same information about Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan. For this work, Fr. Iakinf in 1843 received (for the third time) the Demidov Prize.

AT last years life about. Iakinf was seriously ill. He distributed all his previously written works to libraries, and assembled collections- museums. In his personal library only the manuscripts and books needed for direct work remained, for until his death he continued to write.

The fate of N.Ya. Bichurin developed in such a way that he died without relatives and friends, in a small cell of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, surrounded by monks who did not care about him at all.

Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin died at the age of 76 on May 11, 1853. Relatives and friends about. Iakinf not only did not inform about his death and did not even let them later even look at his cell, but he himself was buried modestly, placing an ordinary cross without an inscription on the grave.

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In 1808, when Hieromonk Iakinf (in the world Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin) left for Beijing as part of a Russian spiritual mission, he was 34 years old. By this time, he managed to work as a teacher at the Kazan and Irkutsk seminaries, visit the archimandrite of the Ascension Monastery, and sit in the prison of the Tobolsk Monastery for having a relationship with a girl.

Arriving in the capital of the Celestial Empire, Father Iakinf, not bothering himself with church affairs, disappeared in the bazaars and in taverns, mastering the most difficult Chinese language for a European. Two years later, he already spoke and wrote fluently in it, bought ancient Chinese books and wrote down his observations. “In such a state,” he wrote, “there is a lot of curiosity, a lot of good, instructive for Europeans, circling in a whirlwind of various political systems". Bichurin was the first among European scientists to recognize the originality of China's culture, while his predecessors derived the roots of the Chinese from Egypt and even Babylon.

Beijing Orthodox Monastery and Embassy Court.

During his 14 years in China, Bichurin acquired (and then brought to Russia on a caravan of 15 camels) a collection of Chinese and other publications and manuscripts of exceptional scientific value. In essence, he opened for domestic and world science the most valuable wealth of Chinese official historiographic literature - dynastic chronicles, the so-called "reports from the field", which were added to the chronicles of descriptions of travelers, etc.

The first Chinese-Russian handwritten dictionary.
Frame "Channel One"

Dealing with questions vocabulary and grammatical structure of the Chinese language, Bichurin compiled his own dictionary of 12,000 hieroglyphs (he rewrote the material four times), prepared and published the first in Russia comprehensive "Grammar of the Chinese language - Hanvyn-tsimyn". At the same time, he developed his own (different from that used in the works of his predecessors and successors) transcription Chinese characters Russian letters.

Absorbed by scientific pursuits, Bichurin launched his “pastoral” affairs to such an extent that the state of the mission he led turned out to be deplorable. After 14 years, Bichurin was recalled: the Synod charged him with neglect of church affairs and carnal addiction to Chinese women. “What good did you find in the narrow-eyed?”, - they were sincerely surprised in Russia. “Chinese women are so pleasantly treated,” followed the answer, “that they cannot be found all over the world, and they will never make a scandal, as is customary in civilized countries.”

As a result, after Bichurin was recalled to Russia in 1821, he was exiled to the Valaam Monastery. Escaped from exile only in 1826 at the special request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Father Iakinf was assigned to the Asiatic Department. In 1831, he made an attempt to free himself from monasticism, but was "left to live" in the cell of the St. Petersburg Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

In a word, Bichurin did not become a monk, but an excellent sinologist did, because his true passion was not Chinese women, but science. Returning to St. Petersburg, Nikita Yakovlevich set to writing. For them, he received several Demidov Prizes, recognition of Orientalists around the world; His works were ordered by the Highest to be in universities and gymnasiums. And his 16-volume history of China called "The All-Penetrating Mirror" is still one of the best works on the history of our great eastern neighbor.

If we, from the time of Peter the Great to the present, had not been carried away by the constant and indiscriminate imitation of foreign writers, then we would long ago have had our own independence in different industries enlightenment. Very wrong think those who believe that the Western Europeans have long and far outstripped us in education, therefore, we can only follow them. This thought weakens our mental capacity, and we almost make it our duty to think about something with someone else's, and not with our own mind. The same thought stops our progress in the field of education in various sciences. If we blindly repeat what a Frenchman or a German will write, then with the repetition of such backsides we will always be back and our mind will forever represent the reflection of other people's thoughts, often strange and often absurd.

Iakinf Bichurin

(in monasticism - Iakinf) (August 29, 1777, the village of Bichurino, Kazan province - May 11. 1853, St. Petersburg) - outstanding Russian scientist, orientalist, traveler, writer.

N.Ya. Bichurin (Iakinf): encyclopedic reference

Born in the family of a deacon. In 1786 (or 1787) he entered the Kazan Theological Seminary, in 1799 he graduated from the Kazan Theological Academy. In 1800-1802 he was a grammar teacher at the same academy. In 1802 he accepted monasticism and in the rank of archimandrite was appointed rector and first rector. In 1803, he was convicted of violating the monastic charter and removed from the post of rector. In the seminary he demanded discipline, which caused complaints and denunciations. By decree of the Holy Synod of January 29, 1806, he was deprived of the rank of archimandrite, dismissed from the post of rector with a ban on priestly service, and sent as a teacher of rhetoric to the Tobolsk Theological Seminary, where he worked for more than a year. In May 1807 he was appointed head of the Peking Spiritual Mission and in July 1807 he left for Peking.

After returning to his homeland in 1821, he was accused of disrupting the mission, negligence in missionary duties, was again deprived of the rank of archimandrite in 1823 and exiled as a simple monk for life to the Valaam Monastery. In 1826 he was returned to St. Petersburg to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra with the obligation to serve the Asiatic Department of the Foreign Ministry with translations. In 1828, for research on the history of Mongolia and China, he was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences. In 1830, as part of an expedition, he was sent to Transbaikalia.

From March to May 1830 he was in - before leaving for Kyakhta for scientific studies where he stayed for 18 months and began teaching Chinese. In February 1835 he was again seconded to Kyakhta as a teacher of Chinese at the school, which was officially opened. Especially for the Kyakhta School, he wrote "Chinese Grammar" and tutorial in Chinese. He returned to Petersburg in 1837.

Author of numerous scientific papers and translations on the history of China, Mongolia, and other Asian peoples. In terms of erudition, the volume of issues studied by him, and the scale of the Chinese sources used for research and translation, he was far ahead of his Western European contemporaries. He was sympathetic to the common people of China. Bichurin communicated with Pushkin, Odoevsky, Krylov, maintained an acquaintance, begun in 1830, with the Bestuzhev brothers, Torson and other Decembrists. Awarded three Demidov prizes, member of the Asiatic Society in Paris.

He died in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. AT Scientific Library Irkutsk University books with his autographs are kept.

Compositions

Baikal // Northern flowers for 1832. - St. Petersburg, 1832.

Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times. - M.; L., 1950–1953. T. 1–3.

Notes about Mongolia. - SPb., 1828 T. 1–2.

Statistical description of the Chinese empire. - SPb., 1842. - Ch. 1–2.

Agriculture in China. - St. Petersburg, 1844.

China in a civil and moral state. - SPb., 1848. Ch. 1-4.

Historical review of the Oiorats and Kalmyks from the 15th century to the present. - St. Petersburg, 1834.

Basic translations

Description of Tibet in its current state. - St. Petersburg, 1828. - Ch. 1–2.

Description of Zhangaria and Eastern Turkestan in ancient and current state. - St. Petersburg, 1833 Ch. 1–2.

Literature

1. Tikhonov D. I. Russian sinologist first half of XIX in. Iakinf Bichurin // Uchen. app. LGU. Ser. oriental sciences. - 1954. - No. 179. - Issue. 4.
2. Barthold W. History of the study of the East in Europe and Russia. 2nd ed. - L., 1925.
3. Simonovskaya L.V. Bichurin as a historian of China // Dokl. and messages ist. Faculty of Moscow State University. - 1948. - Issue. 7.
4. Pogodin M.P. Biography of Iakinf // Conversations in the Society of Russian Lovers. literature at Moscow. un-those. - 1871. - Issue. 3.
5. Schukin N. S. Iakinf Bichurin // Zhurn. Ministry of Public Education, 1857. Sept.
6. Moller N. S. Iakinf Bichurin in the distant memoirs of his granddaughter // Russian antiquity. - 1888. - Prince. 8-9.

Archimandrite Iakinf (in the world Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin; August 29 (September 9) 1777 Akulevo village, Cheboksary district, Kazan province - May 11 (23), 1853, St. Petersburg) - archimandrite of the Orthodox Russian Church; diplomat, orientalist and traveler, connoisseur of the Chinese language, one of the founders of Russian Sinology. Corresponding member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (December 17, 1828). He left a significant number of essays on China and neighboring countries. Introduced into the world scientific turnover a significant number of Chinese historical sources, including Descriptions of the Daiqing Empire.

Born on August 29, 1777 in the family of deacon Yakov Danilovich Bichurin (1749-1812) in the village of Akulevo (Chuvash. Shemper). By nationality - probably half or a quarter - Chuvash, mother - Russian, his grandfather Danil Semenov is assumed to have been from the Chuvash. Elementary education received at the School of Musical Singing in Sviyazhsk. From 1785-1799 he studied at the Kazan Seminary, where he received the surname Bichurin, and graduated with honors. After graduating from the Kazan Theological Academy in 1799, he was left as a teacher at the academy. He taught grammar and rhetoric. While teaching, he took monastic orders and for a year served as rector of the Kazan St. John's Monastery. He was an interpreter, carried out translations from Russian into Chuvash. In 1802, he was appointed archimandrite of the Ascension Monastery in Irkutsk and rector of a theological seminary, but he had conflicts with the seminarians, and he was also accused of violating the charter.

In 1807 he was appointed head of the spiritual mission in Beijing, where he remained until 1822. He perfectly mastered the Chinese language and compiled a dictionary, which he personally rewrote four times.
In Beijing, Bichurin started translating into Russian Chinese sources: "Sishu" (Tetrabook) - a set of teachings of Confucius and Confucians, a geographical essay in three volumes, a summary history of China in 17 volumes, Chinese chronology, "Description of Tibet", "Description of Zhungaria", "Description of Beijing", essays on religion, philosophy , jurisprudence, medicine, economics, agriculture, trade and others. Bichurin compiled a multi-volume Chinese-Russian dictionary, translated into Russian a Manchu-Chinese dictionary in 4 volumes. During the fight against Napoleon, the Russian government was not up to China, as a result of which the mission was short of funds and was completely devastated. For this, the head of the mission was deprived of the rank of archimandrite and exiled to the Valaam Monastery. In May 1821 he left Beijing.

In 1826, he managed to move to St. Petersburg, where he received a position as a translator from Chinese at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this was facilitated by the sinologist E.F. Timkovsky and, possibly, Schilling von Kanstadt, who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1828 Bichurin was elected a corresponding member Russian Academy sciences in the category of literature and antiquities of the East. In 1828 he worked at the St. Petersburg Public Library; elected honorary librarian. By the end of 1829, he prepared the first bibliographic work - "Register of Chinese and Manchurian books in the imperial public library". In 1830 he made an expedition to Transbaikalia, from where he brought Tibetan and Mongolian books, accessories, Buddhist temple utensils, and more.
In Kyakhta, he opened the first Chinese language school in Russia. He taught at school, created the first textbook of the Chinese language ("Chinese Grammar").
Since 1831, a member of the Asiatic Society in Paris. Repeated winner of the Demidov Prize.
In St. Petersburg, Father Iakinf receives secular recognition, among his acquaintances are A.S. Pushkin, A.A. Kraevsky, V.F. Odoevsky, K.M. Shegren, I.A. Krylov, I. I. Panaev, A. V. Nikitenko and many other writers who published in the Moscow Telegraph magazine. In Transbaikalia, he met with the Decembrists: the Bestuzhev brothers, I. I. Pushchin and others.

In 1848, he began to create his last work, "Collection of information about the peoples who lived in Central Asia in ancient times." Labor in three volumes with the application of maps was published in 1851. By that time, the sinologist's health had deteriorated, although he survived the cholera epidemic. He died in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in 1853.