EACS-2016. Book of Abstracts

Section 13 21st Biennial Conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies 153 A series of visits of the Qing diplomats to Russia in the late 19th — early 20th centuries (Bin Chun in 1866; Burlingame, Zhi Gang, and Sun Jiagu in 1870; Li Hongzhang in 1896; Duan Fang and Dai Hongci in 1906; Prince Zaixun and Prince Zaitao in 1910) demonstrate the gradual change of Chinese perceptions on the Russian realities and diplomatic etiquette. In this context, the study and comparative analysis of Russian and Chinese sources of the period is of greatest importance. Russian historical archives possess a large number of documents on the organization of the reception of Chinese delegations and negotiations with them. In recent decades in China, a lot of historical documents on the subject have been published, and now they can be actively involved in scholarly use. Publication of the Qing diplomats’ diaries is especially important, as they can reflect their attitudes to establishing contacts with Russian representatives as well as their perception of the realities of the Russian life. Acomparative analysis of the Russian and Chinese sources from that period of time gives us an extremely good opportunity to launch a thorough inquiry into the history of the establishment of regular contacts between China and Russia from two fundamentally different points of view, which is important both for the studies on the history of Russian-Chinese relations, and for the study of mentalities of the two nations. Shapiro Roman (Russian State University for the Humanities) The Chinese Princess in theWest: from Persian Fairy-tales to Puccini’s Opera Key words: China, Europe, fairy-tale, opera, Turandot In the 18th century Europe China was often used as an exotic background for comedy. Chinese costumes were popular already at the French and Italian masquerades, operas and home performances of the 17th century. Lesage (libretto) and d’Ornevale (music) based their comic opera The Chinese Princess (1725) on a story from the Persian fairy-tale collection Thousand and One Days, published in France by Petis Delacroix. The specific plot was taken from Nizami’s epic The Seven Beauties. Riddles offered by a bride to a bridegroom and the execution of those who fail the test are typical motives of the world folklore. The opera used only the central part of Petis’ story: prince Nureddin’s arrival at the Chinese Emperor’s court, guessing princess Diamantine’s riddles and marrying her. Carlo Gozzi took the plot of his fiaba (fairytale for stage) Princess Turandot (1761) either from Lesage’s opera or from Petis’ collection. Gozzi’s plot and characters are more complicated, and the stress is put on moral instruction rather than on entertainment. Unlike the previous plays, which showed the picturesque Orient with gardens in bloom, the audience of Turandot could see the sombre city walls of Beijing with the heads of the executed and hear the beating of the drums and the cries of women from the dungeons of the castle. The central point of the play is the psychological duel of two lovers who are predestined to be together. Schiller’s German translation (1801) deletes some comic scenes and makes the whole play into a poetic psychological tragedy, combining romantic pathos and classical style. Puccini’s opera (1926) adds some authenticity to the story, as he uses up to eight genuine Chinese melodies for his themes. Curiously, the opera was banned in the PRC before the late 1990s because it ‘portrayed China unfavourably’. However an opulent performance was staged by Zhang Yimou and Zubin Mehta at the Forbidden City in 1998. Sizova Alexandra (National Research University Higher School of Economics) The Role of the Russian Consulates in the Political Processes in Mongolia and Russian-Chinese-Mongolian Political Relations of the Early 20th Century Key words: China, Mongol problem, Russian-Chinese-Mongolian relations, diplomacy, consulate The diplomatic and political role of the Russian consulates in China and Mongolia as well as in Russia’s relations with these countries in the 19th and the early 20th centuries, their significance for the protection of Russia’s interests and development of the regional international system has been a relatively new topic for historiography. In the case of Mongolia (officially a part of China from 1691 to 1946), the regional features of consular service, the consulates’ importance for Russian-Mongolian-Chinese contacts and revival of Mongolian statehood are of particular historical interest.