This is an article about a German sinologist. For the science fiction writer, see Herbert W. Franke

Herbert W. Franke

Herbert W. Franke is an Austrian scientist and writer. He is considered one of the most important science fiction authors in the German language....

Herbert Franke (27 September 1914 − 10 June 2011) was a German historian of China

History of China

Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...

. He is particularly known for his works on the history of the Jurchen (Jin) and Mongol

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 (Yuan) Empires in China.

After the end of WWII, Herbert Franke, along with Wolfgang Bauer

Wolfgang Bauer

Wolfgang Bauer was an Austrian writer best known as a playwright who, particularly in his younger days, was regarded as an enfant terrible by the Austrian cultural establishment.-Life and career:...

, was instrumental in establishing the Sinological Section in the University of Munich. Later, he succeeded Erich Haenisch as the head of the Sinology Department at that university.

He is one of the authors of volume 6 of the Cambridge History of China dealing with history of China under the Khitan

Khitan people

thumb|250px|Khitans [[Eagle hunting|using eagles to hunt]], painted during the Chinese [[Song Dynasty]].The Khitan people , or Khitai, Kitan, or Kidan, were a nomadic Mongolic people, originally located at Mongolia and Manchuria from the 4th century...

, Jurchen and Mongol regimes.

External links