Sengiin Erdene

Sengiin Erdene ( Mongolian Сэнгийн Эрдэнэ ; * December 7, 1929 , † January 2000 ) was a Mongolian writer .

Life

Erdene, who was born in 1929 as the son of cattle herders, experienced the Great Terror as a child , which was also directed against his Buryat family. From 1943 he attended a cadet school, and from 1949 to 1955 Erdene studied medicine at the Ulan Bator State University . Working as a psychiatrist until 1959 , he was then secretary and head of the prosecution section of the Writers' Association and from 1965 to 1979 editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Kunst und Literatur”, in which he published numerous critical essayistic works. In 1988 he became vice president of the Mongolia Cultural Fund.

Works

Erdene published poems since 1949, which he edited collectively in 1956 and 1957. But already at this time he turned to short prose. After the short story volume “The People of Salchityn Gol” (1955), which still had artistic weaknesses, the volumes “After a year” (1959), “When spring came” (1959, title E. German 1979), "Chongor dsul" (1961), "This side of the horizon" (1962) and "Dust under the hooves" (1964, title E. German 1983) great recognition and a broad readership. These narratives are characterized by poetic diction, psychologically precise and sensitive character design as well as masterful, colorful language. In stories such as “Chulan and I” (1960, German 1976) and “Chulan and Zamba” (1967, German 1983), the poet shapes the power that love can release. He often draws people who have high moral demands on life, but also have dreams, for example in “The Machine for Paradise” (1962), “Loneliness” (1964, 1983) and “Hass” (1964). Erdene sometimes uses the first-person form to encourage the reader to identify with the protagonist, for example in “Salut” (1963, German 1976), in “Meine liebe Schwalben” (1965, German 1979) and in “Sonnenkraniche” “(As E.-Bd. 1972, Titel-E. dt. 1979), whose heroes leave the carefree childhood behind. In other stories he often describes impressively the traditions and habits of the Mongols and their difficult struggle with the rigors of nature (including "When people argue, the trees weep", 1963, 1983). Volumes of short stories such as “Der Tagesstern” (1969) and “Blaue Berge” (1981) as well as the short stories “Der alten Vogel” (1970, German 1979) and “Der Sohn” (1976, German 1979) were widely recognized.

While Erdene continued the tradition of "lyrical miniature" in prose founded by Daschdordschiin Natsagdordsch , especially in his early stories , since the 1970s he has devoted himself primarily to the "long story", the master of which he is considered to be alongside Dembeegiin Mjagmar . Particularly worth mentioning here is “The Hunter's Wife” (1971, German 1979) - one of the most beautiful stories in Mongolian literature - in which traditional elements of mythology merge impressively with everyday reality. The stories “The Oasis” (1972, German 1979) and “The Time to be Happy” (1976, German 1979) are also remarkable attempts to take up new topics. Erdene turned to the eventful Mongolian history of the 1920s and 1930s in the narrative cycle “The Year of the Blue Mouse” (1970) - “Semdshüdej” (1980) - “Summer of Women” (1979). Above all, the great story “The End of the Serüün Temple” (1980, German 2009) can be seen as a breakthrough on the way to a differentiated artistic approach to the Stalinist era in Mongolia . Other significant stories in which Erdene's humanistic conception becomes clear include “Die Steppe” (1981) and “Der Tempel” (1992), in which the narrator of his encounters with three women - a Mongolian, a Russian and a German - remind.

Erdene appeared late as a novelist. His first novel "Der Lebenskreis" (1983) has strong autobiographical and partly reflective-essayistic features and can be considered the main work of the poet. In it, he acknowledges the human being as an individual with intellectual and emotional sovereignty. In his second novel "Dsanabadsar" (1989), Erdene dedicates himself to the contradicting figure of the first Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu , the head of Buddhism in Mongolia , an eminent scholar and master of Buddhist sculpture, while "See you again in the next life" (1993 ) thematized the extermination campaign against the Buryats after 1937.

In addition to plays, travel sketches and essays, Erdene also wrote film stories, for example for the fairy tale film "The Golden Yurt" (1961), which was also often played in the GDR.

The Mongolian narrator, internationally best known through numerous translations, died in January 2000. With his extensive work he gave (besides Dembeegiin Mjagmar and Lodongiin Tüdew ) decisive artistic impulses for the following generation of Mongolian narrators, who were supported by authors such as Darmaagiin Batbajar (* 1941), Sandschiin Pürew ( * 1941), Dalchaagiin Norow (* 1951), Pürewdschawyn Bajarsaichan (1959–2007), Dordschzowdyn Enchbold (* 1959) and Galsan Tschinag .

Translations

• in: Explorations. 20 Mongolian stories, (East) Berlin 1976
• S. Erdene, Sonnenkraniche, (short stories) (East) Berlin 1979 (translated by Renate Bauwe )
• S. Erdene, Herdenstaub, Ulan Bator 1983 (translated by Galsan Tschinag)
• S. Erdene, The Hunter's Wife, The End of the Serüün Temple. Translated and edited by  Renate Bauwe . Deutschland Verlag: Books on Demand ISBN 978-3-8370-3844-6 , 132 pages, 1st edition April 9, 2009

literature

• Renate Bauwe , E .: The circle of life. In: Kindler's new literary dictionary. Supplementary Volume 1, Munich 1998
• in: Klaus Oehmichen: Ten Mongolian poets. In: Mongolian Notes. Issue 17/2008

Web links

• Mongolian literature (German)

Mongolian name: As is customary in Mongolia, in this article the patronymic is in the genitive case before the proper name. So Senge is the patronymic, Erdene the proper name. The person is addressed with their proper name.