Heinrich Kurz (literary historian)

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Heinrich Kurz (1871)

Heinrich Kurz (born April 28, 1805 in Paris , † February 24, 1873 in Aarau ) was a German - Swiss literary historian , sinologist , translator and librarian .

Life

Heinrich Kurz was born in Paris as the son of the German shoemaker Johann Georg Kurz and his French wife. After his father's death in 1816, he came to his uncle's farm and later attended a grammar school. From 1824 he studied at the University of Leipzig with little inclination theology . During his studies he became a member of the old Leipzig fraternity in 1824 . After he had been relegated because of his involvement in fraternity activities, he studied oriental languages in Munich . After completing his doctorate, he went to his native Paris for further training in 1827, where he learned the Chinese language from Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat at the Collège de France until 1830 and soon published treatises on Chinese and translations. From 1832 on he taught Chinese as a private lecturer in Munich and published Die Zeit , a liberal opposition magazine, which earned him a conviction for libel and a two-year prison sentence. In prison he translated two Chinese works (published in St. Gallen in 1836 ).

After his release, Kurz emigrated to Switzerland in 1834, where he got a job as a teacher for German language and literature at the Cantonal School in St. Gallen . In 1838 he married Barbara Sophia Amsler, the daughter of the lawyer and Aargau government councilor Johannes Amsler , and acquired citizenship in the community of Schwamendingen .

In 1839, Kurz switched to teaching German at the Aarau Cantonal School , where he stayed until he retired in 1866 due to illness. In 1844, in addition to his teaching post, he became deputy and in 1846 successor to the cantonal librarian Franz Xaver Bronner , a position he held until his death.

During his time in Aarau, Kurz turned to the field of German literary history with great interest and published numerous works, including a highly regarded “History of German Literature” with samples in four volumes. He edited anthologies of contemporary authors and editions of classical writers.

Erwin Kurz , the sixth of his ten children, was a politician and represented the canton of Aargau on the National Council for twenty years .

Works (selection)

Editing

  • Goethe's works. Edited by Heinrich Kurz. Critically reviewed edition with all readings added. Leipzig, publishing house of the Bibliographisches Institut.

Sinological works

  • Yun tseu mo lo. Tableau des Elémens vocaux de l'Ecriture Chinoise . Paris 1829 - together with JC Levasseur.
  • About some of the latest achievements in Chinese literature . Paris 1830.
  • Mémoire sur l'état politique et religieux de la Chine, 2300 ans avant notre ère, selon le Chou King . Paris 1830.

Literary historical works

  • Contributions to history and literature: especially from the archives and libraries of the Canton of Aargau. Aarau 1846, ( books.google.com ).
  • History of German literature with selected pieces from the works of the most excellent writers. Leipzig 1853, 3 volumes.
  • Guide to the history of German literature. (5 editions) Leipzig 1860–1878 ( openlibrary.org (1860) ).

Anthologies

  • Handbook of the poetic national literature of the Germans since Haller. Zurich 1840–1843, 3 volumes.
  • Handbook of German prose from Gottsched to the very latest. Zurich 1845–1852, 3 volumes.
  • Switzerland. Land, people and history in selected seals. Bern 1853 ( books.google.com ).
  • Swiss stories. Zurich 1860 ( books.google.com ).
  • Flower picking from the newer Swiss poets. Zurich 1860 ( books.google.com ).
  • Library of German National Literature. Hildburghausen u. a. with Lessing's works (1869–1870, 4 volumes.) Heinrich von Kleist Collected Works (1868, 2 volumes.)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Albert Schumann:  Kurz, Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 17, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1883, pp. 421-424.