On July 7, Alexey Anatolyevich Bokshchanin, a veteran and long-term head of the China Department, Doctor of Historical Sciences, died after a serious illness. He was born in Moscow in the family of Anatoly Georgievich Bokshchanin (1903-1979), a well-known historian and antiquarian, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Moscow State University. In 1958, he graduated from the Institute of Chinese Studies at Moscow State University( now ISAA MSU), joined the Institute of Chinese Studies, after which he worked at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences from 1961 until his last days, while for many years teaching a course on Chinese history at his alma mater-ISAA MSU and at the Institute of Practical Oriental Studies, Eastern University (now-the Institute of Oriental Countries) and the Military University.

In 1965, A. A. Bokshchanin defended his PhD thesis "China's external relations with the South Sea countries at the end of the XIV-XVI centuries", on the basis of which he published the monograph "China and the South Sea Countries in the XIV-XVI centuries" (Moscow, 1968). In 1985, he defended his doctoral dissertation "Evolution of the specific system in China at the end of the XIV-beginning of the XV century", the main scientific results of which are reflected in two monographs: "Imperial China at the beginning of the XV century "(Moscow, 1976) and "Specific system in Late Medieval China" (Moscow, 1986). Being a born and hereditary historian, A. A. Bokshchanin wrote about various periods of Chinese history, especially in generalizing and popular scientific publications, for example, in the " History of the Vos-

current " (vol. 2. Moscow, 1995), in the joint collection "Faces of the Middle Kingdom" with O. E. Nepomnin (Moscow, 2002), or in the joint collection "History of China" with O. E. Nepomnin and T. V. Stepugina (Moscow, 2010). But as a truly academic scholar, he spent his entire life concentrating his research efforts on the Ming Period (1368-1644), becoming its leading expert in Russian sinology. That is why he was selected as the executive editor of the fifth volume of the Yuan and Ming Period, a 10-volume History of China from Ancient Times to the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century, which was published in 2014.

The concentrated consistency reflected in the subjects of L. L. Bokshchanin's dissertations and monographs became his style, which, in addition, was distinguished by old-fashioned thoroughness and sound pedantry. Computer equipment on his desk was replaced by mountains of books and cards with calligraphically executed extracts from literature and primary sources. A. A. Bokshchanin published more than 120 scientific works, the main ones of which were included in the golden fund of Russian sinology.

A. A. Bokshchanin was a regular participant and active organizer of the main sinological forum of Russia, the annual scientific conference "Society and the State in China", held at the Institute of Sinology of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1970. In its materials, he published 27 articles and regularly covered its sessions in the Vostok magazine. Until 2011, A. A. Bokshchanin was a member of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation and an expert of the RGNF. He was a member of the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS). For many years, until his death, he was a member of the Academic Council of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

From 1990 to 2011, A. A. Bokshchanin was the head of the China Department. These years were marked by the hard times of the 90s, when the size of the department was reduced by three times and science classes became extremely complicated. Nevertheless, thanks to his remarkable personal qualities, A. A. Bokshchanin managed to preserve the scientific potential of the department and the atmosphere of benevolence and free search that traditionally reigned in it. Under his gentle and attentive guidance, many graduate students and applicants, including foreigners, defended their dissertations.

The author of these lines for almost forty years of acquaintance with A. A. Bokschanin had the pleasure of communicating with him not only in an academic setting, but also in a variety of life circumstances. In particular, for several years, including during the famous 1980 Olympics, we patrolled the streets of Moscow as vigilantes, performed labor duties together at a vegetable base, and in 2002 spent two months side by side in four cities of the PRC during a business trip on a scientific exchange with the Chinese Academy. Both as a colleague, as a boss, and as a comrade on the labor front or on a difficult trip, A. A. Bokshchanin always remained the same extremely gentle, friendly, sympathetic and good-natured person. I never heard a single harsh word from him, or even a raised voice. He was always athletic and fit, youngish and fervent, cheerful and sociable, which is why even at a quite respectable age he was always called Alyosha. Without falling into the subtleties of theodicy, it is difficult to understand why the last years of the life of this very bright man fell undeserved suffering from family tragedies and serious illnesses.

On July 11 of this year, A. A. Bokshchanin was cremated. The fire that received him, following Heraclitus, can be considered the embodiment of the eternal logos, to which his scientific works are also involved.

L. I. KOBZEV

MAIN SCIENTIFIC WORKS OF A. A. BOKSCHANIN (2005-2014)*

Society and the State in China (review of reports of the 35th Conference, February 14-16, 2005). 2005. No. 4. pp. 147-148.

Wang Anshi / / Big Russian Encyclopedia, Moscow, 2006. Vol. 4. pp. 571-572 (together with I. I. Semenenko).

* Compiled by V. I. Zhuravleva, O. N. Popova. For a list of A. A. Bokshchanin's works up to 2005, see: Vostok (Oriens), 2006, no. 1, pp. 208-212.

Society and the State in China (review of reports of the 36th Conference, February 6-8, 2006). 2006. No. 5. p. 171.

Gu Yan'u // Big Russian Encyclopedia, Moscow, 2007, vol. 8, p. 196.

Society and the State in China (review of reports of the 37th Conference, February 12-14, 2007). 2007. No. 4. pp. 143-147.

Society and the State in China: [review of the report of the 38th conference, April 7-9, 2008] / / Vostok. 2008. No. 6. pp. 109-114.

Razdvigaya gorizionty nauki: k 90-letiyu akad. S. L. Tikhvinskogo [Pushing the Horizons of Science: to the 90th anniversary of Academician S. L. Tikhvin]. M " 2008. pp. 164-166.

Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming Dynasty, on the rights and obligations of the heir to the throne and the sons of the sovereign who are endowed with the estates, Obshchestvo i gosudarstvo v Kitae: XXXVIII nauch. konferentsii M., 2008, pp. 50-54.

Emperors of the Ming Period (1368-1644) / / Society and the State in China: XXXIX Scientific Conference of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 2009, pp. 101-108.

An Unusual Emperor on the Chinese Throne [Taizong] / / China: search for harmony. To the 75th anniversary of Academician M. L. Titarenko, Moscow: Forum Publ., 2009, pp. 521-524.

Society and the State in China (review of reports of the 39th Conference, March 23-25, 2009). 2009. No. 6. pp. 138-143.

History of China: Ancient, Medieval, Modern Times / RAS. Institute of Oriental Studies, Moscow: Vostochny lit., 2010, 599 p. (sovm. with O. E. Nepomnin, T. V. Stepugina).

Society and the State in China (review of reports of the 40th Conference, March 29-31, 2010). 2010. No. 5. pp. 153-159.

In memory of the ascetic of science Rudolf Vsevolodovich Vyatkin (to the 100th anniversary of his birth), Obshchestvo i gosudarstvo v Kitae XL nauch. konf. M., 2010. pp. 3-8. (sovm.: Yu. V. Chudodeev).

Governesses of China / / Society and the State in China: XL Scientific Conference, Moscow, 2010, pp. 71-79.

Typologization of Chinese Emperors based on the book "The Chinese Imperial System" by Xu Lianda and Zhu Ziyang / / Society and State in China: XLI scientific Conference Moscow, 2011. Issue 3. pp. 126-128.

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