Formation of the Ancient Chinese Eastern Han Empire in the Soviet historiography of 1920s – 1930s

• Published in: Исторический журнал: научные исследования no. 6; pp. 47 - 56
• Main Author: Korobitsyna, Anna Konstantinovna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2021
• ISSN: 2454-0609; 2454-0609
• DOI: 10.7256/2454-0609.2021.6.36912

This article provides an overview of the major works of the Soviet researchers of prewar period, who covered the emergence of the Eastern Han Empire (25 - 220). The period of its existence that falls on the I - II centuries AD is one of the poorly studied periods of the Ancient Chinese history. The representations on the establishment of this empire within Soviet historiography developed in the prewar period are important for further study of this state, since they have not undergone significant changes. The article employs the chronological principle with determination of the key peculiarities of historiography of 1920s - 1930s, as well as comparative-historical and typological methods. Soviet researchers of the prewar period who dealt with this topic relied on the concept of the existence of feudalism in Ancient China, and thus, the struggle between the class of feudal lords and serf peasants. The Red Eyebrows rebellion movement drew heightened attention of the scholars. The Russian researchers of prewar period, other than K. A. Harnsky (1884 - 1938), views the Red Eyebrows movement as a peasant rebellion relying on rather ideological reasons than the analysis of historical sources. The author of this article believes that the example of this rebellion movement could tell about the class struggle in Ancient China, which explains the interest of the researchers. However, the focus of researchers on the Red Eyebrows movement, which covers just the first years of the existence of Eastern Han Empire, is also the reason why the establishment of the empire is poorly studied. They also interpreted the topic from ideological perspective, omitting the inconvenient facts.