Linnart Mäll
Encyclopedia
Linnart Mäll was an Estonia
n historian
, orientalist
, translator and politician
.
, Estonia, Mäll graduated from the University of Tartu
in 1962 with a major in general history. He followed graduation with postgraduate studies at the Institute for Oriental Studies at the USSR Academy of Sciences (1964–1966) and Department of History, University of Tartu (1966–1969); 1985 Cand. Hist. (Ph.D.) in history, Ph.D. thesis "Ashtasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā as a Historical Source".
Since 1994 he was Head of the Centre for Oriental Studies, senior research fellow, Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tartu
. From 1969 to 1973 he served as lecturer
of the Chair
of General History at Tartu State University. Later he was dismissed for anti-communist
views and subsequently worked for ten years as engineer of the Cabinet for Oriental Studies. He was partly rehabilitated in 1983 and promoted to head of the Laboratory for History and Semiotics
(1983–1991). He later served as head of the Laboratory for Oriental Studies (1991–1994).
His main research fields included: Buddhist Mahāyāna texts, Buddhist mythology
, classical India
n literature
and culture
, classical Chinese
texts, Tibet
an Buddhist texts
and the history of small nations and peoples.
He was one of the first who applied the methods of semiotic analysis for investigation of Buddhist texts and other texts of classical Oriental thought. Mäll was one of the central figures of the branch of oriental studies in the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
in 1960–70s. In the 1990s he worked on the elaboration of the conception of humanistic base texts; since 1998 the initiator and head of the research project "Humanistic base texts in the history of mankind"; and author of ten books and over one hundred academic articles.
Mäll was inspired to become a Buddhist and buddhologist by well-known Estonia
n theologian and philosopher Uku Masing
in the early 1960s. He later studied under and worked together with several Buddhist and non-Buddhist teachers and scholars including Nikolai Konrad, Alexander Piatigorsky
, Oktiabrina Volkova, Youri Parfionovich, Lev Menshikov and Lama Bidia Dandaron
. He was a teacher and spiritual master for many Estonia
n Buddhists and orientalists of the younger generation. In the 1990s he established close ties with The Dalai Lama and served as the main organizer of both of the visits of His Holiness in Estonia (1991 and 2001). Mäll was the founder and director of the first Mahāyāna Institute (which existed from 1991 to 1994).
He was awarded the Order of the White Star
, IV degree in 2001.
Mäll died of cancer in Tartu on 14 February 2010.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, translator and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
Biography
Born in TallinnTallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia, Mäll graduated from the University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
in 1962 with a major in general history. He followed graduation with postgraduate studies at the Institute for Oriental Studies at the USSR Academy of Sciences (1964–1966) and Department of History, University of Tartu (1966–1969); 1985 Cand. Hist. (Ph.D.) in history, Ph.D. thesis "Ashtasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā as a Historical Source".
Since 1994 he was Head of the Centre for Oriental Studies, senior research fellow, Department of History, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tartu
University of Tartu
The University of Tartu is a classical university in the city of Tartu, Estonia. University of Tartu is the national university of Estonia; it is the biggest and highest-ranked university in Estonia...
. From 1969 to 1973 he served as lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
of the Chair
Chair
A chair is a stable, raised surface used to sit on, commonly for use by one person. Chairs are most often supported by four legs and have a back; however, a chair can have three legs or could have a different shape depending on the criteria of the chair specifications. A chair without a back or...
of General History at Tartu State University. Later he was dismissed for anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
views and subsequently worked for ten years as engineer of the Cabinet for Oriental Studies. He was partly rehabilitated in 1983 and promoted to head of the Laboratory for History and Semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
(1983–1991). He later served as head of the Laboratory for Oriental Studies (1991–1994).
His main research fields included: Buddhist Mahāyāna texts, Buddhist mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, classical India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, classical Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
texts, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts
Buddhist texts can be categorized in a number of ways. The Western terms "scripture" and "canonical" are applied to Buddhism in inconsistent ways by Western scholars: for example, one authority refers to "scriptures and other canonical texts", while another says that scriptures can be categorized...
and the history of small nations and peoples.
He was one of the first who applied the methods of semiotic analysis for investigation of Buddhist texts and other texts of classical Oriental thought. Mäll was one of the central figures of the branch of oriental studies in the Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School
Tartu-Moscow Semiotic School is a scientific school of thought in the field of semiotics that was formed since 1964 and led by Juri Lotman. Among the other members of this school were Boris Uspensky, Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov, Vladimir Toporov, Mikhail Gasparov, Alexander Piatigorsky, Isaak...
in 1960–70s. In the 1990s he worked on the elaboration of the conception of humanistic base texts; since 1998 the initiator and head of the research project "Humanistic base texts in the history of mankind"; and author of ten books and over one hundred academic articles.
Mäll was inspired to become a Buddhist and buddhologist by well-known Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n theologian and philosopher Uku Masing
Uku Masing
Uku Masing was an Estonian philosopher, translator, theologist and folklorist. He developed Estonian analytical philosophy. Masing also wrote poetry, mostly on religious issues...
in the early 1960s. He later studied under and worked together with several Buddhist and non-Buddhist teachers and scholars including Nikolai Konrad, Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky
Alexander Piatigorsky was a Russian philosopher, scholar of South Asian philosophy and culture, historian, philologist, semiotician, and writer. Well-versed in the study of language, he knew Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali, Tibetan, German, Russian, French, Italian and English...
, Oktiabrina Volkova, Youri Parfionovich, Lev Menshikov and Lama Bidia Dandaron
Bidia Dandaron
Bidia Dandaron was a major Buddhist author and teacher in the USSR. He also worked in academic Tibetology, contributed to the Tibetan-Russian Dictionary and made several translations from Tibetan into Russian...
. He was a teacher and spiritual master for many Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
n Buddhists and orientalists of the younger generation. In the 1990s he established close ties with The Dalai Lama and served as the main organizer of both of the visits of His Holiness in Estonia (1991 and 2001). Mäll was the founder and director of the first Mahāyāna Institute (which existed from 1991 to 1994).
He was awarded the Order of the White Star
Order of the White Star
The Order of the White Star was instituted on 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state.- Classes :The Order of the White Star comprises five classes:...
, IV degree in 2001.
Mäll died of cancer in Tartu on 14 February 2010.
Academic associations
His membership in the academic associations is as follows:- Estonian Oriental Society, founder and president in 1988–2001, since 2001 honorary president;
- American Oriental SocietyAmerican Oriental SocietyThe American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship....
; - Learned Estonian SocietyLearned Estonian SocietyThe Learned Estonian Society is Estonia's oldest scholarly organisation, and was formed at the University of Tartu in 1838. Its charter was to study Estonia's history and pre-history, its language, literature and folklore....
; - Academic Baltic-German Cultural Society in Tartu;
- Academic Historical Society;
- Estonian Writers' Association and
- Estonian Tibetan Cultural Society, honorary member.
Other groups
- Dr. Mäll was one of the founders and first chairman of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples OrganizationUnrepresented Nations and Peoples OrganizationThe Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization , formed in 11 February 1991, in The Hague, is an international organization of political organisations and governments representing self-proclaimed "indigenous peoples, minorities, and unrecognised or occupied territories". The organization...
, 1991–1993; *Member of the Estonian Congress and Estonian Council, 1990–1992; - member of the Estonian Constitutional Assembly, 1991–1992;
- Vice Chairman of the Estonian National Independence Party, 1992–1994;
- founder and president of the Estonian Paneuropean Union since 1992.