In the 1960s, K.C. Chang proposed that Tapenkeng (Dabenkeng) inhabitants could be migrants from mainland China to the island and the ancestors of modern indigenous peoples. The first settlers could be characterized by corded pottery, a wide range of fishing tools, polished stone axes and adzes, marine economy and shell ornaments. The article presents the results of investigations of archaeological sites in Tainan County - Nankuanli (Nanguangli) and Nankuanli Tung (Nanguangli Dong) which provide essential and detailed information regarding the question of the peopling of Taiwan approximately 6000 years ago. The article focuses on publications that discuss the economy and way of life of the first settlers of the Taiwanese seaside who strongly relied on marine food resources. Faunal data played an important role in the reconstruction of resource use. A big amount of shell remains indicate their significant role in the diet of ancient inhabitants. About 21 families and 49 species of gastropods and bivalves were identified by Taiwanese scientists. Remnants of dogs, deer, wild boar and muntjac were also found. Fish bones was the most abundant food resource in the Nankuanli region - 17 fish families can be identified. Analyses of the excavated materials indicate a gradual shift of these settlements from temporary to places of permanent habitation and intensive exploration of nearby environments. Taiwanese archaeologists also conclude that the inhabitants of this area were not isolated and had strong long-distance connections with Penghu archipelago and the eastern coast of Taiwan (Pinglin in Hualien) from where they sourced raw materials such as jade and olivine basalt. Therefore, they had sailing crafts suitable for open sea voyaging. Also, according to the finds of carbonized rice and millet remains these settlers had learned advanced farming technology.

The authors investigate the historical fate of one of four construction mega-projects of Qin Shihuangdi, namely, Epang Palace which was supposed to become the worthy dwelling for the first unifier of the Celestial Empire. Construction workers erected the giant platform-stylobate and built three walls around it. During the Middle Ages (from the end of the Han dynasty and up to the Tang dynasty) it accommodated the military Echeng settlement. Within the same period of time, by the efforts of literati and, first of all, by prominent poet Du Mu (803-852) who wrote «The Ode on Epang Palace», a myth was created about the wonderful residence of the Emperor with many features such as watchtowers, pavilions and galleries, and how all these beauties were destroyed by rebellions in the great fire. Nevertheless, regular archaeological excavations conducted at the site during the period of 2002-2004 did not reveal any traces of such a fire. The Palace wasn’t burned down - it was simply never constructed. Furthermore, though the huge base platform of the Palace was registered by UNESCO experts as the biggest palace building in the world, no further complicated constructions were found on its surface (though some evidence of preparatory works were reported, for example, the many pieces of roofing tiles that were lifted to the platform). The results of archaeological investigations of real Epang meant the death-warrant to false Epang that was built by local authorities as popular tourist attraction, means a source of money. It was ruined in 2012 and replaced with archaeological park where all construction works were to be based on scientific reconstruction.

The author analyzes the history of the unique mountain-shaped ancient ritual vessels - Boshanlu (博山爐) censers, known in China since the Western Han era (202 BC - 8 AD), based on research obtained through written, archaeological and museum sources, as well as material from the author’s field research in East Asia. The mountain-shaped censer openly embodies symbols of Taoist interpretations of the holy 仙 xian and the search for immortality. Subsequently, once the incense burners began to incorporate Buddhist symbols, they gained great importance in Buddhist ritual practices. The design of these vessels gradually transformed under the influence of Buddhism, as Taoist symbols were phased out in favor of various Buddhist attributes. These incense burners became an integral decorative element of the Buddhist altar (alongside flower vases and candlesticks). Having ceased its time of mass use in the post-Han years, Boshanlu censer have not completely disappeared. Their memory has survived among burial imagery, cave and stone bas-reliefs and Buddhist-themed sculptural compositions. The article provides the research of the most prominent issues of the Southern Liang, Northern Qi and Sui dynasties’ cultural heritage (second half of the 6th century) and shows their influence on the Boshanlu censers’ exterior and similarities of the latter with the gilt-bronze Baekje (百済金銅大香爐) incense burner. After a profound analysis, taking into account latest research, the symbolism which encompassed Baekje incense burners (at the turn of the 6-7^th centuries) has been found to contain common features with the Chinese mountain-shaped censers, characterized by elements that allow this vessel to be classified as a unique item, symbolically reflecting an entire complex of various religious and philosophical representations, including Taoist-Buddhist concepts, local cults and local versions of palace ceremonies and everyday practices of the people of the state of Baekje.

Later Han 後漢 termination in the 220 AD was a result of multiple crises, one aspect of which had been the political bankruptcy of the emperor and his loyalists. A turbulent and war-torn period, which started from the rebellion of the Yellow Turbans in 184 AD, has been a topic of discussion for many years ever since the Jin 晉 empire. Although in the last years approaches to studies of the Later Han differ, there are three key historiographical ideas: the final years of the Later Han are discussed as a part of the Later Han, as a part of the Three Kingdoms era 三國 or are included into both periods. This case study is an attempt to show the possibility of a different approach and treat the period of 184-220 AD as a transition between Han and Wei empires, according to information about the local administrative appointments which can be found in the first chapter of San-guo zhi 三國志, being a biography of the most important statesman of this period - Cao Cao 曹操.The accounts, which can be found in his biography, indicate that Cao Cao's appointments did not precisely follow the traditions of the Later Han administrative system, but neither were they in full agreement with the ideas, which were later implemented during the Wei-Jin Nan-beichao period. His conduct was much more pragmatic than that of other Later Han statesmen, but he never ventured as far as his successors did in granting too much power to the local gentry.

The article provides a comparison between mutual relations of the Han empire and the Xiongnu during the early stages of the Silk Road, and the Byzantium connections with the Mongol Empire during the last surge of activity on this trading artery. In order to understand how sedentary societies’ perception patterns of nomadic cattle herders changed over time (at the empire level), the authors have intentionally considered such a wide chronological timeframe. The Han dynasty ascended the throne almost at the same time as the beginning of Xiongnu rule, and despite the fact that they became significantly more powerful in economic terms and more densely populated, this did not extend to their military. The advantages however allowed China to gain the upper hand over a long time period, “appeasing” the Xiongnu (specific techniques are explained in the article). The Eastern Roman Empire at the time of the collision with the Mongols had already existed for a little less than a thousand years and had experienced a series of both victories and downfalls. Constantinople authorities could not compare with the power of Chingissids in terms of the number of troops, the size of territory and number of taxable subjects. However, unlike a number of Asian states, Byzantium survived not only the invasion of the Mongols, but also their presence in the Middle East in general. This paper gives an in-depth look at the mechanisms of how this became possible and the contributing role that was played by trans-Asian trade.

This article is devoted to the analysis of the relationship between the formation of subcultures and the flexible identity of South Korean people, which was formed under the influence of modernization and globalization while maintaining the Confucian core of national culture. The special Confucian type of social structure of Korea, developing since the Middle Ages to present day, recognizes the presence of various, sometimes conflicting trends, requiring alternative functioning of cultural filters and mentality, which is favorable soil for the emergence of a large number of groups with different lifestyles and values. In the 1960s in South Korea, modernization began which took place on the surface without preparing the foundation for such a kind of transformation. The rigidity of the political regime within the country, as well as following the political and economic course of the United States and the final rejection of the search for attempts to unite the Korean Peninsula against the background of superficial reform, led to the emergence of a large number of student movements for democracy, reunification and preservation of national specificity. In the midst of student movements of the 1960-1980s for democratic transformations, new subcultures and movements were born. Depending on the symbolism in South Korean society, nowadays one can distinguish subcultures of K-pop fans, underground and hippie, oljang, clubbers, whose members within groups have similar characteristics - a common language, communication network, personal connections, superficial acquaintances, general norms and values, behavior models and forms of relationships. In the long run, Koreans will continue to actively perceive new ideas and patterns, skillfully integrating them into their culture and monetizing them.

Modern Japan is resolutely turning towards creating a full-fledged multicultural society. Becoming aware of the depopulation crisis, many municipalities are actively working to attract foreigners. In combination with other measures of the Japanese government, teaching Japanese to foreigners of all levels ensures mutual understanding. The concept of “Plain Japanese” (PJL) implies the use of a simplified language with limited vocabulary and a set of elementary grammar. “Plain Japanese” was created as a means of providing information to foreigners, firstly for emergency situations, and secondly for everyday life. The scope of application of “Plain Japanese” over the past 25 years has expanded considerably. The leading role in the study of “Plain Japanese” belongs to the research team of Professor Iori Isao from Hitotsubashi University (Pref. Tokyo). Prof. Iori believes that “Plain Japanese” can perform the following key functions: 1. “Plain Japanese” as a state guarantee of “compensatory education”. Children of foreigners who grew up in Japan should also be able to socialize unhindered. “Plain Japanese” is suitable for this purpose as well as possible. 2. “Plain Japanese” as a language of communication in regional communities. In order for “Plain Japanese” to successfully perform the role of an intermediary language, not only foreigners should speak and study it, but also the Japanese who work with foreigners. 3. “Plain Japanese” as the initial level of the Japanese language across all regions. These are schools and Japanese courses for foreigners. To teach the initial level of the Japanese language in a very short time, it is necessary to considerably cut down the grammatical and lexical minimum compared to, for example, the school course of the Japanese language. At present, digital technologies have been created for translating texts to the European Congregation Campaign, research groups are being conducted, and educational literature is being produced by initiative groups.

This article analyzes compound verbs of modern Japanese language belonging to the reciprocal and joint action group expressing quantitative meaning. It also discusses the term ‘compound verb’ and its understanding in Russian and foreign linguistics. The compound verb is a verb in which from the left side a nominal, verbal or adjective component may be added to a verb functioning as a second component of the compound verb, from the right side - the auxiliary verb suru ‘to do’. We suppose that the compound verb is a verb combining two verbal components. The first component has the form of a connective form of the verb, and the second one is a verb having a full word inflectional paradigm. Components 合う- au and 合わせる - awaseru are used as affixes in analyzed compound verbs. Compound verbs with reciprocal meaning with component 合う - au express subjective reciprocal meaning and suppose existence of two participants of action. Compound verbs with joint action meaning with component 合う- au can express an indefinite quantity of subjects of action with the help of using adverbs or the appropriate lexicon as the subject of a sentence. The second component 合う- au easily adjoins to the verbs implying existence of a partner and doesn’t join to verbs which have a strong meaning of individuality and separateness. The second component 合わせる - awaseru partially keeps its own lexical meaning and the compound verb overall has an objective reciprocal meaning and expresses the quantity of subjects or objects. Compound verbs with component 合わせる- awaseru have the following meanings: 1. Combination of two subjects or two items. In this group as a first component the verbs with meaning ‘joint, adding’ and verbs with meaning ‘sudden joint action of partners’ are often used. 2. Adding one subject to another, one item to another. Compound verb overall expresses meaning of the result of action. 3. Adaptation to some circumstances, comparison. Conclusion is made based on the comparison of some items.

This study presented a method of Korean speaking education using Google Expeditions, which can complement the reality of Korean language education in Russia. The following factors have been considered to introduce Google Expeditions to the class. First, the teacher should handle Google Expeditions skillfully and cope with unexpected situations so that there is no disruption in the course of the class. Second, students should integrate well with existing teaching methods so that they don't feel rejection towards Google Expeditions (new technologies). Third, the strength of Google Expeditions should have a positive impact on the educational effect. To design education using virtual reality, 'the essential principles of virtual reality education' (the principle of interaction, the principle of practicality and the principle of preparation) were adopted. The 'Multimedia-based Courseware Design Strategies' (Goal, Teaching Content, Personalization, Judgment of what is right or wrong, Feedback, Closing) were adopted to design classes with software for curriculum. The content of the class was 'Sejong Korean Conversation 1,' a textbook written by a professional organization. Based on these three factors, the ways to teach Korean speaking using Google Expeditions were explored and examples were presented.

A report on the scientific journey to Gansu province of the PRC in July 2019 is presented. During the journey the authors had consultations with the Chinese rock art specialists, visited the Historical museum of Gansu province, the Museum of North-Western University and the Wujiachuan rock art site in Jingyuan county of Gansu province. Brief descriptions of the rock art site and museum collections are given.

The article presents an overview of key scientific and corporate events held between 2017-2019 hosted by the Oriental Studies and Foreign Languages Departments of the Institute of Humanities of Novosibirsk State University in close partnership with the Eurasia-Pacific University Network and the University of Vienna (Austria). The listed conferences, expos and field trips were held at the academic sites of Austria, Russia and China (Hong Kong), opening up prospective plans for joint research.