Ethnic History of Taiwan in Works by Russian Travelers and Scholars (The Late 18th – First Third of the 20th Centuries)

Abstract

Studies in the history of Taiwan have somehow been relegated to the periphery of Oriental Studies in Russia; and the ethnic history of the island in particular have occupied a still more modest spot within them. Yet research on Taiwan has been carried for nearly 200 years in Russia, has its achievements, and deserves a special essay in historiographic study. Works done in Russia on the ethnic history of Taiwan may be divided into writings by those who visited the island and research carried by those who did not. This article examines the writings by Russian travelers and scholars who visited Taiwan in the late 18th – early 20th centuries.