Erwin Rousselle

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Erwin Rousselle (born April 8, 1890 in Hanau ; † June 11, 1949 in Eschenlohe ) was a German sinologist and freemason who made significant contributions, particularly in the field of Buddhology and living Daoism.

Life

Erwin Rousselle received his doctorate in philosophy in 1916 and in law in 1921 at the University of Heidelberg . In the early twenties he taught with Hermann Keyserling at his "School of Wisdom". A first interdisciplinary collaboration began. a. with CG Jung , Heinrich Zimmer , Rabindranath Tagore . In 1923 he qualified as a professor for Comparative Philosophy of the Orient and Occident at the Technical University of Darmstadt .

From 1924 to 1929 Erwin Rousselle taught in China as a professor of German philosophy at the Chinese Empire University , as a visiting professor of comparative linguistics at Tsing Hua University and was director of the Sino Indian Institute at Yenching University . Besides Richard Wilhelm , he was probably the only European who was allowed to experience a living Daoist transmission before it was realized.

In 1931 he became director of the China Institute in Frankfurt and lecturer in Sinology and Buddhology at the University of Frankfurt . After another habilitation in Sinology and Buddhology (1933), he became a professor for this area at the University of Frankfurt.

A second stay in China (1938–1940) took him into the interior of the country (including meeting Thubten Chökyi Nyima , the 6th Panchen Lama ). After returning to Germany, as a critic of the Nazi regime, his professorship was gradually withdrawn, he was banned from speaking and the management of the China Institute was withdrawn. After the war he was reinstated as acting director of the China Institute.

Erwin Rousselle was a member of the Masonic Lodge Zum Flammenden Schwert in Darmstadt, which belongs to the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany , and therefore also known Karl Bernhard Ritter . He was also a member of the lodge.

Appreciation

In addition to his scientific work, Erwin Rousselle was a practicing mystic who not only frequented the Buddhist and Taoist world, but also a. worked as a deacon for a positive Christianity of ecumenical breadth and universalistic breadth. His life was shaped by a living experience of God, which made him stand up for a mutual understanding of all religions on earth.

Works

Many writings and articles have been published in The Road to Consummation, Sinica, Eranos .

  • The mystery of change. Darmstadt 1923.
  • On the meaning of Buddhist sculptures in China. Darmstadt 1958. (Reprint from Sinica 1931–35)
  • Lau-Dse, guidance and strength from eternity. 1946.
  • Lau-Dsi's way. Munich 1973.
  • For spiritual guidance in Taoism. Darmstadt 1962.
  • Small Writings: Buddhist Studies. Aschaffenburg 2011.

Some of Rousselle's works were published posthumously, others will be reprinted posthumously.

literature

  • Wolfgang Fenske:  Rousselle, Erwin. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 31, Bautz, Nordhausen 2010, ISBN 978-3-88309-544-8 , Sp. 1160–1163.  ( Article / beginning of article in Internet archive )
  • Lisette Gebhardt : Academic work and Asian cult: Wilhelm and Rousselle as mediators of Asian religion. In: Dorothea Wippermann, Georg Ebertshäuser (Hrsg.): Ways and crossings of the Chinese customer at the Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main: Contributions of the symposium "90 years University of Frankfurt 2004: China research - China pictures - China references" at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main from July 8th and 9th 2004 IKO, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-88939-818-5 , pp. 159-183.
  • Mathias Tank: La maison de Rousselle. Chronicle of a Huguenot family in Klein-Steinheim-Hanau. In: Steinheim Yearbook for History and Culture. Vol. 2 (1992), pp. 9-46

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ To the box of the flaming sword
personal data
SURNAME Rousselle, Erwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sinologist
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanau
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1949
Place of death Eschenlohe