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15 Н. А. Чеснокова. Чон Чжинин как историческая личность... Chŏng Chin-in as a historical figure: based on the theoretical approach suggested by Sergei O. Kurbanov in his monograph reflections on historical science and the role of personality in history (Saint-Petersburg: RHGA, 2016. 212 p.) Nataliya A. Chesnokova Abstract . In 2016, Professor Sergei O. Kurbanov suggested a theoretical approach to describe a historical figure. This approach was thoroughly explained in his monograph Reflections on Historical Science and the Role of Personality in History . So, this article introduces a reader to how professor Kurbanov’s theory can help to describe a historical figure, such as a legendary Chǒng Chin-in, a messiah who Korean masses hoped to welcome in the periods of crisis and famine. The prophecies of Chǒng Chin-in building a new state were highly popular in the late Chosǒn period (1392–1897), in the 18–19 th centuries, and one of the sources I examine in the article is the Ch ǒ ng Kam nok prophecy. This study allowed to clearly reveal the contradiction in the Chǒng Chin-in’s legend. On the one hand, the historical determinants are well-structured, and sometimes even the year when the old Chosǒn state would collapse is known. On the other hand, the Chǒng Chin-in’s person itself is vague, and in some historical cases it was enough to have a surname Chǒng to get popularity among the masses. Keywords : Chǒng Kam’s Writings, Chǒng Kam nok, prophecies, Chǒng Chin-in «Человеческую историю гораздо легче понять, если уяснить себе: большинство великих побед и трагедий произошло не потому, что их виновники были по натуре своей плохими или хорошими. Они по натуре своей были людьми» Терри Пратчетт (1948–2015) «Благие знамения» Ч то такое история? С определенной точки зрения, исто- рия—этонаука, котораяучитправильнозадаватьвопросы.Как писал британский историк Эдуард Халлетт Карр (1892–1982),