An Overview of Sinological Studies in St. Petersburg, Russia

Features 363 It seems, then, that Wang Yi is recommending that scholars develop a sort of "third eye" when looking at China, and that Wang Shan has effectively managed to do so. Although Wang Shan may have successfully identified many ofthe complications inherent in China's rapid economic growth and development, he provides little in the way of substantive, practical solutions. Last November, Time magazine reported that his high-level supporters have encouraged him to write another volume which does so, tentatively titled Viewing China Through a Fourth Eye. Currently in progress, one can only hope that Wang uses his analytical talents to develop thoughtful arguments that go beyond Maoist nostalgia and authoritarian rhetoric. John Dye University ofHawai'i An Overview ofSinological Studies in St. Petersburg, Russia For two hundred years, from 1712 until 1918, St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia. It served as the political, administrative, cultural, and scientific center of the country. The academic school of Oriental studies was developed here as well. At present there are four main centers that specialize in Oriental studies: St. Petersburg University, the Institute of Oriental Studies, the Peter the Great Museum ofEthnography, and the Oriental Department ofthe Hermitage Museum. Almost all ofthe scholars at these centers are the graduates ofSt. Petersburg University, who work in the Russian academic tradition of Oriental studies, focusing primarily on the ancient and medieval East. Their research is based on the collections of manuscripts and artifacts which are housed in St. Petersburg depositories. Due to the changing economic and political situation in Russia over the last several years, Oriental studies has suffered greatly. Scholars have had very few opportunities to publish their workbecause financial difficulties have forced many publishing houses to stop operating. In 1992, the St. Petersburg Centre for Oriental Studies, an independent organization with the aim ofsupporting and developing Oriental studies in Russia, was founded. It publishes the St. PetersburgJournal© 1995 by University 0foriental Studies, a forum for St. Petersburg Oriental scholars to present their of awai ? ressresearch. Sixvolumes ofthisjournalhave been published to date. The purpose ofthis article is to provide an overview ofthe main aspects of Oriental studies presented in the first four volumes ofthis journal, particularly 364 China Review International: Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1995 those works which bear relevance to Sinology. Judging from the content ofthe first four volumes, the bulk of material deals with Far Eastern studies; works on the Middle East are not so numerous. A great deal of attention is paid to the history of the Oriental collections and the history of science itself. The journals contain interesting and thorough research on Chinese historiography , literature, and religion. In the field ofhistoriography, i.e. the study of historical and juridical texts, an article by one ofSt. Petersburg's leading historians particularly deserves mention: Alexander Martynov's "The Conception of History in Early and Han Dynasty China" (vol. 3, pp. 291-309). The issues raised in this review are closely related to those raised by Juri Kroll in "Was the Early Chinese Empire a Despotic State?" (vol. 4, pp. 359-399), in which the author analyzes certain cultural aspects and argues on a legal basis in favor of the official criticism of the early Chinese monarchs. For many years Viacheslav Rybakov has been conducting his research on Tang Dynasty legislation, and two ofhis articles contain translations into Russian ofcertain paragraphs from the Tang Iu shu yi: "Tang Dynasty Law and Crimes Against Property" (vol. 1, pp. 185-223), and "The Hierarchy of Illicit Sexual Intercourse under Tang Law" (vol. 2, pp. 20-52). Rybakov's work on Song Dynasty historiography is presented in his article "Ou-yang Xu's Conception ofthe Historical Process" (vol. 3, pp. 310-335), in which it is argued that a ruler should take full personal responsibility for those events concurrent with his reign. The characteristics ofthe ancient Chinese text Springs and Autumns of Yan Zi (3rd. century b.c.) are discussed in Leonid Storchevoj's article "Yan-zi chun qiu: An Introduction to Text Research" (vol. 1, pp. 239-300). The treatise ofWu Jin (670-749) which deals with the relationship between the ruler and governing monarchy is presented in Irina Popova's...