THE CHINESE POPULATION OF “RUSSIAN” HARBIN AS REFLECTED IN THE NEWSPAPER “HARBINSKY VESTNIK” AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Authors: Дацышен В.Г. 
Published: July 2024

Статья посвящена китайскому населению Харбина: его численности, положению, занятости, культуре. Выбор темы обусловлен как слабой ее изученностью, так и необходимостью введения в научный оборот новых исторических источников. Харбин был построен в полосе отчуждения, но развивался как российский город. В Харбине с первых дней его основания также постоянно проживали и работали этнические китайцы, китайские подданные, формально обладавшие теми же правами, что и русские. Харбин стал продуктом русско-китайского взаимодействия. Целью данной работы является восстановление исторической картины китайского присутствия в «русском» Харбине, выявление проблем, связанных с китайцами и русско-китайским взаимодействием в начале «золотого десятилетия» истории «русского» Харбина. Данная цель достигается посредством выявления и анализа материалов, опубликованных на страницах газеты «Харбинский Вестник». Выявленные источники указывают на то, что китайцы были заняты в разных сферах экономики, составляли половину населения Харбина. Русско-китайское взаимодействие было сложным и противоречивым, но в целом – успешным и плодотворным.

The historical legacy of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) is an important factor in the history of Russia and modern relations between Russia and China. Russians lived in Harbin for half a century, and Russian culture determined the appearance of the city. To this day, many people in Russia and abroad show great interest in the Russian heritage, forgetting that from the first days of its existence, modern Harbin developed exactly as a Sino-Russian city. Since the beginning, the Chinese constituted about half of the population of the city, and the Russians lived and worked next to the Chinese. Harbin was founded by Russian builders of the Chinese Eastern Railway in the territory of China, and throughout its history, the Russian authorities recognized the sovereignty of China over the right-of-way of the Chinese Eastern Railway, with Chinese citizens having the same rights as Russians. Chinese labor was present and even predominant in many areas of the economy. Harbin was built in a right-of-way, but the Chinese were permanently living in its territory; residents of the Chinese suburb of Fujiadian worked in the city, as well as residents of other regions who came for temporary work. However, there are basically no Chinese people in Russian science, public space, and culture in the history of Harbin. This article restores the historical picture of the Chinese population who lived and worked in the capital of the CER in 1907, at the beginning of the “golden decade” of the history of “Russian” Harbin. The choice of topic is due to poor knowledge of the issue and the need to introduce new historical sources into scientific circulation. This goal is achieved through identifying and analyzing materials published in the ‘Harbinskiy Vestnik’ newspaper. Identified sources indicate that the Chinese lived and worked next to and together with the Russians, and were employed in different sectors of the economy. They dominated small business, retail trade and consumer services. The Chinese in Harbin preserved and constantly demonstrated their material and spiritual religious culture to representatives of other nations. Chinese crime was widespread in Harbin; it was caused not by interethnic contradictions, but by the socio-economic stratification of society. Domestic conflicts and minor offenses caused by manifestations of national and cultural chauvinism were a noticeable phenomenon. Sino-Russian interaction in Harbin at the initial stage of the city’s history was complex and contradictory, yet overall successful.