Russian Émigré Ethnographers in Beijing

This article is devoted to the work of Russian researchers on the traditional culture of China which began at the Beijing Theological Mission and the Russian Embassy in Beijing and was continued by Russian émigrés who ended up in China during and after the Civil War in Russia. Ivan Serebrennikov was one who made a great contribution to the study of the ethnography of China. Especially important is his work about the Albazinians, descendants of Russian pioneers, which was based on field research and interviews. Russian diplomats who served at the Russian Embassy in Beijing — ​Ivan Korostovets, Yakov Brand, Nikolai Kolesov and others — ​did a lot of research on China. Émigrés from Russia, often associated with pedagogical activity, also engaged in ethnographic rearch in China. These included: Sergei Shirokogorov, Ivan Gapanovich, Sergei Polevoy and others. They influenced Chinese cultural scientists, introducing them to Russian research methods. Their many years of immersion in Chinese language and culture produced valuable research that is still in demand today. Unfortunately, to this day there are not many works about the traditional culture of China published in Russian. A large number of works have remained in manuscript and are kept in foreign collections, which makes them difficult for Russian researchers to access. Based on material collected from foreign archives and libraries, this article reports on previously unknown material concerning the study of Chinese ethnography by Russians.