Evolution of imaging China in mentality of the Transbaikal borderland population

The paper determines that a system of images, assessments, values and ideals of the particular region population constitutes regional mentality with the specific characteristics conditioned by a set of factors, such as spatial and territorial status of the region (borderland), nature of the economic contacts, political cooperation, migration, and interaction of cultures. It identifies features of the China images mythologization in different historical periods of the Russian-Chinese relations development. The paper analyzes historical context of the China images evolution in the Transbaikal population mentality from the era of ancient civilizations to the present day. It establishes that China images are defined as contradictory and ambiguous. They are characterized by the positive and negative connotations. Dominance of the images emotional coloring in positive or negative directions is determined by historical conditions, development of the political relations and population involvement in the economic and cultural exchange between the countries. The paper reveals that the distinctive feature of modern myth-making about China and the Chinese in the Transbaikal borderland lies in transformation of the traditional image of “aliens” into the image of the “others”, which contributes to gradual overcoming the cultural differences and strengthening interaction and mutual influence between the countries. Attention is focused on the fact that Russians continue to perceive China through the prism of their own national values, within which the image of China is consistently associated with the utilitarian practices and concerns exclusively the everyday life circumstances without affecting the basic civic identity.

EDN CNKOSH

References
[1] Gubin A.V. Rol prigranichnogo sotrudnichestva v rossiysko-kitayskom strategicheskom partnerstve [Trans-border cooperation within Russia-China strategic partnership]. Oykumena. Regionovedcheskie issledovaniya — Ojkumena. Regional researches, 2022, no. 1, pp. 134–147.
[2] Turkina V.G., Turkin K.E., Verbina O.V. K voprosu o sovremennykh mifologemakh massovogo soznaniya [On the contemporary myths of mass consciousness]. In: Ekspertnoe mneniem [Expert opinion]. In 2 parts. Part 1. Penza, Nauka i Prosveshchenie Publ., 2017, pp. 135–138.
[3] Gurevich A.Ya. Mentalnost kak plast sotsialnoy tselostnosti (otvet opponentam) [Mentality as a layer of social integrity (answer to opponents)]. In: Spory o glavnom: diskussii o nastoyashchem i budushchem istoricheskoy nauki vokrug frantsuzskoy shkoly “Annalov” [Disputes about the main thing: discussions about the present and future of historical science around the French school of Annals]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1993, pp. 49–50.
[4] Humboldt W. Yazyk i filosofiya kultury [Language and philosophy of culture]. Moscow, Progress Publ., 1985, 448 p.
[5] Benedict R. Patterns of Culture. Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1934, pp. 36–37.
[6] Lefebvre H. La production de l’espace: monograph. Paris, Anthropos, 1974, 485 p.
[7] Grondona M., Chkonia I., Inglehart R., Marini M., Harrison L. Typology of progress-prone and progress-resistant culture. In: The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save It from Itself. New York, Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 37–38.
[8] Larin V.L., Larina L.L. Kitay v obshchestvennom mnenii zhiteley Tikhookeanskoy Rossii (po itogam oprosa 2017 g.) [Public opinion of the inhabitants of Pacific Russia toward China (according to Survey 2017). Rossiya i ATR — Russia and the Pacific, 2018, no. 2 (100), pp. 5–33.
[9] Lukin A.V. Medved nablyudaet za drakonom. Obraz Kitaya v Rossii v XVII–XXI vekakh [The bear is watching the dragon. The image of China in Russia in the XVII–XXI centuries]. Moscow, Vostok Zapad Publ., AST Publ., 2007, 598 p.
[10] Morozova V.S. Transformatsiya regionalnoy kultury i formirovanie novoy sotsiokulturnoy identichnosti v protsesse mezhkulturnogo vzaimodeystviya RF i KNR (na primere Zabaykalskogo kraya). [Transformation of the regional culture and formation of a new socio-cultural identity in the process of intercultural interaction between the Russia and China (on the example of the Zabaikalskiy Region)]. Vestnik Buryatskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta — BSU Bulletin, 2010, no. 6, pp. 95–99.
[11] Shi A., Wang P. Strategicheskie narrativy v mezhdunarodnykh reportazhakh [Strategic narratives in international reporting]. Zhurnal Sianskogo universiteta Tszyotun (izdanie po sotsialnym naukam) — Journal of Xi’an Jiaotong University (Social sciences publication), 2018, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 96–104.
[12] Guan V. Nekotorye mysli ob izuchenii mezhdunarodnogo imidzha Kitaya [Certain thoughts on studying the China’s international image]. Mezhdunarodny forum — The International Forum, 2007, no. 5, pp. 1–6.
[13] Fung Ya. O sozdanii sovremennogo kitayskogo kulturnogo imidzha i prodvizhenii vseombleyushchey natsionalnoy vlasti [On creating a modern Chinese cultural image and promoting comprehensive national power. Sotsiolog — Sociologist, 2019, no. 6, pp. 12–20.
[14] Hu V. Vazhnost osobennosti natsionalnogo kharaktera v protsesse ekono-micheskogo rosta [Importance of national character features in the process of economic growth]. Ekonomicheskoe nablyudenie — Economic Observation, 2014, no. 33, pp. 24–25.
[15] Huang V. Formirovanie imidzha strany i usilenie myagkoy sily [Formation of the country’s image and strengthening of soft power]. Zhurnal administ-rativnogo instituta Tsiannsi — Journal of the Jiangxi Administrative Institute, 2012, no. 14, pp. 29–32.
[16] Jiang I. Istoriya voprosa o kitaysko-rossiyskoy granitse i znachenie ego resheniya dlya ukrepleniya mezhgosudarstvennykh otnosheniy Rossii i Kitaya [History of the Sino-Russian border issue and the importance of its solution for strengthening the interstate relations between Russia and China]. Mir russkogovoryashchikh stran — World of the Russian-Speaking Countries, 2020, no. 3, pp. 18–36.
[17] Elverskog J. Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road. Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania press, 2011, 352 p.
[18] Skachkov P.E., Myasnikov V.S., ed. Russko-kitayskie otnosheniya (1689–1916). Ofitsialnye dokumenty [Russian-Chinese relations (1689–1916). Official documents]. Moscow, Vostochnoy Literatury Publ., 1956, 137 p.
[19] Samoilov N.A. Rossiya i Kitay v XVII — nachale XX veka: tendentsii, formy i stadii sotsiokulturnogo vzaimodeystviya: Dis. … d-ra istor. nauk [Russia and China in the XVII — early XX century: trends, forms and stages of socio-cultural interaction. Diss. … Dr. Sc. (Hist.)]. 07.00.03. St. Petersburg, 2012, 367 p.
[20] Toropova S.A. Evolutsiya obraza Kitaya i rossiysko-kitayskikh otnosheniy v sovetskiy period [The evolution of the image of China and Russian-Chinese relations in the Soviet period]. Teoriya i praktika sovremennoy nauki — Theory and practice of modern science, 2017, no. 5, pp. 802–807.
[21] Fedosov E.A. “Vpered k velikoy tseli!”, obraz SSSR i Kitaya v agitatsionnykh plakatakh 1940–1960-kh gg. [“Forward to the great aim!”: the image of the USSR and China in propaganda posters of 1940–1960s]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta — Tomsk State University Journal. History, 2017, no. 48, pp. 136–144.
[22] Balakin V.S., Xiaoying L. KNR i SSSR v 1960-e — 1980-e gody: ot konfrontatsii k ravnopravnomu sotrudnichestvu [China and the USSR in the 1960–1980th: from confrontation to equal cooperation]. Vestnik Yuzhno-Uralskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta — Bulletin of the South Ural State University, 2016, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 11–15.
[23] Yang R. Benefits and challenges of the international mobility of researchers: the Chinese experience. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 2020, no. 18, pp. 53–65.
[24] Wilson J.L. Russia and China: Deepening Relations in a Situation of Asymmetry. In: Wegren S. Putin’s Russia: Past Imperfect, Future Uncertain. Seventh Edition. New York, Rowman and Littlefield, 2018, pp. 247–267.
[25] Tarasova E.A. Natsionalnye osobennosti obraza vlasti v kulture sovremennoy Rossii i Kitaya: sravnitelnyi analiz [National characteristics of power image in culture of modern Russia and China: a comparative analysis]. In: Rossiya i Kitay: perspektivy sotrudnichestva [Russia and China: prospects for cooperation]. Blagoveshchensk, BGPU Publ., 2012, pp. 140–145.
[26] Ngo Le Ziu Huong. Ekonomicheskoe sotrudnichestvo Rossii i Kitaya [Economic cooperation between Russia and China]. Molodoy uchenyi — Young Scientist, 2021, no. 2, pp. 262–264.
[27] Horst J.H. China: promise or threat? A comparison of cultures. Leiden; Boston, Brill, cop. 2017, 174 p.
[28] Aoyama R. “One Belt, One Road”: China’s New Global Strategy. Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies, 2016, no. 5, pp. 3–22.