N. Ya. Bichurin: In Search of Ethnic Identity

Abstract

Introduction. The article contains analysis of the attitude of the Sinologist, specialist in Mongolian and Manchu studies Nikita Yakovlevich Bichurin (Ven. Hyacinth) to his ethnic identity. Goals. The study aims to consider N. Bichurin’s personality in the context of his biography, family, relatives, physical appearances and character, scientific achievements and environment. The veiled rare facts of the attitude of Nikita Yakovlevich to his ethnic origin are as essential. Materials and Methods. The work focuses on archival sources and publications of leading researchers to have investigated N. Bichurin’s life and activities. The figure of Sinologist Hyacinth Bichurin in the frame of 19th-century events remains as intriguing as ever, the latter to include his ethnic backgrounds and personal attitude to his roots. The article analyses archival and published sources to outline the concept of ‘ethnic identity according to Bichurin’. The sought objectives are detected in Bichurin’s biography, family roots, physical features, facts of scientific activity, relations with friends, search for his offspring and in the attitudes of the society to his personality. The low manifestation of ethnic identity in Bichurin’s life and activities is explained by the fact that he was a free ― though ordained ― thinker, which made it impossible to emphasize ethnic identity in the 19th century. In addition, such unpleasant facts of his biography as arrest, imprisonment, and confinement in a cell would repeatedly put him under psychological pressure. Identity was understood by Bichurin as an ability to touch the height in science while being a foreigner.