Chinese Philology Department

Institute of Asian and African Studies

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

History of the Department Research Fields Linguistic Research

Chinese Philology Department of Institute of Asian and African Studies (IAAS) was
established in 1956 on the basis of the Department of Eastern languages of the
Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The founder and the first head of the Department, Lyubov Pozdneeva (1908–
1974), was an outstanding researcher, author of theoretical writings on the history
of Chinese literature, Chinese textbooks and a brilliant translator, who continued
and developed the traditions established by the academic Vasily Alekseev.

From 1959 till 1970 the Department was headed by Alexey Rogachev, a well-
known translator specializing in traditional Chinese literature.
From 1970 till 1992 the reputed linguist Mikhail Rumyantsev, a specialist in
theoretical grammar, phonetics and phonology of Chinese, served as the head of
the Department.
From 1993 to 2003 Artemiy Karapetyants, an expert in many fields of Chinese
linguistics and the history of Chinese culture, took over the duties of the head of the
Department.
From 2003 to 2007 the Department was headed by Mikhail Sofronov, an
internationally renowned scholar in Chinese and Central Asian linguistics.
The historic building of IAAS is located in the center of Moscow

Linguistics
Our linguistics study the typological features of Chinese, various stages of the formation of
traditional Chinese philology, the origin and development of Chinese writing, dialectology, Tangut
studies, functional grammar, systematics and pragmatics, etc. Currently, the Department conducts
research on phonetics, grammar, lexicology of modern and contemporary Chinese (Mandarin).

Literary criticism
Chinese Philology Department hosting poetry translation workshops during the
Great stress is laid to studying the history of Chinese literature in various periods from antiquity Moscow Poetry Biennale 2017: Poetry of Russia and China
to present day. Leading scholars of the Department conduct lectures, seminars and courses,
where students have the opportunity to study the history of Ancient, Medieval, Modern and
Current research fields include:
Contemporary Chinese literature; get acquainted with the main aesthetic currents, schools and
groups; receive information about literary periods, directions, authors, and their place in the social and
• Contemporary Chinese dialects/ topolects;
cultural life of China; acquire the skills of independent analytical work and translating literary texts.
• Rhythmic and grammatical structure of ancient Chinese texts;
• History of Chinese writing and its contribution to the culture of China in different historical periods;
• Studies of dialectal characters as a means of writing outside the literary language;
• Writing systems of the peoples of southern China based on the Chinese writing system;
• Tangut language;
• Linguistic poetics of contemporary and traditional verse.

Teachers of the Department (2014)

Literary Research

Current research fields include:

Basic Information • Literary theory and criticism of ancient and medieval China;
• Poetics of ancient Chinese philosophical and essayistic prose;
Present head of the Department is Mark Ulyanov, specializing in Ancient Chinese • Chinese literature during the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern era;
History. • Styles and genres of contemporary Chinese literature;
The Department is a specialized scientific and methodological unit in the Moscow • Epistolary style in the literature and life of the Chinese;
University system, which is also the center for teaching Chinese ​and the center for the • Chinese literature outside of mainland China, Sinophone literature and diasporic writing;
comprehensive training of specialists in Philology (Linguistics and Literary criticism). • Interaction between classical and contemporary literature;
• Contemporary Chinese prose;
Our staff consists of highly qualified specialists, scholars-philologists and instructors- • Contemporary poetry of the PRC.
methodologists of different generations, authors of many teaching aids and
dictionaries, recommended for teaching in higher educational institutions of the Employees of the Department aim at maintaining a high level of teaching and preserving the
Russian Federation. continuity of the IAAS school of education.

Our graduates work in teaching, research and in practice-oriented fields.

Chinese textbooks and research monographs published by the Department