Birthday anniversary of Gombojab Tsybikov, orientalist and traveler

April 20 (May 2) 1873, in the locality of Urdo Agha, Trans-Baikal region of Chita County, in a nomad Buryat family of Tsebek Montuyev, was born Gombojab Tsebekovich Tsybikov, future orientalist, professor, traveler.

At the age of five, Gombojab Tsybikov learned to read and write in Mongolian; in 1880-1884 he studied in the Aga parish school, then continued his studies in Chita, in a boys' school. He graduated in 1893 with a silver medal. School teachers' meeting decided that he deserved to continue education in Tomsk Imperial University. Gombojab studied at the Faculty of Medicine, one of the top 5 centers of medical education in Russia at that time. Having left the Imperial Tomsk University, upon the recommendation of the famous St. Petersburg physician, P. A. Badmayev, Tsybikov took up oriental studies. He spent a year in Urga (today Ulan Bator), where he studied Mongolian and Tibetan languages. In 1895 Gombojab entered the Sino-Mongolian-Manchurian Department of the Faculty of Oriental Languages at St. Petersburg University. He graduated in 1899, with a first degree diploma and a gold medal.

In the last years of the university, Gombojab Tsybikov was engaged in an independent scientific research. In 1897, he joined the commission of V. N. Kulomzin to study land use and landowning in the Trans-Baikal region. In 1898, the first printed work of Tsybikov, "Taxes and Duties" was published - a 250 page essay on the situation of peasants, Cossacks, and inorodtsy of the Trans-Baikal area in regards of tax-paying.

In 1899-1902, Tsybikov made his famous journey to Central Tibet, undertaken at the expense of Russian Geographical Society. He was the first scientist of Russia, who, under the guise of a pilgrim-Lama, managed to get into Tibet, visit the major cities and religious centers, be favored with an audience with the Dalai Lama XIII, make a series of unique photographs, collect a rich research material. His report at the meeting of the Russian Geographical Society, 7 (20) May 1903, caused a sensation in the scientific world and was awarded the highest award - the Przhevalsky prize. The book, written after the travel, "Buddhist pilgrim at the shrines in Tibet," made Tsybikov worldwide famous. A collection of woodcuts and manuscripts, submitted by him to the Asian Museum, became an important part of the Tibet collections.

Tsybikov used the knowledge gained in the field of spoken language (especially Lhasa dialect) at the Oriental Institute in Vladivostok, where he worked from 1902 to 1917. In 1906, he headed the department of Mongolian literature. He managed not only to organize a systematic study of the Mongolian and Tibetan languages, but also to open there one of the best departments of Tibetology in Russia. He wrote a textbook of Mongolian language, a reader of Mongolian texts: "A manual for practical study of the Mongolian language," "Mongolian texts", "Mongolian official papers." He also issued "A manual for the study of the Tibetan language," which still remains the only textbook of Tibetan language, created by domestic author.

In autumn of 1917, Tsybikov returned to the Trans-Baikal region, where he took an active part in public life, worked at the Council of school, taught in Chita, and the village of Aginskoye at teachers' courses. In 1922, he was one of the founders of the Buryat Scientific Committee; in 1924 - 1928 worked as its scientific secretary. He took part in the cultural and national construction of Buryatia, wrote textbooks, taught at the Buryat Pedagogical College. In 1928-1930, Gombojab worked as a professor at Irkutsk State University - taught a course in Mongolian philology at the Buryat-Mongolian Faculty. Within 5 years he trained many scientists, figures of public education.

Gombojab Tsebekovich Tsybikov died on September 20, 1930 in the village of Aginskoye, Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (today, the Trans-Baikal region).

G. Ts Tsybikov published the following works: in 1927 - "Mongolian writing as an instrument of national culture", " The History of the Mongol culture", "Buryat-Mongolian shamanism", "Russian-Mongolian dictionary of terms", "Grammar of the Buryat-Mongolian written language"; in 1929 - "Manual of Mongolian language self-study", "Trans-Baikal Buryat Cossack army"; and in 1930 - "The Life and works of  Dorji Banzarov" and others.

The name of Tsybikov is on a par with the names of famous Russian travelers.

Lit.: Доржиев Ж. Д., Кондратов А. М. Путь в Тибет : [о Г. Ц. Цыбикове]. М., 1973; Он же. Научное наследие Г. Ц. Цыбикова : автореф. дис. на соиск. учен. степ. канд. ист. наук. Владивосток, 1978; Он же. Гомбожаб Цыбиков. Иркутск, 1990; Он же. Великий ученый, путешественник, открывший Тибет : к 125-летию со дня рождения Г. Ц. Цыбикова // Агинская правда. 1998. 16 июня; Константинов М. В. Гомбожаб Цыбиков: Истоки бурятской культуры // Исследователи древнего Забайкалья. Чита, 1982; Мельхеев М. Страницы жизни : к 100-летию со дня рождения Г. Ц. Цыбикова // Агинская правда. 1973. 19 апр.; Найданов Д. Рождённый в юрте : [биографический очерк о бурятском ученом, путешественнике Г. Цыбикове] // Агинская правда. 1970. 7 июля; Тумунов Ж. Т. Новые материалы о жизни и деятельности Г. Ц. Цыбикова // Записки Забайкальского филиала Географического об-ва СССР. Вып. 1. 1971. С. 44-54; Балданов Ц. Б. Путешествие-подвиг : к 100-летию путешествия Г. Цыбикова в Тибет // Агинская правда. 1999. 27 нояб.; Тумунов Ж. Профессор Г. Цыбиков в Забайкалье // Агинская правда. 1993. 14 сент.; Филинов А. Родом из Аги : к 120-летию со дня рождения Г. Ц. Цыбикова // Нерчинская звезда. 1993. 2 июля.

Based on the materials from the Pushkin Trans-Baikal Regional Universal Research Library