The treatise “Chuang-Tzu”, as one of the Chinese Taoist classic books, influenced various Philosophical trends in China. It has great research value because it is not only a philosophical treatise, but also contains various stories, political views, doctrine, etc. Since the 20th century, great achievements have been made in the research of “Chuang-Tzu” by Chinese scientists, as well as problems in methodology, point of view and content of research that need to be solved. The analysis of the current state of the study of “ChuangTzu” contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the achievements, shortcomings and trends of the treatise’s research in various fields.

The literature review analyzes the current state of the study of “Chuang-Tzu” in China, analyzes the research background and topics in main research areas of the treatise, and summarizes the successes and shortcomings in general in the study of modern scientists on the research materials are presented by monographs and scientific articles about “Chuang-Tzu” by Chinese authors for the period 2000-2024, published in the CNKI database and the National Library of China. And materials are divided into clusters and subclusters by clustering.

As the results of the study, it is noted that the main progress of research during this period is a rational attitude to the use of Western scientific knowledge for the interpretation of “Chuang-Tzu”. The disadvantages of the study are the single points of view, the lack of Chinese own research methodology, the lack of research on the influence of “Chuang-Tzu” on modern culture and its translations into languages other than English, the lack of a modern definition of the parable of “ChuangTzu”, and it is also necessary to strengthen the comparison of Chinese and western philosophy, aesthetics and other ideas, and pay more attention to improving the dissemination and acceptance of translated text.

The relevance of the research is due to the need to study the traditions of Taoism in tradition­al and modern China. The socio-economic situation of the 21st century has created special conditions for the development of Taoist temple architecture: Scientists everywhere study the style of temples inherent in one or another dynasty, and identify the specifics of the decorative and applied art of Taoist architecture. The temple architecture of Ta­oism was originally intended to maintain the state power of the emperors as a ritual act. Gradually, these conditions were overcome, and Taoist archi­tectural structures: temples and monasteries began to increasingly perform a public function, serving religious worship and power.

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the role of iron in the cultural and social development of the Gaya confederacy, a significant yet relatively under-researched region of ancient Korea. The study meticulously examines the impact of this strategically crucial resource on various facets of societal structure, including social hierarchy, military technology, and cultural practices. Iron artifacts, such as complex armor, weaponry, and other objects, reflect a high degree of craftsmanship and technological sophistication. These finds, uncovered in substantial burial sites, underscore the pivotal role of the ruling elite in controlling the extraction and distribution of iron.  Additionally, the article explores the importance of trade and cultural exchanges with neighboring states, notably the Japanese state of Wa. Such interactions and technological transfers played a critical role in enhancing Gaya’s regional influence and expanding its cultural reach.

The subject of the study is the legislative acts and environmental programs of the Government of the Republic of Korea aimed at preserving the environment in the country. The chronological framework of the work is defined by the period from 2000 to 2023. The choice of the starting point is due to the fact that since 2000 the government of the Republic of Korea began to move gradually to the concept of sustainable development which initiated the development and implementation of "green" technologies in the country.

The Republic of Korea was one of the first countries to adopt the concept of green growth as a national strategy. Throughout the twenty-first century, the Government of South Korea has emphasized environmental protection and combated the deterioration of the country's environmental performance through the development and implementation of green technologies in production. The Republic of Korea's environmental policy is an example of how effective and efficient the concept of green growth is in the face of rapid economic growth. The policy of "green growth" today continues to be one of the key activities of the administration of the Republic of Korea which determines the relevance of the work.

The source base is represented primarily by legal acts of the Republic of Korea, as well as materials of Korean news portals. The novelty of the study lies in the comprehensive consideration of the environmental policy of the South Korean government in the XXI century. The effectiveness of the Government of the Republic of Korea in changing the environmental situation in the country under conditions of sustainable economic growth was analyzed.

The article examines the activities of Archimandrite Peter Kamensky (1765-1845) related to the process of acquiring Chinese books in Beijing. The chosen topic has not yet been studied in the scholarship. The key sources are materials from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (Moscow) and the systematic catalog of Chinese manuscripts and woodcuts of the Public Library (Saint-Petersburg). The paper abides to the source research method which suggests a careful study of the archival materials. The hermeneutic method allowed to interpret the relevant data most objectively.

Archimandrite Peter Kamensky played important role  in acquiring and systematizing Chinese books in Russia. Under his leadership, members of the Russian Orthodox mission in Beijing successfully studied oriental languages and were subsequently capable of conducting translation work. Archimandrite Peter himself actively translated Chinese and Manchu sources into Russian, the registers of books and manuscripts preserved in the archives serve as evidence of his efforts. On behalf of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as upon the request of the director of the Public Library, Archimandrite Peter purchased books, Woodblock printed books, and manuscripts in Chinese, Manchu and Mongolian. In addition, thanks to the efforts of his student Peter Zhou Bourgeois, the collection of P. Kamensky’s books was supplanted by the translations of Christian literature by Catholic missionaries, for example, translations of Giulio Aleni. Rich material for identifying whether a particular book belongs to the collection of Peter Kamensky is provided in handwritten notes in the surviving books. Pyotr Kamensky together with Stepan Lipovtsov compiled a catalog of Chinese and Japanese books, hence contributing to the process of cataloging and systematizing the book heritage.

The article, for informational purposes, contains a fragment of juan 473 (juan 260 of the “Biographies” section) of the “Draft History of Qing” (Qing shi gao), published in 1928. The creation of this trait was authorized by Yuan Shikai in 1914 under the leadership of the retired Qing bureaucrat Zhao Erxiong (1844–1927). Kang Youwei’s biography was missing from the original Qing shi gao text and was added in the woodcut edition edited by Jinliang (1878–1962). The biography does not contain distortions of the events of 1898, the ideas of the Reform Movement are reduced to the formula “how to make our country powerful,” and the reason for the failure of the reforms is that “the new era came suddenly.” From a monarchical perspective, Kang Youwei is praised for his constitutional-monarchist ideals and protests against the abolition of the monarchy in 1911. Intellectually, Kang Youwei is characterized as “a great ideological innovator who laid the foundation for a new tradition.”

An essay India before and after Mutiny by Prafullachandra Ray has been analyzed in the context of development of historical consciousness during the Bengal Renaissance Nineteenth – early Twentieth centuries. The historiographical experience of young Indian student-chemist is presented as one of symbolic response to intellectual imperative to develop the study of Indian history by Indians. P. Ray tried to describe the history of contemporaneity for India in its political and economic along with social-cultural dimensions. The essay takes place of outstanding research against the backdrop of a lack of Indian indigenous works on XVIII–XIXth century colonization and   the   rule by the British. Based on the broad circle of sources, P. Ray presented many-sided and ambiguous process and content of history ‘before and after’ Mutiny (1857) to explain Indian modernization.

He describes how and in what way the British conquest and government had changed the course of India’s history. On the one hand, Indians were excluded from the power and administration, and the burden of military and economic expenses was placed on them. On the other hand, the import of modern Western institutions and economic forms had created not only danger   to   welfare of Indian population (poverty, starvation etc.), but also the broad advantages in economy (development of both industry and agriculture in India), education and modern science as well as in political sphere (development of national consciousness and the creation of political nation). All the problems and failures in colonial condition are not canceled the positive moving of India in the Modern world. P. Ray raises an idea of economical, intellectual and   cultural   development of compatriots and perspective idea of taking responsibility for their country through the future participation in government.

This article is devoted to the study of the influence of the culture of China and Korea on the formation of the ancient Japanese bronze culture. Based on samples of Japanese bronze funerary dokyo mirrors presented in museums in Japan and the Republic of Korea, the main characteristic features of Japanese bronze casting art of this period were deduced, as well as forms of influence and borrowing of cultural elements from Korea and China were identified.

In this article I examine the omens observed during the reign of the first and only female emperor of China — Wu Ze-tian – as reflected in the Five Phases (Wu xing 五行) chapter of the Old Book of Tang (Jiu Tang Shu 舊唐書). I compare the data on the reign of Wu Ze-tian as reflected in the Basic Records (Ben ji 本紀) and Five Phases chapters of this dynastic history. On the basis of this analysis, I identify the main administrative mistakes that Confucian scholars attributed to the empress. I conclude that the mention of omens served two purposes – to highlight crisis state events of the period and identify the main problems relevant to the reign of Wu Ze-tian. Method of structural analysis of texts in classical Chinese (wenyan) was used in this study. I also provide Russian translations of the Old Book of Tang fragments not translated into European languages.

The paper aims to replenish the lacuna existing in the unique hand-written album stored at the academic library of the Saint-Petersburg State University (No. Xyl.F-25), the album introducing Yunnan province comprises 1 map of the entire Yunnan and 75 maps of its administrative units, but the album lacks maps and detailed descriptions of the southern and southwestern areas of Yunnan. The province has historically been populated by the non-Han ethnic groups, the areas not shown in the album have been bordering on Burma, Tai polities, Laos and Vietnam. The reason for absence of these areas in the album is that its original texts and maps are dated by approximately the 60s of the XVII century, a period when the southern areas have not yet been completely incorporated in the Chinese administrative system. Importantly, the area named  ‘Sipso`ng Panna’ (Ch. Xishuangbanna) inhabited by the Tai has been preserving its comparative independence from the Chinese state starting from its foundation in the XII century until 1950, yet it had to accept a status of a tributary state of both Burma and China. The paper first broadly outlines the facts of the regional history, further introduces the main sources in Chinese and Tai languages helpful for understanding the area under study. The author suggests sorting the sources into two groups: 1) Chinese sources focusing on Tai ethnic groups living in different parts of Yunnan; 2) sources on the south of Yunnan (Xishuangbanna, Puer etc). The largest bulk of sources are not surprisingly in Chinese, mostly being gazetteers and other official documents produced from Tang to Qing periods, while chronicles and genealogies of Xishuangbanna written in the local Tai language and translated into Chinese and English offer an alternative view of the region. The paper concludes that the Chinese sources tend to name the Tai using different terms and mix up the Tai, the Burmese and the Yizu. The sources addressing the south of Yunnan hardly contain mentions of the sovereign Tai polity that existed in Xishuangbanna.

The study of the historical, cultural and scientific heritage of Russian Turkologists, including professors of Turkology, prominent representatives of the Kazan school of Turkologists of Russia at the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, N. F. Katanov and N. I. Ashmarin represents a promising area of modern humanitarian and historical research.

The article presents a review and publication of a number of previously unpublished letters of Professor N. F. Katanov to his contemporary and colleague, a Turkologist, teacher of the Tatar language, founder of Chuvash linguistics and lexicography, and future corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences N. I. Ashmarin (1929). These letters provide a compelling illustration of the personal and professional relations between two prominent orientalists and Turkologists, as well as their scientific pursuits and outcomes. They also offer insights into the broader context of Turkology in Kazan and Russia during the pivotal socio-political and research transitions of the early 20th century. At the present time, the letters of N. F. Katanov are meticulously preserved in the scientific archive of the Chuvash State Institute of Humanities (number IV-151).

Review of the latest monograph by V.M. Kryukov (1932 – 2024).