The History of Russian-Chinese Bilingual Dictionaries Compilation in China

The article analyzes the historical background of lexicography development in China in the sphere of bilingual dictionaries compiling, Chinese-Russian and Russian-Chinese dictionaries in particular. The relevance of the study is based on linguists’ undying interest in the theory and practice of compiling dictionaries of different types. Besides, the development of theory and practice of bilingual dictionaries compilation and the search for new methods to describe the vocabulary and grammar of different languages imply the establishment of international relations between scientific groups of different countries, which contributes to the formation of good neighborly relations. It is indicated that the development of lexicography is impossible without understanding its history; that is why the aim of this article is to highlight the main stages of formation of the lexicographic tradition in the compilation and publication of Chinese-Russian and Russian-Chinese dictionaries. The source materials for this article were Chinese-Russian and Russian-Chinese dictionaries, the information about these dictionaries was extracted from the literature collection in Chinese of the National Library of China, as well as from published works of mainly Chinese (and partially Russian) researchers on the history of bilingual dictionaries compiling in China. Through a descriptive and comparative analysis, the authors make an attempt to cover the main stages of the development of scientific research in the sphere of compiling Chinese-Russian and Russian-Chinese reference works. As a result, it is revealed that the traditions of Chinese-Russian lexicography date back over several centuries and the matters of its formation catch the attention of researchers in both China and Russia. The authors analyze the historical background of the development of bilingual dictionaries compilation starting with the first Russian-Chinese reference books, whose compiling was initiated by Russian missionaries in the 18th century due to the active development of the Celestial Empire, and up to the most significant modern Russian-Chinese dictionaries which have gained the highest recognition in the spheres of lexicography and teaching Russian in modern China. It is noted that the compiling of dictionaries is directly related to the political situation, both domestic and international. It describes the periods of lexicography efflorescence caused by the country’s local situation (for example, a large number of emigrants from Russia after the revolution in 1917 largely determined the beginning of the dictionaries compilation by Chinese linguists, as well as the Cultural Revolution resulted in stagnancy in the scientific spheres, including linguistics) or by the country’s course to develop good neighborly relations with Russia (for example, from 1978 to the present, while the theory and practice of lexicography has been actively developing, including the field of Chinese-Russian and Russian-Chinese dictionaries compiling). In conclusion, the authors stress that the practice of research groups’ cooperation in compiling dictionaries has great prospects within the framework of the reform and opening up policy.

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