Les Chinois à Kiakhta (1728-1917)

Abstract

The Chinese in Kiakhta (1728-1917) This paper considers the vital activities of Chinese in Kiakhta, which, for a long time, together with Maimacheng, served as the only trade gate between Russia and China. It suggests that between 1727-1917, the life of Chinese in Maimacheng, as well as their contacts with Russians in Kiakhta, was strictly regulated by the Chinese government through laws that were unknown to the Russian merchants. Nevertheless these restrictions were not disruptive, and, thanks to Russian hospitality, the Chinese felt at home in Kiakhta and Troitskosavsk. They not only stayed there for a long time for trade, but also went there on visits to Russian friends and to celebrate different festivals. It is significant that at difficult times, for example in struggles with natural disasters, the Chinese and Russians helped each other. The article stresses in particular the period after the signing of the Russian-Chinese treaties in 1858-1860, when Kiakhta lost its exceptional importance, and Russian-Chinese trade was carried out along all perimeters of the border between the two empires. This new trading opportunity was an unexpected turn for Kiakhtian merchants as well as for ordinary traders, who were forced to compete with Chinese “at home.” The article concludes that Kiakhta has played an influential role not only in Russian-Chinese trade, but also in cultural interactions between the Russian and Chinese peoples.