The Samara Museum houses part of the collection of the outstanding orientalist Aleksei Matveevich Pozdneev, which includes various examples of Buddhist art, sculptures of Lamaist gods and of Buddha Shakyamuni.
Aleksei Matveevich Pozdneev was born in 1851 in Orel. He graduated from the theological seminary and, fascinated by the idea of missionary activity of Russian priests in Asian countries, entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages of the Saint Petersburg Imperial University. As a student, he became interested in Chinese, Manchurian and especially Mongolian literature.
In 1876, he graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Languages of the Saint Petersburg Imperial University and later defended his dissertation on “Samples of folk literature of Mongolian tribes”. In 1883, he received a doctorate for his work “The Mongolian Chronicle — Erdeniin erikhe”. Pozdneev also was awarded a Grand Gold Medal from the Russian Geographical Society for his work “Essays on the life of Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist clergy in Mongolia”.
Pozdneev became a professor at Saint Petersburg University and proposed to establish an Eastern Institute in Vladivostok, where he was appointed rector. He studied Mongolian written texts and Mongolian languages in general. Thus, Aleksei Pozdneev made a significant contribution to the development of Buddhology, Sinology and other disciplines of Asian studies. Pozdneev made several trips to Mongolia and amassed a large collection of handwritten and printed Chinese, Mongolian and Manchurian works, as well as a collection of burkhans (Buddhist sculptures) and other objects of religious worship.
A bronze sculpture “The Birth of Buddha” from the collection of Aleksei Pozdneev is presented in the museum. Gautama was born into a royal family from the Shakya clan, that is why he is called Shakyamuni. For more than 20 years, his parents had been dreaming of having a child. One night the queen had a dream in which a white elephant entered her through her right side, and she conceived. As the time of childbirth approached, the queen, per the custom of her people, went to give birth to her parents’ house. According to the legend, Buddha’s mother Mahamaya gave birth to him on the road, in a Lumbini grove (presently in Nepal). When he was born, the prince took seven steps forward. Lotuses, symbols of wisdom, bloomed where he stepped. The future Buddha walked and talked freely. He proclaimed that he had come to free humanity from suffering.
Aleksei Matveevich Pozdneev was born in 1851 in Orel. He graduated from the theological seminary and, fascinated by the idea of missionary activity of Russian priests in Asian countries, entered the Faculty of Oriental Languages of the Saint Petersburg Imperial University. As a student, he became interested in Chinese, Manchurian and especially Mongolian literature.
In 1876, he graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Languages of the Saint Petersburg Imperial University and later defended his dissertation on “Samples of folk literature of Mongolian tribes”. In 1883, he received a doctorate for his work “The Mongolian Chronicle — Erdeniin erikhe”. Pozdneev also was awarded a Grand Gold Medal from the Russian Geographical Society for his work “Essays on the life of Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist clergy in Mongolia”.
Pozdneev became a professor at Saint Petersburg University and proposed to establish an Eastern Institute in Vladivostok, where he was appointed rector. He studied Mongolian written texts and Mongolian languages in general. Thus, Aleksei Pozdneev made a significant contribution to the development of Buddhology, Sinology and other disciplines of Asian studies. Pozdneev made several trips to Mongolia and amassed a large collection of handwritten and printed Chinese, Mongolian and Manchurian works, as well as a collection of burkhans (Buddhist sculptures) and other objects of religious worship.
A bronze sculpture “The Birth of Buddha” from the collection of Aleksei Pozdneev is presented in the museum. Gautama was born into a royal family from the Shakya clan, that is why he is called Shakyamuni. For more than 20 years, his parents had been dreaming of having a child. One night the queen had a dream in which a white elephant entered her through her right side, and she conceived. As the time of childbirth approached, the queen, per the custom of her people, went to give birth to her parents’ house. According to the legend, Buddha’s mother Mahamaya gave birth to him on the road, in a Lumbini grove (presently in Nepal). When he was born, the prince took seven steps forward. Lotuses, symbols of wisdom, bloomed where he stepped. The future Buddha walked and talked freely. He proclaimed that he had come to free humanity from suffering.
