Mongolica. Vol. XXVII, No. 3. Dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences / Ed. by I. V. Kulganek (editor-in-chief), D. A. Nosov (secretary), M. A. Kozintcev (deputy secretary). St Petersburg, 2024. 116 p. ISSN 2311-5939.

HISTORIOGRAPHY. SOURCE STUDIES. HISTORY

Enkhtaivany Gansukh. Characteristics and Descriptions of Sky and Land-derived Horses in Danjuur Sutra — 5
Mongolian Horse characters and figures have been described in many works since very ancient time. Mongolian horse motions, characters, suits and silhouettes are required to be divided by the segmentation technique. We, researchers consider that the Mongolian horse silhouettes can be classified into three parts. Research on the determination of silhouettes of the “Sky horses”, “Land horses”, “King horse” and “Leading horses” on the basis of the source named “Horse age book” included in the 219th book of Mongolian Danjuur and which is found among 30 works written in Mongolian old script. Moreover, we determined the silhouette of “Neutral zone horses” because this word combination is seen together with words as “Sky horses” and “Land horses” despite there is not any paragraphs about such horses. We inverted texts written in old Mongolian script into modern Mongolian words choosing repeated words to use for the research. In addition to it, we described the running ways of “Sky horses”, “Land horses”, “King horse” and “Leading horses” in different motions.
Keywords: Mongolian horse characteristics, sky-derived horses, land-derived horses.

Tatiana D. Skrynnikova. Orda-Ejen — the Supreme Ruler of Juchi Ulus — 15
The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the status of the Orda-Ejen in the structure of the Juchi ulus. The analysis of the ejen concept of Mongolian medieval political culture allows us to affirm that the second part of the name indicates the ownership of the Orda-Ejen both Juchi ulus (ulus-un ejen) and his headquarters. It confirms his status as the supreme ruler of Juchi Ulus, as the eldest in his clan. Simultaneously the sources name his brother Batu as the older brother, that is evidence of co-ruling in Juchi ulus. Military functions are more attributed to Batu (“Baty is the richest and most powerful after the emperor”), while Orda-Ejen perform most of all the functions of the sacred center of Juchi Ulus as his eldest son.
Keywords: Batu, Master of ulus (ulus-un ejen), The Secret history of the Mongols, Rashid ad-Din, lord of the ulus (ulus-un ejen), polity, indigenous yurt, supreme power, Genghis Khan, the Golden Horde.

Marina V. Fedorova. Collections of Tsyben Zhamtsarano in the Russian Museum of Ethnography — 21
The article is dedicated to ethnographic collections formed by the outstanding orientalist Tsyben Zhamtsarano during his visits to the Trans-Baikal region and the Irkutsk Governorate in 1905–1907 on assignment from the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. At present the Russian Museum of Ethnography preserves 5 collections of Ts. Zhamtsarano, which include more than 200 objects representing different aspects of traditional Buryat culture: shamanic and Buddhist traditions, shaman-Buddhist syncretism, dwellings, clothing, weaponry. The author analyses the content of these collections and traces the history of their acquisition based on field diaries, archival materials, publications and collection inventories of the Russian Museum of Ethnography.
Keywords: Buryats, collections, shamanism, Buddhism, Diaries, Archives.

STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY

Kirill V. Alekseev. On the Two Versions of the Arthavistara-Sūtra in the Mongolian Kanjur — 35
All the available Tibetan canonical collections, apart from the Phug brag Kanjur, contain an incomplete version of the Arthavistara-sūtra. The fact that the final part of the text had been lost was observed already in the Kanjur catalogue compiled by Bu ston by 1326. The copies of the 1628–1629 Mongolian manuscript Kanjur contain the complete version of the Arthavistara together with the translation of the Tibetan colophon, which gives Vidyākaraprabha, sKa ba dpal brtsegs and certain Chos kyi rgyal po as the translators and the revisor of the text. Presumably, the original of the text was part of some archaic Tibetan Kanjur used by Mongolian editors as a model for their collection. The 1717–1720 xylographic edition of the Mongolian Kanjur incorporates a new translation of the Arthavistara based on the incomplete text included in the Peking edition of the Tibetan canon, which shows that in the belief of its editors the concordance with the Peking Kanjur overrode the very integrity of the sutra.
Keywords: Arthavistara-sūtra, Mongolian Kanjur, Phug brag Kanjur.

Igor A. Alimov. «Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu»: Preface — 44
The article is devoted to a unique Chinese work of the 12th century. «Dong jing meng hua lu» by Meng Yuan-lao, an unprecedented in Chinese history written source of comprehensive information about urban life during the Northern Song. It is the first publication in a series of works dedicated to «Dong jing meng hua lu» and includes a complete annotated translation of the author’s preface to this monument.
Keywords: China X–XIII centuries, Song era, Chinese city, Meng Yuan-lao, «Dong jing meng hua lu».

ARCHIVES OF MONGOLIAN STUDIES

Liqiu Liu, Ramil M. Valeev, Rafael M. Valeev, Roza Z. Valeeva, Svetlana A. Kirillina. Letters of V. A. Gordlevsky to Academician V. V. Bartold in the 1910–1920s From the Funds of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences — 50
The first two decades of the 20th century reflected crucial socio-political and socio-cultural changes in the Russian state and society and, of course, in the destinies and legacy of outstanding orientalists of Moscow and St. Petersburg, who left significant works on the history and culture of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples. The epistolary heritage of Russian Orientalists remains an original and interesting source. It reflects both personal connections of academics and the history of Russian Oriental studies. In the article the letters of the representative of the Moscow center of Oriental studies Vladimir A. Gordlevsky to Academician Vasili V. Bartold (written from 1910 to 1928) are analyzed. The letters are kept at Gordlevsky’s personal funds in the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The main attention in this article is devoted to a review of 27 letters by V. A. Gordlevsky from Moscow, Ufa and Zusha, reflecting the stages of his life and work as well as the history of Moscow Oriental studies.
Keywords: Russia, the East, Oriental studies, epistolary heritage, V. V. Bartold, V. A. Gordlevsky.

Agvaantseren Mandirmaa. Мongolian Studies at the Oriental Institute: Some Archival Documents — 64
In 1899 the Oriental Institute was opened in Vladivostok, where Mongolian, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Manchu and other oriental languages were taught. Soon this institute became one of the largest centers of Mongolian studies in the Russian Empire, along with St. Petersburg University. Subjects in classical areas of Mongolian studies such as linguistics, history, source studies, literature, folklore and others were taught at St. Petersburg University, while subjects of spoken and written Mongolian, the modern history of Mongolia, the administrative structure and socio-economic state of the country were taught at Oriental Institute in Vladivostok. However, despite this, the history of the Department of Mongolian Language and Literature at the Oriental Institute is still poorly understood. The purpose of this article is to describe documents currently stored in the State Archives of the Primorsky Territory and the Far Eastern Historical Archives, located in Vladivostok.
Keywords: Mongolian studies of the Far East, Vladivostok, A. M. Pozdneev, Institute of Oriental Studies, archival documents.

RELATED DISCIPLINES

E. V. Asalkhanova. I International Russian-Mongolian Plein Air “Drawing on Onon” — 73
The article is devoted to the International open-air “Drawing on Onon”, held in the summer of 2023. The open-air event was attended by Russian artists from Moscow, the Republic of Buryatia, the Ust-Ordynsky Buryat District of the Irkutsk Region, the Aginsky Buryat District of the Trans-Baikal Territory, as well as Mongolian artists from various regions of Mongolia. The article includes excerpts from the diary that the author kept during the plein air.
Keywords: drawing, plein air, artist, landscape, Mongolian, Buryat.

Konstantin A. Beketov, Natalya K. Beketova, Kh. Damdinsuren. “The roads of N. K. Roerich”: the expedition of St. Petersburg Ilya Repin Academy of arts to Mongolia (continuation) — 82
In July-August 2018, students of the St. Petersburg Ilya Repin Academy of Arts traveled to Mongolia at the invitation of the President of the country and with the support of the Mongolian Union. The expedition took place within the framework of the 1-th International UB ART Festival “On the roads of N. K. Roerich”. The students had the opportunity to get acquainted with the residents of the capital and rural settlements, with Mongolian culture and traditions, to work in the open air, in studios and in galleries. A series of plein-air works painted during the trip reflects the vision of young artists of Mongolian nature. The students managed to depict the expanse of the Mongolian steppes on canvases, capture traditional and modern architecture, and paint portraits of Mongols in national clothes. Students from Russia, Mongolia, China, Chile and Finland took part in the expedition. The results of the multi-day work were art exhibitions in Ulaanbaatar and St. Petersburg, during which the viewer had the opportunity to visually explore.
Keywords: Mongolia, fine arts, plein air, intercultural communications, art exhibitions, art education, master classes.

REVIEWS

Ekaterina V. Asalkhanova. Interregional Academic and Practical Conference “Buryat Heroic Epic ‘Geser’. From the Past to the Future” (Ust-Ordynsky Settlement, Irkutsk Oblast, May 17, 2024) — 104

Tatiana V. Ermakova. The 16th Conference “Current Issues of Buddhological and Indological Studies” (St. Petersburg, March 25, 2024) — 114

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