Рукописи и ксилографы на восточных языках в научной библиотеке им. М. Горького СПбГУ

Ŷ 171 Ŷ SUMMARY Ŷ versity is based on this collection and even has references to call numbers in the Li- brary. The basis of the collection constitute the books of classical Chinese learning: Confucian books, histories, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, collections of laws, etc. There are 222 volumes of encyclopedias in the collection. Also are present various geographical descriptions of the Chinese Empire made under different dynasties. Smaller works on Chinese geography have a significant place in Vassiliev’s collec- tion. Even Chinese works on astronomy, agriculture and medicine are found there. Vassiliev also collected a big collection of Chinese literary works. He wrote that in the University collection there are “125 titles of stories, historical novels, novels in verse and prose, songs and dramas.” As Vassiliev pointed out: “At first glance the collection which we brought from China does not seem to be a large one since there are less than 500 titles; the Academy of Sciences possesses twice as many titles. However, we purchased primarily the editions consisting of many volumes, while compilers of other libraries often brought small works of little value and impor- tance.” Since Vassiliev was much interested in Buddhism, he purchased a set of the Buddhist Canon in Chinese in 215 volumes. He regretted that for financial reasons he had to buy a Southern Chinese edition instead of a more luxurious Beijing edi- tion in 700 volumes. The St. Petersburg University Library also possesses a considerable number of Chinese books printed in the second half of the nineteenth — early twentieth cen- turies. They were largely donated by the university graduates who served in China. There is a number of Christian books translated into Chinese by Russian missionaries as well as books presented by Catholic missionaries when they were expelled from China in the nineteenth century. The first acquisition of Japanese books at the Library dates back to 1871. Six Japanese books which had previously been in the possession of the first Japanese language teacher, Tachibana Kosai, (known in Russia under his Christian name Vladimir Yamatov) marked the beginning of the collection. Most of the books came from the so-called “Arisugawa Collection.” In 1882 the Japanese Prince Arisugawa no Miya Taruhito Shinno (1835–1895) visited Russia. When staying in St. Petersburg the Prince learned that the Japanese language was taught at St. Petersburg University. With the intention to promote Japanese studies the Prince generously presented to the University a huge collection of books number- ing almost 3,500 volumes. The establishment of a systematic Japanese language course is associated with the activities of KuronoYoshibumi, a graduate of the Russian Orthodox Christian School in Tokyo. After his death in 1918 his private book collection was purchased by the University. Yoshibumi Collection represents the achievements of Japanese studies in the beginning of the twentieth century and it consists of many dictionaries and text- books. The important part of the collection is constituted by the books which were col- lected in Japan by a brilliant scholar Otto Rosenberg (1888–1919) and which