Kitajskaja grammatika (1835) : Iakinf Bicurin’s Chinese Grammar (with an Annotated Translation)

First published in 1835, the Kitajskaja grammatika by Iakinf Bicurin (1777–1853) occupies a singular place in the history of Chinese studies. This volume offers the first critical edition and translation of Bicurin’s grammar into a Western language, opening new perspectives on its structure, sources, and aims.

First published in 1835, the Kitajskaja grammatika by Iakinf Bicurin (1777–1853) occupies a singular place in the history of Chinese studies. Composed by a Russian Orthodox missionary to China who later became a central figure in Russian Sinology, the work reflects a moment of encounter between distinct linguistic and scholarly traditions. Though long acknowledged, it has not until now received a comprehensive and sustained analysis. This volume offers the first critical edition and translation of Bicurin’s grammar into a Western language, opening new perspectives on its structure, sources, and aims. It situates the text within the intellectual landscape of early nineteenth-century Russia and in relation to European missionary grammars, while also engaging with the Chinese philological tradition that informed it. Particular attention is given to the adaptation of the Slavonic grammatical framework, shaped by Meletij Smotrickij and M. V. Lomonosov on categories transmitted from classical antiquity, to the description of Chinese. Combining historical inquiry with close textual analysis, this study reconsiders Bicurin’s contribution and sheds light on the broader role of vernacular grammatical traditions in the formation of modern linguistic thought.