The essay focuses on the life and works of one of the most famous Chinese researchers of Orthodoxy after 1949, the translator and historian Yue Feng (September 1928 – February 22, 2017). His “A History of the Orthodox Church” was the first authoritative study of the history of the Orthodox Church, published in China since the beginning of the “reform and openness” period (Gǎigé kāifàng; 1978 – present days). The article focuses on Yue Feng’s understanding of the history of the Orthodox Church and the features of the doctrine inherent in Orthodoxy which he chose to highlight. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that to this day there is a significant interest in the study of Orthodoxy in China itself: new research articles are published, dissertations are defended. Unfortunately, even today Yue Feng’s works, widely known in the Chinese-speaking academia, are known only to a small group of sinologists and students of the history of Orthodoxy in China in the Russian academic community. One possible reason for this is that, even to this day, despite numerous citations of Yue Feng’s works in Chinese, Russian, and English academic literature there are no separate studies, except for a few short reviews, dealing with the life and work of the eminent Chinese researcher of the history of the Orthodox Church, whose works, without exaggeration, have influenced several generations of scholars. The authors of this article have set for themselves the aim of trying to fill this gap and introduce a wide Russian academic audience to the classics of “Orthodox Studies” in the Middle Country. To achieve this goal, the authors, firstly, highlight the major milestones of Yue Feng's life, closing the white spots on the Russian map of Chinese studies of Orthodoxy, and, secondly, analyze Yue Feng’s academic publications, exploring the history of the Orthodox Church, and explicate his views on the historical path and nature of Orthodoxy. The authors conclude that without a detailed acquaintance with the life and works of Yue Feng, which still retain their relevance and authority, it is impossible to understand the specific features of institutionalized religious studies as such and the features of academic approaches to the study of Orthodoxy in China.
Keywords: Yue Feng, Orthodox Church, history of the Orthodox Church, China, history of the Orthodox Church in China, specific features of the Orthodox Church in China
DOI: 10.22250/2072-8662.2021.2.136-147
About the author
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An De – PhD (History), Member of ROC Diplomatic History Research Youth Group, Humanties Research Center, |
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Ivan A. Fadeyev – PhD (History), Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of World History of RAS; |