Oriental Collection № 1/2015
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Butan, a photo essay by Svetlana Sysoeva, opens the first issue of 2015. The story by Svetlana Sysoeva «The Kings in their Kingdom» — a journey to the country lost in the mountains, is dedicated to the same topic.
- Elena Voitishek. The Dispute of Tea and Wine. French sinologist Paul Pelliot during the exploration of the Dunhuang caves in 1907 discovered a Chinese manuscript «The Dialogue of Tea and Wine (Х century). The characters of the manuscript hold debates during which their virtues and vices are being exposed. The magazine also publishes this curious monument itself, translated for the first time into the Russian language by Elena Voitishek.
- Valery Kravchenko. The Drawings of the Distinctive Artist Kirill Kilpalin. The essay presents the work of a remarkable artist, writer and a folklorist Kirill Kilpalin (1930–1991) — a representative of the minor Koryak people living on the Kamchatka Peninsula. A lucky hunter and a fisherman coexisted in him with the creator capable to see and capture the beauty of the world.
- Elena Breus. The Birthday of the Lord of the Earth. The author tells about the beautiful ceremony in the honor of Tudi Gun — the patron Saint of the area, which she witnessed on the island of Taiwan.
- Marina Mongush. To the people of the reindeer region. In 2012, the author participated in the Japanese-Chinese-Mongolian-Russian research expedition. In a remote area of the Republic of Tuva the expedition studied the way of life of reindeer herders.
- Alexander Mescheryakov. Japan — the country of chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemum was brought to Japan from China along with its symbolic significance as the symbol of durability and longevity. For many centuries this flower, along with plum and sakura, was considered the main seasonal flower of Japanese poetry. The article is accompanied by the story «Kazasi» translated for the first time into the Russian language by Maria Toropygina.
- Svetlana Ryzhakova. The songs of the yakshas and games of people. Yakshagana — a synthetic genre of the traditional Indian theatre, which combines drama, dance and music, has become a cultural brand of the Indian state Karnataka. The article describes the history of this genre, its prominent features, methods of training actors.
- Viktor Pogadaev. How a Malay Prince fell in love with a Japanese Princess. In Tokyo and then in Kuala Lumpur there was shown a play about love of a Malay Prince and a Japanese Princess. Flat leather puppets of the Malay traditional shadow theater wayang and dolls of the Japanese puppet theatre have encountered in the play.
- Anna Bychkova. «When you return home...». The Battle of Kohima (4 April — 22 June 1944) is referred in the British historiography of the Second World War to as the «Stalingrad of the East». After this battle the operation of the Japanese army upon capturing the NorthEastern part of India had failed. The author of the article visited the battlefield, met with the participants of the events of those years.
- Yury Zinin. The Arabesques. In the ordinary selection of the issue there were placed the notes on the Syrian village of Ma’loula, whose inhabitants have preserved the Aramaic language; on the study of giant sea turtles in the United Arab Emirates; on Saudi city of Jeddah, which basis of wealth is oil.
- Dmitry Ryabchuk. The smoke from the Western seas. The history of emergence and spread of opium smoking in China. Opium had firmly fit into the spiritual life of society, having left a trail in the religious life, the aesthetic design of the accessories and literature. The article is accompanied by an Indian tale «Where opium came from».
- Andrey Strelkov. In the country of Manjushri. The author tells about his visit to the complex Wutai Shan in the Chinese province of Shanxi. It is worshiped by Buddhists as the place of birth and presence of the Manjushri Bodhisattva
of Wisdom. - Vladimir Belyakov. The Monastery in the Mountains of Lebanon. The author focuses on the history and present day of the Orthodox Monastery of Prophet Elias in Lebanon, that is closely linked with Russia.
- Asya Petrichenko. The beauty of the cut out silhouette. Artist Robert Grabbe, who had been living most of his life in Karaganda (Kazakhstan), was one of the first to have used new technique in book graphics — a clipping from the paper. He applied colored silhouette not only to illustrate books, but also to create an independent art cycles and albums.
- Anas Kamalov. The word in beautiful clothes. The art of calligraphy today is experiencing the second birth in Iran. At the Center of Eastern Literature of the Russian State Library with the assistance of the Cultural Representative Office of Iran the exhibition of two famous artists — Mehdi Tusi and Hadi Roshanzamir took place.
- Liu Yadin. Interest in Russian literature does not fade. Interview with the Chairman of the Association of Chinese scholars of Russian literature Liu Yadin.
- Natalia Babakhina. Writers still have admirers! A report from the book fair of intellectual literature held in December 2014.