The article explores the development of the scientific style in the field of ethnographic science in the first half of the nineteenth century on the basis of a comparison of the initial journal articles with the texts processed by N. Ya. Bichurin from his collection “China, its Inhabitants, Morality, Customs and Education”. There is a tendency towards stylistic neutralization of linguistic resources (primarily in grammar and vocabulary) striving for consistency, generality and accuracy in the presentation of scientific information.