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[SOVIET RE-READING OF CHINESE HISTORY] Ocherk istorii Kitaya [i.e. An Outline of the History of China]

Popov, A.

Item #2761

Kharkiv: Proletariy, 1925. 56 pp. 19,6x13,3 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers by “Vs. A.” Damp stain in the upper left corner throughout the copy, but otherwise very good. Author’s ink inscription on the title-page: Tat’yane Nikolayevne Preobrazhenskoy s tovarishcheskim privetom ot avtora A. D. Popov. Moskva. 26/V/28 [i.e. To Tatyana Nikolaevna Preobrazhenskaya with comradely greetings from the author, A. D. Popov. Moscow. 26/V/1928].

Scarce. First edition. Text in Russian. The front cover shows a woodcut-style illustration of a traditional Chinese horse-drawn carriage with passengers under a canopy.
The earliest Soviet study of Chinese history, undertaken by the Russian Orientalist and Japanologist Alexander Popov (1889-after 1941) during the brief interim between the establishment of Sino-Soviet diplomatic relations in 1924 and the undeclared Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929.
By the mid-1920s, following the normalization of Sino-Soviet ties, the joint administration of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) quickly collapsed as the Soviet Union sought to assert full control over the line. In response, Chinese authorities arrested Soviet personnel, leading to a rapid deterioration in bilateral relations that escalated into mutual expulsions, raids on consulates, and ultimately the brief Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1929. As the crisis unfolded alongside broader tensions involving Soviet missions in Europe, Moscow portrayed the CER dispute as part of a coordinated imperialist campaign against the USSR.
The book provides a concise overview of China’s geography and history, spanning from the dawn of civilization 4,000 years ago to the early-20th-century political activities of the revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. The text is marked by heavy Soviet propaganda, openly condemning the Manchu dynasty and Western imperialist powers. Popov derides early European missionaries as “the first traveling salesmen of foreign trade in China” and denounces the opium trade and the “foreign capital, from which the people suffered so much misery and humiliation.” He equally criticizes the Russian Empire for occupying Port Arthur, Dalny, and Manchuria, asserting that Russian funds from the 1901 Boxer Protocol were later used by the Entente to support White Guard forces and the exiled Tsarist embassy. Amidst this sweeping critique of imperialism, Popov reserves his optimism almost exclusively for Sun Yat-sen and firmly links the revolutionary leader to the bright future of China.
Overall, the first study of China’s history from the Marxist-Leninist perspective.

Worldcat shows 1 copy of the edition at the University of Hawaii.

Price: $450.00

Status: On Hold