Begdsiin Jawuuchulan

Begdsiin Jawuuchulan ( Mongolian Бэгзийн Явуухулан ; * 1929 ; † February 17, 1982 ) was a Mongolian writer and is considered the most important Mongolian poet of the 20th century.

Life

Jawuuchulan was born the son of a herdsman and hunter. After attending the college for finance in Ulan Bator , he worked from 1950 to 1954 as a journalist for the youth newspaper. After studying at the Gorky Literature Institute in Moscow from 1954 to 1959, he worked for twenty years as an editor for the literary magazine Zog . Jawuuchulan was a member of parliament and headed the poetry section of the Writers' Union for several years, with the promotion of young talent being his special concern.

The central theme of the poet, who was passionate about his homeland, was man in his creative relationship with nature and society. His first two collections of poetry, published in 1954, still contained poems in the journalistic-didactic style that prevailed in Mongolian poetry of the 1940s and 1950s, but also samples of a great talent.

After overcoming his artistic weaknesses, Jawuuchulan soon became a mature and versatile representative of Mongolian poetry. Testimony to this are his poems in the volumes Der Klang des Silberzaumes (1961), Ein Tag der Poesie (1963), The moon that slept in the steppe (1965), Das Schilfdickicht am See Char-us (1965), Mittagshimmel (1973) ), Where the Mountain Goats Live (1975) and Love for Women (1982). Many poems were set to music and made into folk songs.

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Jawuuchulan achieved a universality that was up to then rather rare in Mongolian poetry. B. in A Mongolian poem (excerpt German 2014) and in the poem Die Welt (1977). Also the poem Where was I born? (1961, German 2014), next to Daschdordschiin Natsagdordschs Meine Heimat one of the most important testimonies of Mongolian poetry, or poems like What for? To! (German 1975) and The silver autumn morning (1977) became very popular. His love poetry has a special place in Jawuuchulan's work. In pictorial verses he shapes the love for women, but also the love for home and for his people.

He sings about the beauties of nature, mother tongue and art, in his poetry he makes the contrast between yesterday and today transparent. His clear, pictorial language is indebted to folk poetry like the older Mongolian poetry ( Dulduityn Rawdschaa , Natsagdordsch), but he also took up numerous ideas from world poetry. His transmissions (Li Taibai, Goethe, Heine, Garcia Lorca, Jessenin and others) are characterized, like his own poetry, by a high level of language culture and sensitivity.

Jawuuchulan is not only the most translated Mongolian poet, he is also considered the most important Mongolian poet of the 20th century. In memory of the poet, the Jawuuchulan Festival is held today , which, along with the Rawdschaa Festival, is one of the most important literary events in Mongolia. His work had and still has a lasting influence on younger Mongolian poets such as Bawuugiin Lchagwasüren (* 1944), Dandsangiin Njamsüren (1945–2002) and O. Daschbalbar (1957–1999).

Translations

• in: Whose World ... Poetic Document, (East) Berlin 1967
• in: new german literature, (East) Berlin, issue 7/75
• in: Erika and Manfred Taube, Schamanen und Rhapsoden, Leipzig 1983
• in: Klaus Oehmichen, Ten Mongolian Poets, Mongolian Notes, issue 17/2008
• in: The times move under the Eternal Sky. A pearl necklace from Mongolian poetry, Leipzig 2014

literature

• in: Klaus Oehmichen, ibid.

Mongolian name: As is customary in Mongolia, in this article the patronymic is in the genitive case before the proper name. Thus Begds is the patronymic , Jawuuchulan the proper name. The person is addressed with their proper name.