Petr Ivanovich Kafarov

In 1840, after study at the Kazan seminary, Kafarov was ordained and sent as a missionary to Peking (Beijing). On a second mission to China in 1849, he was made archimandrite. In 1864, at the time of the launching of his third mission, he was made head of the mission. His major contribution to missionary work was through his philological and cultural studies, for he spent more time on academic pursuits than on the preaching and teaching work of the mission.

He made an expedition with the (Russian) Imperial Geographic Society to Ussurisk, and frequently visited Buddhist temples. He mastered Chinese and translated several Chinese and Mongolian texts into Russian, as well as various Christian texts into Chinese. These included Scriptures, service books, teaching materials, and missionary literature. His translations proved of value not only for the China mission but also for those in Korea, Japan, and the Russian Far East. Not only were the translations used as such, but they helped greatly the work of translating such materials into Korean and Japanese. Kafarov died en route back to Russia. He is best known for his Chinese-Russian dictionary, which was completed after his death by the consul general in Peking and published in 1889.