Osip Senkovsky
Encyclopedia
Józef Julian Sękowski was a Polish-Russian orientalist
, journalist
, and entertainer.
Józef Sękowski was born into an old family of Polish szlachta
. During his study in the University of Vilno
he became fascinated with all things oriental. Having mastered the Arabic
, Persian
, Turkish
, and Hebrew language
s, he was assigned to the Russian mission in Constantinople
, which occupation gave him ample opportunities to travel in Syria
, Nubia
, and Egypt
. In 1821 he returned to the Russian capital, where he got the chair in oriental languages at the University of St Petersburg.
In the 1820s, Sękowski started publishing in popular periodicals of Kondraty Ryleyev and Faddei Bulgarin
. He is best remembered for having edited the hefty Library for Reading (1833-1856), whose lively and humorous style (as Nikolai Gogol
put it) attracted to literary journals even those people who had never held a book in their hands.
Probably the most prolific writer of his time, Sękowski contributed articles on the wide range of topics, from mathematics
to medicine
. Under the pen-name of Baron Brambeus he published a series of fantastic voyage
s, including one to the center of the Earth (The Sentimental Journey to Mount Etna) and another to an antediluvian Egyptian civilization flourishing on the now-frozen Siberia
n plain (The Scientific Journey to Bear Island).
As a literary critic he had no principles at all, his motto being "easy reading and less thought". One day he would pronounce his friend Nestor Kukolnik
to be Gogol's superior, only to place Gogol higher than Homer
the very next day. Sekowski dismissed The Tale of Igor's Campaign
as a clumsy fake, derogated Pushkin as a second-hand imitator, and declared the Tale of Bygone Years to be written in Polish
.
During his last years, Sekowski turned from literature to music. He claimed to have invented a five-stringed violin
and a new type of oven. He also published pioneering studies of Chinese
, Mongolian
, and Tibetan
languages.
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
, journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and entertainer.
Józef Sękowski was born into an old family of Polish szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
. During his study in the University of Vilno
Vilnius University
Vilnius University is the oldest university in the Baltic states and one of the oldest in Eastern Europe. It is also the largest university in Lithuania....
he became fascinated with all things oriental. Having mastered the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
s, he was assigned to the Russian mission in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, which occupation gave him ample opportunities to travel in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. In 1821 he returned to the Russian capital, where he got the chair in oriental languages at the University of St Petersburg.
In the 1820s, Sękowski started publishing in popular periodicals of Kondraty Ryleyev and Faddei Bulgarin
Faddei Bulgarin
Faddey Venediktovich Bulgarin , was a Polish-born Russian writer and journalist whose self-imposed mission was to popularize the authoritarian policies of Alexander I and Nicholas I.-Life and career:...
. He is best remembered for having edited the hefty Library for Reading (1833-1856), whose lively and humorous style (as Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
put it) attracted to literary journals even those people who had never held a book in their hands.
Probably the most prolific writer of his time, Sękowski contributed articles on the wide range of topics, from mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
to medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
. Under the pen-name of Baron Brambeus he published a series of fantastic voyage
Fantastic Voyage
Fantastic Voyage is a 1966 science fiction film written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby.Bantam Books obtained the rights for a paperback novelization based on the screenplay and approached Isaac Asimov to write it....
s, including one to the center of the Earth (The Sentimental Journey to Mount Etna) and another to an antediluvian Egyptian civilization flourishing on the now-frozen Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n plain (The Scientific Journey to Bear Island).
As a literary critic he had no principles at all, his motto being "easy reading and less thought". One day he would pronounce his friend Nestor Kukolnik
Nestor Kukolnik
Nestor Vasilievich Kukolnik was a Russian playwright and prose writer of Carpatho-Rusyn origin. Immensely popular during the early part of his career, his works were subsequently dismissed as sententious and sentimental. Today, he is best remembered for having contributed to the libretto of the...
to be Gogol's superior, only to place Gogol higher than Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
the very next day. Sekowski dismissed The Tale of Igor's Campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
The Tale of Igor's Campaign is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language.The title is occasionally translated as The Song of Igor's Campaign, The Lay of Igor's Campaign, and The Lay of...
as a clumsy fake, derogated Pushkin as a second-hand imitator, and declared the Tale of Bygone Years to be written in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
.
During his last years, Sekowski turned from literature to music. He claimed to have invented a five-stringed violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and a new type of oven. He also published pioneering studies of Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, and Tibetan
Tibetan language
The Tibetan languages are a cluster of mutually-unintelligible Tibeto-Burman languages spoken primarily by Tibetan peoples who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering the Indian subcontinent, including the Tibetan Plateau and the northern Indian subcontinent in Baltistan, Ladakh,...
languages.