Walter Liebenthal
Encyclopedia
Walter Liebenthal
was a German
philosopher and sinologist who specialized in Chinese Buddhism. He translated many philosophical works from Pali
, Sanskrit
and specially from Chinese into German
. Based upon his extensive research in Indian Buddhism and Chinese religion, one of his main conclusions was that early Chinese Buddhism through Ch'an (Zen
-) was not a Chinese version of Indian Buddhism, but rather, that it developed from Taoism
, a Chinese religion. Indian concepts are present, but at the core it represents a Chinese perspective.
, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), as son of Robert Liebenthal, attorney-at-law, and Grete Becken. He married Charlotte Oenike in 1914 and they had 4 children: Frank, Ludwig, Johanna and Walter.
He had a varied career path. He started to study law, but he soon followed his artistic inclination and became a sculptor in 1907. In 1914, with the outbreak of First World War, he volunteered for the Prussian Army. He was wounded twice and he was eventually made prisoner in France. He spent two years in captivity (1918-1920).
Upon his return to Berlin
in 1920, he started several ventures to make a living and sustain his family. Those were the difficult post-war years of the Weimar Republic
. With friends he opened a movie theater, then tried to run a chocolate factory, a strawberry farm and eventually he also started to build movie decor. None of these ventures was profitable enough. But his wife was more successful with an embroidery factory for children clothes. She set up a workshop in their house and they could all live on its proceeds. During those years Walter Liebenthal met Dr.Paul Dahlke
, who had founded the first German Buddhist monastery in Berlin-Frohnau in 1924 and he became deeply interested in Buddhism. He started a systematic study of Pali
, Sanskrit
, Tibetan
and Chinese. Then in 1928, at the age of 42, he began Indological studies at the universities of Berlin, Marburg, Heidelberg, Halle
and Breslau. Among his teachers and mentors were Dr.Johannes Nobel, Max Walleser and Otto Strauss. In 1933 he obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Breslau on the merits of a dissertation on “Satkärya as depicted by his opponents”. (see Publications). Upon his graduation, he was not able to get a university position in Germany due to the discriminatory laws of the Hitler regime at the time.
In 1934 he obtained an appointment as a research fellow at the Sino-Indian Institute
of Yenching University
in Peking, China. Over the next two years he prepared a Chinese-Sanskrit Index to the Kasyapa-parivarta, but unfortunately it was lost during the 1937 occupation of Peking by Japanese forces.
In 1937, he joined Peking University
as Lecturer in Sanskrit and German and followed it to its successive wartime seats in Changsha and Kunming. “On returning to Peking in 1946 he published The Book of Chao which firmly established his reputation as a Sinologist “.
In 1952 he left Peking and moved to the Visva-Bharati University
of Santiniketan in India, founded by Bengali writer, Rabindranath Tagore
, first as a Senior Research Fellow, and later as professor and director of the Department of Sino-Indian Studies until he became emeritus in 1959. On his seventieth birthday, the University of Santiniketan published a Festschrift, with articles from “fellow scholars of Dr.Liebenthal the world over, who warmly responded to the idea of paying him their tribute”
Upon the death of his dear wife Charlotte in 1958, he decided to leave India. He travelled to Europe, gave talks and lectures, was guest lecturer at the Hebrew University in Israel (1959) and later at the Sorbonne
, France (1960-61) at the recommendation of his friend Prof.Paul Demiéville
. Finally in 1962, at the age of 77, he settled in Tübingen (Germany), where he was invited to teach some courses and exercises by the directors of the Indological and East Asian Philological Seminars, Faculty of Philosophy, at the University of Tübingen.
In 1965, upon the recommendation of Prof.Dr.Ziegler, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and the support of the Senate of the University of Tübingen, he was named Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in his specialty of “Chinese Buddhism”. He remained active giving classes, lectures and continuing work "On World Interpretations", his opus magnum until his death in 1982.
“The lengthy and intensive engagement with the religious and philosophical teachers of India and China have led him beyond the reaches of his own specialties to comparative study of the basic themes and thought structure that determine a culture. He has laid down his thoughts on this problem in his writing, "On World-Interpretations" (Santiniketan 1956), which is at the same time a plea for mutual understanding among peoples”.
Also many articles and bookreviews. The former included ones entitled: "The Problem of a Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary" (1935-6), " On Chinese-Sanskrit Comparative Indexing" (1935-6), "What is Chinese Buddhism" [in German], "The Problem of Chinese Buddhism", "Existentialism and Buddhism", Yung-chia Cheng-tao-ko or Yung-chia's Song of Experiencing the Tao (1941), Sanskrit Inscriptions from Yünnan I (and the Dates of Foundation of the Main Pagodas in that Province) (1947), "Wang Pi's new interpretation of the I Ching and Lun-yu", T'ang Yung T'ung (1947), Shih Hui-Yuan’s Buddhism as set forth in his writings (1950), "The Immortality of the Soul in Chinese Thought. " (1952), "A Biography of Chu Taosheng," (1955), “Notes on the Vajrasamadhi” (1956), “Lord Atman in the Lao-Tzu” (1968). Most appeared in the Monumenta Serica
. Journal of Oriental Studies, Germany, but also in Monumenta Nipponica
and the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
.
was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
philosopher and sinologist who specialized in Chinese Buddhism. He translated many philosophical works from Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and specially from Chinese into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. Based upon his extensive research in Indian Buddhism and Chinese religion, one of his main conclusions was that early Chinese Buddhism through Ch'an (Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-) was not a Chinese version of Indian Buddhism, but rather, that it developed from Taoism
Taoism
Taoism refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao , which is the mechanism of everything that exists...
, a Chinese religion. Indian concepts are present, but at the core it represents a Chinese perspective.
Biography
Walter Liebenthal was born in 1886 in KönigsbergKönigsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
, Prussia (now Kaliningrad, Russia), as son of Robert Liebenthal, attorney-at-law, and Grete Becken. He married Charlotte Oenike in 1914 and they had 4 children: Frank, Ludwig, Johanna and Walter.
He had a varied career path. He started to study law, but he soon followed his artistic inclination and became a sculptor in 1907. In 1914, with the outbreak of First World War, he volunteered for the Prussian Army. He was wounded twice and he was eventually made prisoner in France. He spent two years in captivity (1918-1920).
Upon his return to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in 1920, he started several ventures to make a living and sustain his family. Those were the difficult post-war years of the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. With friends he opened a movie theater, then tried to run a chocolate factory, a strawberry farm and eventually he also started to build movie decor. None of these ventures was profitable enough. But his wife was more successful with an embroidery factory for children clothes. She set up a workshop in their house and they could all live on its proceeds. During those years Walter Liebenthal met Dr.Paul Dahlke
Buddhism in Germany
Buddhism in Germany looks back to a history of over 150 years. Arthur Schopenhauer was one of the earliest Germans who were influenced by Buddhism. Schopenhauer got his knowledge of Buddhism from authors like Isaac Jacob Schmidt...
, who had founded the first German Buddhist monastery in Berlin-Frohnau in 1924 and he became deeply interested in Buddhism. He started a systematic study of Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Tibetan
Tibetan script
The Tibetan alphabet is an abugida of Indic origin used to write the Tibetan language as well as the Dzongkha language, Denzongkha, Ladakhi language and sometimes the Balti language. The printed form of the alphabet is called uchen script while the hand-written cursive form used in everyday...
and Chinese. Then in 1928, at the age of 42, he began Indological studies at the universities of Berlin, Marburg, Heidelberg, Halle
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...
and Breslau. Among his teachers and mentors were Dr.Johannes Nobel, Max Walleser and Otto Strauss. In 1933 he obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Breslau on the merits of a dissertation on “Satkärya as depicted by his opponents”. (see Publications). Upon his graduation, he was not able to get a university position in Germany due to the discriminatory laws of the Hitler regime at the time.
In 1934 he obtained an appointment as a research fellow at the Sino-Indian Institute
Alexander von Staël-Holstein
Baron Alexander Staël von Holstein ; was a German-baltic aristocrat, Russian and Estonian orientalist, sinologist, sanskritologist, specializing in Buddhist texts.Related to Madame de Staël's husband, the future baron was born in the province of Estland...
of Yenching University
Yenching University
Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
in Peking, China. Over the next two years he prepared a Chinese-Sanskrit Index to the Kasyapa-parivarta, but unfortunately it was lost during the 1937 occupation of Peking by Japanese forces.
In 1937, he joined Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
as Lecturer in Sanskrit and German and followed it to its successive wartime seats in Changsha and Kunming. “On returning to Peking in 1946 he published The Book of Chao which firmly established his reputation as a Sinologist “.
In 1952 he left Peking and moved to the Visva-Bharati University
Visva-Bharati University
Visva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
of Santiniketan in India, founded by Bengali writer, Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, first as a Senior Research Fellow, and later as professor and director of the Department of Sino-Indian Studies until he became emeritus in 1959. On his seventieth birthday, the University of Santiniketan published a Festschrift, with articles from “fellow scholars of Dr.Liebenthal the world over, who warmly responded to the idea of paying him their tribute”
Upon the death of his dear wife Charlotte in 1958, he decided to leave India. He travelled to Europe, gave talks and lectures, was guest lecturer at the Hebrew University in Israel (1959) and later at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, France (1960-61) at the recommendation of his friend Prof.Paul Demiéville
Buddhist Studies
Buddhist studies, also known as Buddhology , is the academic study of Buddhism. The term applies especially to the modern academic field, which is a subset of Religious Studies, and is distinct from Buddhist philosophy or Buddhist theology...
. Finally in 1962, at the age of 77, he settled in Tübingen (Germany), where he was invited to teach some courses and exercises by the directors of the Indological and East Asian Philological Seminars, Faculty of Philosophy, at the University of Tübingen.
In 1965, upon the recommendation of Prof.Dr.Ziegler, Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and the support of the Senate of the University of Tübingen, he was named Honorary Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy in his specialty of “Chinese Buddhism”. He remained active giving classes, lectures and continuing work "On World Interpretations", his opus magnum until his death in 1982.
“The lengthy and intensive engagement with the religious and philosophical teachers of India and China have led him beyond the reaches of his own specialties to comparative study of the basic themes and thought structure that determine a culture. He has laid down his thoughts on this problem in his writing, "On World-Interpretations" (Santiniketan 1956), which is at the same time a plea for mutual understanding among peoples”.
Professional Positions
- Sino-Indian InstituteAlexander von Staël-HolsteinBaron Alexander Staël von Holstein ; was a German-baltic aristocrat, Russian and Estonian orientalist, sinologist, sanskritologist, specializing in Buddhist texts.Related to Madame de Staël's husband, the future baron was born in the province of Estland...
, Yenching UniversityYenching UniversityYenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
of Peking, China, Research Fellow, 1934-36 - Peking UniversityPeking UniversityPeking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
, China, Lecturer in Sanskrit and German, 1937 - Visva-Bharati UniversityVisva-Bharati UniversityVisva Bharati University is a Central University for research and teaching in India, located in the twin towns of Santiniketan and Sriniketan in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it Visva Bharati, which means the communion of the world with India...
, SantiniketanSantiniketanSantiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...
, India, Senior research Fellow 1952-54, Visiting Professor of Sino-Indian Studies 1955-59 - Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, Visiting Professor, 1959
- Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises, SorbonneSorbonneThe Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, Paris, France, 1960 - University of Tübingen, Germany, Honorary Professor, 1962
Publications
- “Satkarya in der Darstellung seiner buddhistischen Gegner“. 8 vo. 151 pp Kohlhammer, Stuttgart-Berlin 1934
- "Sutra to the Lord of Healing" (Bhaishajya-grun Vaiduryaprabha Tathagata), 32 pp. Ed. by Chou Su-Chia and translated by Walter Liebenthal. Buddhist Scripture Series No.1, Society of Chinese Buddhists, Peiping 1936
- “The Book of Chao”. Monumenta Serica, Series XIII 8 vo. 195 pp. Peking 1948
- “Tao-sheng and His Time”. Monumenta NipponicaMonumenta NipponicaMonumenta Nipponica is a biannual academic journals of Japanese studies. It is affiliated with Sophia University .- Contents :Each issue contains three to four main research articles, and ten to fifteen reviews of recent books in Japanese studies, dealing with Japanese society, culture, history,...
, XI, XII, 34 pp, Tokyo 1955/6, Monograph No.17 - The World Conception of Chu Tao Sheng. Monumenta NipponicaMonumenta NipponicaMonumenta Nipponica is a biannual academic journals of Japanese studies. It is affiliated with Sophia University .- Contents :Each issue contains three to four main research articles, and ten to fifteen reviews of recent books in Japanese studies, dealing with Japanese society, culture, history,...
, 8 vo. Nbrs.1 & 2, Tokyo 1956 - “On World Interpretations”. 8vo. 88 pp. Santiniketan 1956. (appeared serially in the Visvabharati Quarterly XX. 1, 3 & 4; XXI. 1 & 4 during 1954/6
- "Chao Lun: The Treatises of Seng-Chao", 2nd Rev edition, 152 pp. Honk Kong University Press, sold by Oxford University Press ISBN 0196431042
- “Das Wu-men kuan: Zutritt nur durch die Wand / Wu-men Hui-k'ai“. 142 pp. Heidelberg: Lambert Schneider, 1977
Also many articles and bookreviews. The former included ones entitled: "The Problem of a Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary" (1935-6), " On Chinese-Sanskrit Comparative Indexing" (1935-6), "What is Chinese Buddhism" [in German], "The Problem of Chinese Buddhism", "Existentialism and Buddhism", Yung-chia Cheng-tao-ko or Yung-chia's Song of Experiencing the Tao (1941), Sanskrit Inscriptions from Yünnan I (and the Dates of Foundation of the Main Pagodas in that Province) (1947), "Wang Pi's new interpretation of the I Ching and Lun-yu", T'ang Yung T'ung (1947), Shih Hui-Yuan’s Buddhism as set forth in his writings (1950), "The Immortality of the Soul in Chinese Thought. " (1952), "A Biography of Chu Taosheng," (1955), “Notes on the Vajrasamadhi” (1956), “Lord Atman in the Lao-Tzu” (1968). Most appeared in the Monumenta Serica
Monumenta Serica
Monumenta Serica – international academic journal of sinology . It is published by Monumenta Serica Institute in Sankt Augustin. The editor-in-chief is now Roman Malek....
. Journal of Oriental Studies, Germany, but also in Monumenta Nipponica
Monumenta Nipponica
Monumenta Nipponica is a biannual academic journals of Japanese studies. It is affiliated with Sophia University .- Contents :Each issue contains three to four main research articles, and ten to fifteen reviews of recent books in Japanese studies, dealing with Japanese society, culture, history,...
and the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
The Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies is an English-language scholarly journal published by the Harvard-Yenching Institute. HJAS features articles and book reviews of current scholarship in East Asian Studies, focusing on Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history, literature and religion, with...
.
Literature
- Liebenthal Festschrift, 294 pp, Santiniketan, Visvabharati Quarterly, Vol V, Numbers 3 & 4, 1957
- University of Tübingen, Pressemitteilung Nr.18, "Prof.Dr.Walter Liebenthal's 80th Birthday", June 3, 1966
- University of Tübingen, article by Prof.Dr.Tilemann Grimm, Attempto 66/67, "Prof.Dr.Walter LIebenthal's 95th Birthday", p. 73, 1980