遥远的记忆与诱人的传闻——17世纪中期前俄国的中国形象

Remote Memories and Tempting Legends——Image of China in Russia before the Mid-17th Century

《元史》中有关斡罗思扈卫亲军的记载以及中国国名的俄文指称形态,承载着中俄两个民族相互之间遥远且朦胧的记忆。在17世纪中期俄国中央政府派遣使团来华之前,俄国主要是通过中国的西北和东北两个方向逐步认识中国的。在这一过程中,喀尔喀蒙古的阿勒坦汗以及东北边疆少数民族发挥了重要的信息传递作用。契丹湖、大明、石筑城、火绳枪、汗八里、神像、城墙、博格达汗、银矿、尼堪等主题词或形象套语,集中反映了早期俄国人对于中国政治、社会、军事、物产以及文化的认识。

Records on Russian corps defending the capital in ＂History of Yuan Dynasty＂ and the naming of China in Russian literature bore those distant and dim memories toward each other between the two nations. Before dispatching diplomatic mission to China in the mid-17th century, Russia gradually improved its identification of China by two channels in Northwest and Northeast China where Khalkha-Mongolian Altan Khan and Northeast frontier ethnic minorities played an important part in the information exchange. Features of Russian identification of China in terms of politics, society, military, products and culture can be best manifested in such key words or image formulas as Kitaia Lacus, Tamin, stone town, matchlocks, Khanbaliq, deity statues, fortress wall, Bogda Khan, Silver ore and Nikan.