LINGUISTIC MEANS OF TIME EXPRESSION IN THE SCIENTIFIC TEXT OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article examines the linguistic means of time expression in N.Yu. Bichurin’s early Russian sinological text “China. Its inhabitants, customs, manners, education” (1840). The analysis focuses on the chapters “Chronology (year-related)” and “Chronology (general time),” as well as descriptive fragments concerning administrative-territorial structure. The results reveal a clear distribution: present tense and locative structures dominate in guidebook-like parts, while past tense and retrospective constructions prevail in historical sections. This confirms the text’s hybrid composition, combining features of a guidebook and a historical excursus. A three-component model of temporal integration (retrospective core – localizer – actualizer) is proposed as the linguistic mechanism underlying this synthesis. The findings are relevant for narrative theory and the history of Russian sinology.