Michael Hahn (Indologist)

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Michael Hahn (2006)

Michael Hahn (born May 7, 1941 in Otterndorf ; † July 12, 2014 in Marburg ) was a German Indologist and Tibetologist with a research focus on classical Sanskrit literature , Tibetan literature and linguistics , as well as Buddhism , who worked as a professor in the Department of Foreign Languages at Philipps -Universität Marburg was active.

Life

Youth and education

Michael Hahn was born as the son of the surgeon Florian Hahn and his wife Edith, geb. Linsenbarth, born in Otterndorf. After graduating from high school in May 1960 at the Amandus-Abendroth-Gymnasium in Cuxhaven , Hahn began studying mathematics , chemistry , physics and Sanskrit (with Gustav Roth and Ernst Waldschmidt ) at the Georg-August-University in Göttingen in the same year . The following year he studied psychology and musicology .

From 1962 to 1967 he studied psychology at the Philipps-Universität Marburg and in his second degree Indology (with Wilhelm Rau ), Tibetology (with Claus Vogel ) and Sinology (with Hans OH Stange). In the fall of 1964 Hahn finished his psychology studies with an intermediate diploma and from 1965 wrote his dissertation in Tibetology, which he completed in mid-1967.

From 1967 to 1968 he studied Mongolian Studies (with Walther Heissig ) at the University of Bonn .

Michael Hahn has played the piano since his youth ; he preferred classical music and chamber music .

academic career

From 1968 Hahn worked as a research assistant at the University of Hamburg , department of Indology with a focus on Buddhist studies, under Ludwig Alsdorf and Franz Bernhard (* 1931, † 1971 in Nepal), where he worked in 1972 for the subjects of Indology and Tibetology with a thesis on Candragomins drama Lokānanda received his habilitation .

From 1972, Hahn had a position as a research assistant (including the power to lectures to keep) at the University of Bonn and 1973 which took place Umhabilitation of Indian and Tibetan Studies at the University of Bonn, where he was appointed professor 1,982th

From 1976 to 1988 he traveled to search for Buddhist manuscripts from Nepal, which were then used in the form of copies and microfilms for research at the Indological Seminar of the University of Bonn.

October 1, 1988, he received a reputation as a professor at the University of Marburg, succeeding William Rau . Hahn held this position until 2007; the farewell lecture took place on July 12, 2007.

As early as the summer of 2004, the Senate of the University of Marburg decided, as part of major cost-saving measures, to close the department of Indology and Tibetology after Hahn's retirement. Hahn succeeded in convincing the Hessian state government of the achievements and the international reputation of research in Marburg, so that the decision was reversed and the procedure to fill the professorship was initiated in 2006, which was concluded in 2007 with the appointment of Jürgen Hanneder as Hahn's successor .

Visiting professorships and research stays

Between 1976 and 2009 Hahn held visiting professorships and temporary research stays in Europe, Asia and North America.

Research areas

Between 1974 and 2006, under the direction of Hahn, 11 theses were written in Bonn and Marburg to obtain a Magister Artium (MA) and 16 doctoral students completed their doctorates.

Classical Sanskrit literature

In the poetic and didactic Sanskrit literature of Indian Buddhism (in originals, but also in Tibetan or Chinese translations) Hahn's focus was on works that were poorly or not at all accessible. The resulting work was new or first editions, which in many cases are also accompanied by translations. These publications include Hahn's own work as well as the master's theses and dissertations of his students. In this way, many works of Indian literature were made accessible for the first time or in an improved form.

The texts edited by Hahn and his colleagues include the plays Lokānanda ( joy for the people ; 5th century) by Candragomin, and Nāgānanda ( joy for the nāgas ; 7th century) by Harsadeva, as well as from the Buddhist narrative literature the " wreath of legends" Jātakamālā of Haribhaṭṭa (before 400 AD), the “wreath of legends” of Gopadatta (after Haribhaṭṭa, before 800 AD), the “wreath of legends” of Āryaśūra (3rd or 4th century), and Kṣemendras “wishing sick of great deeds of the Bodhisattva ”(11th century).

Indian metric

In the field of meter theory, Hahn developed the theoretical representation of Indian metrics ( Ratnākaraśāntis Chandoratnākara ) as well as its literary implementation by Jñānaśrīmitra (* around 975/980, † around 1025/1040).

Buddhist literature

In the field of Buddhist literature, under Hahn, the Buddhist letter literature ( Lekha ), Buddhist admonitions and sermons ( Parikathā ), as well as numerous Buddhist hymns were made available in new or first editions.

Tibetan Linguistics and Literature

In addition to the publication of a textbook in the classical Tibetan written language with primarily didactic objectives, Hahn dealt with problems of morphology, etymology and word formation in Tibetan in a series of essays (Miscellanea Etymologica Tibetica). Above all, the linguistic characteristics of translations from Sanskrit were analyzed.

Memberships

Hahn was a member of various scientifically oriented associations; underneath

  • German Oriental Society (until 2014)
  • International Association for Sanskrit Studies (until 2014)
  • International Association for Buddhist Studies (until 2014)
  • Japanese Association of Indian and Buddhist Studies (until 2014)

Publications

From 1970 to 2014 Hahn published 20 monographs and around 120 articles in national and international journals. Many of the articles contain editions and translations of Indian, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese texts.

Publications for obtaining degrees

  • 1967 Dissertation : Jñanasrimitras Vrttamalastuti: A collection of examples of ancient Indian metrics . DNB 570349206 (Philipps University of Marburg)
  • 1972 Habilitation thesis : Candragomins Lokānandanātaka: An example of classical Indian drama poetry (University of Hamburg)

Monographs

  • Textbook of the classical written Tibetan language. With reading pieces and a glossary. 8th edition. Indica et Tibetica Verlag, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-923776-10-8 . (The Danish translation took place in 2003, the Polish translation in 2009)
  • Jñānaśrīmitras Vṛttamālāstuti. A collection of examples of the ancient Indian metric . Edited, translated and explained according to the Tibetan Tanjur together with the Mongolian version. (= Asian research, 33). Wiesbaden 1971, ISBN 3-447-01367-2 .
  • Candragomins Lokānandanāṭaka . Edited and translated from the Tibetan Tanjur. A contribution to classic Indian drama poetry. (= Asian research, 39). Wiesbaden 1974, ISBN 3-447-01620-5 .
  • Haribhaṭṭa and Gopadatta. Two Authors in the Succession of Āryaśūra. On the Rediscovery of parts of their Jātakamālās. extended 2nd edition. 1992, ISBN 4-906267-29-7 .
  • Nāgārjuna's Ratnāvalī . Vol. 1: The basic texts (Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese). (= Indica et Tibetica, 1). Bonn 1982, ISBN 3-923776-00-4 .
  • Ratnākaraśānti's Chandoratnākara . (= Miscellaneous Papers, 34, Nepal Research Center). Kathmandu / Wiesbaden 1982, OCLC 243740997 .
  • The Subhāṣitaratnakaraṇḍakakathā. A late Buddhist text on the doctrine of merit . (= News from the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen). Göttingen 1982, ISBN 3-525-85116-2 .
  • The Mṛgajātaka (Haribhaṭṭajātakamālā XI) . (= Indica et Tibetica, 3). Study, texts, glossary by Michael Hahn and Konrad Klaus. Bonn 1983, ISBN 3-923776-02-0 .
  • The great wreath of legends. (Mahajjātakamālā). A collection of medieval Buddhist legends from Nepal . After preliminary work by Gudrun Bühnemann and Michael Hahn (ed. And introduction by Michael Hahn). (Asian Researches, 88). Wiesbaden 1985, ISBN 3-447-02424-0 .
  • Joy for the World. A Buddhist Play by Candragomin. Transl. with an Introduction and Notes. Berkeley 1987, ISBN 0-89800-148-X .
  • A hundred stanzas of wisdom. Nāgārjunas Prajñāśataka Tibetan and German. (= Indica et Tibetica, 18). Bonn 1990, ISBN 3-923776-18-7 .
  • Invitation to Enlightenment. Letter to the Great King Kaniṣka by Mātṛceṭa. Letter to a Disciple by Candragomin . Berkeley 1999, ISBN 0-89800-299-0 .
  • Key to the textbook of classical Tibetan written language and contributions to Tibetan verbal studies. (= Indica et Tibetica, 10a). 3. Edition. Marburg 2003, ISBN 3-923776-08-X .
  • King Kapphiṇa's triumph. A Ninth Century Kashmiri Buddhist Poem. Kyoto 2007, ISBN 978-4-8318-7281-4 .
  • Of the right life. Buddhist teachings from India and Tibet. Verlag der Weltreligionen im Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-70003-6 .
  • Haribhaṭṭa in Nepal. Ten Legends from His Jātakamālā and the Anonymous Śākyasiṃhajātaka . (= Studia Philologica Buddhica. Monograph Series, XXII). Editio minor, Tokyo 2007, ISBN 978-4-906267-58-3 .
  • with Siglinde Dietz: Paths to Right Knowledge. Buddhist lesson letters. Verlag der Weltreligionen im Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-458-70013-5 .
  • Poetical Visions of the Buddha's Former Lives. Seventeen Legends from Haribhaṭṭa's Jātakamālā . Aditya Prakashan, Delhi 2010, ISBN 978-81-7742-104-0 .
  • Śivasvāmin's Kapphiṇābhyudaya . Indian edition, Aditya Prakashan, Delhi 2013, ISBN 978-81-7742-129-3 .

(Co-) editing

From 1982 to 2014 Hahn was the publisher and editor of the Indica et Tibetica series . More than 50 volumes have appeared in the period.

Other editions:

  • Journal of the Nepal Research Center. Volume 2-4. Kathmandu / Wiesbaden 1979.
  • The Recensions of the Nâgânanda. Volume 1, The North Indian Review, The Nâgânanda by Harsadeva ed. By Mâdhava Candra Ghosa assisted by Krsna Kamala Bhattâcârya; with an introduction by Michael Hahn; Foreword and bibliography of the editions and translations of the Nâgânanda by Roland Steiner. New Delhi 1991.
  • Michael Hahn, Jens-Uwe Hartmann, Roland Steiner (eds.): Suhrllekhâh. Festival for Helmut Eimer. Swisttal-Odendorf 1996.
  • Studia Tibetica et Mongolica. Festschrift Manfred Taube; redigenda curaverunt Helmut Eimer, Michael Hahn, Maria Schetelich and Peter Wyzlic; Swisttal-Odendorf 1999.
  • Pāsādikadānaṃ . Festschrift for Bhikkhu Pāsādika. (Indica et Tibetica, 52). Marburg 2009.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Oberhessische Presse, July 17, 2014
  2. ^ Philipps University of Marburg: The history of Marburg Indology and Tibetology
  3. ^ History of the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project ( Memento from March 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ The name was later changed to The International Institute for Buddhist Studies and is now The International College for Buddhist Studies .
  5. ^ Numata Chair, University of Calgary
  6. ↑ Jñānaśrīmitra, Michael Hahn: Jñānaśrīmitras Vrttamālāstuti: a collection of examples of ancient Indian metrics . Photo print: Chemoprint, 1967.
  7. ^ Directory of the writings of Michael Hahn. In: Konrad Klaus, Jens-Uwe Hartmann (eds.): Indica et Tibetica: Festschrift for Michael Hahn on the 65th birthday presented by friends and students. Working Group for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna, 2007, ISBN 978-3-902501-05-9 , pp. 13–24.
  8. ↑ website of the Indica et Tibetica Verlag, Marburg
personal data
SURNAME Hahn, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Indologist
DATE OF BIRTH May 7, 1941
PLACE OF BIRTH Otterndorf
DATE OF DEATH July 12, 2014
Place of death Marburg