The Mixed Residence and Hybridism in Kiachta, Russia's Border City of Qing in the 18th and the First Half of 19th Centries  

Author: Park, Ji-bae (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies)

Page: 217-265

Abstract​ 

 This article is aimed to examine howKiachta and Maimachen, the frontier cities between Russia and Qing empires, lived together and contacted each other in the 18th and the first half of 19th centuries. 

 Kiachta and Maimachen were the border towns builded by the Kiachta Treaty in 1727 after the long conflict between Russia and Qing during the second half of 17th century. The overall plans of the two cities, the style of the building, and the people's daily life including the clothes and food are so heterogeneous that they seem to be in a confrontational state. Border surveillance was also rigorous, and it seemed to be a tight cordon to a European visitor. Nonetheless, Kiachta and Maimachen were bordering cities facing each other, a buffer zone in which tensions of two empires were eased, and a contact zone where exchange was ongoing and various contacts in daily life occurred. 

 However, the contacts between Kiachta and Maimachen were not made in an highly asymmetrical relationship of power when the Europeans encountered the Americans. Overall, the two empires were in a similar power relationship on the borderline set by the Kiachta Treaty. Maintaining these borders steadily benefited both empires, which required the care and understanding, not conflict and struggle between them. 

 Therefore, in Kiachta and Maimachen on the border region between Russia and Qing, it was important to acknowledge and accept the other cultures rather than the forced conversion and one-sided influences. On this basis, through Kiachta could be exchanged tremendous volumes of goods and greatly be expanded the trade and the contact between the Eurasian regions.

Key Words 

Russo-chinese contact zone, Kiachta, Maimachen, Mixed residence, Hybridism​