Richard Wilhelm (10 May 1873 – 2 March 1930) was a German sinologist, theologian and missionary. He lived in China for 25 years, became fluent in spoken and written Chinese, and grew to love and admire the Chinese people. He is best remembered for his translations of philosophical works from Chinese into German that in turn have been translated into other major languages of the world, including English. His translation of the I Ching is still regarded as one of the finest, as is his translation of The Secret of the Golden Flower; both were provided with introductions by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who was a personal friend.[1]
Richard Wilhelm | |||||||||
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| Born | 10 May 1873 | ||||||||
| Died | 2 March 1930 (aged 56) | ||||||||
| Known for | I Ching (Yi jing) translation | ||||||||
| Children | Hellmut Wilhelm | ||||||||
| Scientific career | |||||||||
| Fields | Chinese literature | ||||||||
| Institutions | University of Frankfurt | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 衛禮賢 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 卫礼贤 | ||||||||
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"Wilhelm was a truly religious spirit, with an unclouded and far-sighted view of things. He had the gift of being able to listen without bias to the revelations of a foreign mentality, and to accomplish that miracle of empathy which enabled him to make the intellectual treasures of China accessible to Europe...he could not help recognizing the logic and clarity of Chinese thought... it had overwhelmed him and assimilated him.
— C.G. Jung"[2]
Lau Nui Suan introduced Wilhelm to Chinese yoga philosophy and the psychology of the I Ching.[2]
His son Hellmut Wilhelm was also a sinologist, and was professor of Chinese at the University of Washington. Wilhelm was a close friend of the renowned Chinese educator and diplomat Dr. Li Linsi.[3]
The Richard Wilhelm Translation Centre at Ruhr-Universität Bochum was founded in 1993 by Helmut Martin.[4]
References
edit- ^ Richard Wilhelm at School of Wisdom
- ^ a b Aniela Jaffe (1961) Memories, Dreams, Reflections by C.G. Jung, translated by Richard and Clara Winston, page 375
- ^ Taylor, Wong. "Rediscovering a Chinese legend: The untold wartime tale of Dr Li Linsi". China Daily.
- ^ Busche, Christian; Schiller, Beate. "The Richard Wilhelm Translation Centre". www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
Further reading
edit- Hentze, Carl (1930). "Richard Wilhelm". Artibus Asiae (in French). 3 (4): 232–5.
- Pelliot, Paul (1930). "Nécrologie – Richard Wilhelm". T'oung Pao (in French). 27 (2/3): 237–9.
- Lackner, Michael. "Richard Wilhelm, a 'Sinicized' German Translator." (Archive) In: Alleton, Vivianne and Michael Lackner (editors). De l'un au multiple: traductions du chinois vers les langues européennes Translations from Chinese into European Languages. Éditions de la maison des sciences de l'homme (Les Editions de la MSH, FR), 1999, Paris. p. 86-97. ISBN 273510768X, 9782735107681.
External links
edit
- Richard Wilhelm (sinologist) in the German National Library catalogue
- Das Buch der Wandlungen, German translation
- Laotse - Tao Te King, German translation
- I Ching Translated by Richard Wilhelm, English translation
- Laotse - Tao Te King, English translation
- Works by Richard Wilhelm at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Richard Wilhelm at the Internet Archive
- Works by Richard Wilhelm at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Newspaper clippings about Richard Wilhelm in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW