In October 2025, at the Second World Conference on China Studies, co-hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Prof. Yan Guodong’s monograph A History of Russian Sinology: Up to 1917 (Revised Edition) was selected for the “Recommended Bibliography of the World Association for China Studies (2005–2024)”. Compiled through a vote by more than 100 scholars, the bibliography includes 14 representative works on World China Studies published between 2005 and 2024.
The first edition of A History of Russian Sinology: Up to 1917 was published by the People’s Publishing House in 2006. Following its publication, the book attracted considerable attention from the academic community and gradually became an important reference work in the field of international Sinology studies in China. In 2024, the revised edition was published by Xueyuan Press. Drawing on newly available documentary materials and research findings, Prof. Yan further examines the development, academic characteristics, and historical significance of Russian Sinology before 1917.
The book primarily adopts the methodology of academic history while drawing on approaches from history and philology. Based on extensive Chinese and Russian documentary and archival materials, it examines Russian Sinology within the broader contexts of the development of China-Russia relations, social and intellectual changes in Russia, the evolution of Russian Oriental Studies, and the development of international Sinology. Focusing on three areas, which are Sinological research, Sinological education, and the collection of Chinese classics, the book provides a systematic account of the formation and development of Russian Sinology before 1917, as well as its distinctive position in the history of world Sinology.
The selection of A History of Russian Sinology: Up to 1917 (Revised Edition) for the “Recommended Bibliography of the World Association for China Studies (2005–2024)” reflects the book’s enduring influence in the field of international Sinology studies and highlights the significant achievements of scholars at the School of Foreign Studies (SFS) at Nankai University in the study of Russian Sinology, national histories of Sinology, and China-Russia cultural exchanges.
