Hans Penth
Hans Penth (born May 6, 1937 in Berlin ; † June 17, 2009 in Chiang Mai , Thailand ) was a German linguist and Thaiist .
Hans Penth received his doctorate in "Languages and History of Southeast Asia" at the University of Frankfurt in 1964 with the minor subjects Chinese and ethnology . If he dealt with the history of Aceh ( Sumatra ) in his dissertation , he went to Thailand at the end of the sixties .
Between 1965 and 1970 Penth studied the chronicles of the ancient kingdom of Lan Na in northern Thailand at Wat Phan Tao in Chiang Mai . He settled in Chiang Mai and subsequently specialized in the history of northern Thailand. In the 1970s he worked as a researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences at Chiang Mai University. From 1981 to 1997 he was a "foreign expert" at Lanna's archive for inscriptions at the Institute for Social Research, which had been newly founded at the time. Hans Penth wrote more than 100 scientific articles, including the well-known Jinakalamali index. In his publications and lectures he combined the history and culture of Lanna with everyday life at the time.
Hans Penth retired in 1997, but continued to do research, including a. as an honorary member of the Siam Society and as a close collaborator of Princess Galyani Vadhana , the sister of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX). His main work now lay in the publication of inscriptions that were previously only available as microfilm .
Hans Penth died after a long illness on June 17, 2009 in Suan-Dok Hospital in Chiang Mai and was cremated on June 21 according to a Buddhist funeral rite. He was married to a Thai professor of Romance studies and had a son.
Publications
- A Brief History of Lan Na . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 2000. ISBN 9747551322 .
- The Chiang Mai Chronicle: palm-leaf manuscripts . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 1998. ISBN 9747047691 .
- Jinakalamali Index: an annotated index to the Thailand part of the Rattapanna Chronicle Jinakalamali . Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books 1994. ISBN 9747047322 .
Web links
- Obituary for Hans Penth in English (last accessed December 9, 2010)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Penth, Hans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German linguist and Thaiist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 6, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 17, 2009 |
| Place of death | Chiang Mai , Thailand |