Steppe sons
Steppensöhne is a youth novel by Hans Baumann published in 1954 . It is about the life of Genghis Khan and his grandchildren Kubilai and Arik-Buka .
content
The Deutsche Taschenbuchverlag ( dtv-Junior ) describes the book as follows:
“A cloud of dust rolls in, the ground shakes ... Genghis Khan's hordes are racing across the Mongolian steppe! In the midst of the riders of Genghis Khan's grandsons Kubilai and Arik-Buka, inseparable brothers who endure and experience battles and hunts, dangers and joys together - and yet how different are the two in essence! Kubilai will reign one day as a wise ruler, while his brother will always remain a 'steppe son'. The life and struggles of this equestrian people are depicted in an extraordinarily vivid and colorful way, the scenes change quickly full of exciting adventures - a gripping historical youth novel. "
Steppe Sons is divided into the first part ( The Inseparable ) with 13 chapters and a second part ( The Overcomer ) with 21 chapters. A time table with historical dates from China and Mongolia is also attached to the book.
The first part ( The Inseparable ) of the book tells the story of the young brothers Kubilai and Arik-Buka . The youngest grandchildren of Genghis Khan live well protected in the Ordo des Khan. The old Örlök (Prince) Sorgan-Shira acted as her teacher . Right at the beginning, the two brothers ride to Mount Tobu dolo gam , climb it and swear that no one can ever stand between them. Over time, the two lively boys get bored with camp life. They long for real adventure, for real fighting. In the camp, fights with blunt weapons are only simulated. Nevertheless, an experienced warrior is killed when Kubilai comes to the aid of his brother Arik-Buka . Kubilai begins to mourn this fighter , which his teacher and his brother do not understand. The two brothers are allowed to attend the festival of the white monkey among the Dsaimans , which is followed by a hunt for kulans and the tracking of a panther. The latter fails and so the two of them have to be saved from the approaching panther by Mongolian riders. Back at the camp, they learn that the khan's messengers are missing in the Gobi desert . Another messenger announces the army of Genghis Khan , to whom a festival yurt is to be built in honor . On the day of completion, Jebe ("Prince Arrow") reached the camp and reported on the battles and victories in the country in the south. He asks the two princes to accompany him to the army camp.
The second part ( The Conqueror ) begins with the arrival of the three horsemen in the camp of Genghis Khan . Here they watch how the Chinese astrologer and scholar Yeliu from the house of the Liao predicts a lunar eclipse . With this he wins the trust of the Khan, but also the contempt of the Mongolian fighters, who are skeptical of the Chinese and their science. After Yeliu reported to the Khan that the whole thing would only fall to his grandson, especially Kubilai , he appoints Yeliu as Kubilai's new teacher . The more Kubilai learns in knowledge, languages and values from the Chinese scholar, the more his Mongolian compatriots, especially his brother Arik-Buka , begin to doubt him. This ends for the time being when he goes into battle with them against the rebellious Persians . But after returning, he begins to doubt the correctness of his actions. Especially since he learned that Jebe and Arik-Buka caused the riot among the Persians through their behavior. After the khan had a riding accident near Tibet , he decided to return to the steppe instead of moving further to southern China. With the death of Yelius , who was accused of conspiracy, and the ride north, the storyline of the book ends for the time being.
For the last two chapters, the story takes a leap of four decades. The brothers have grown up and face each other on the battlefield. Kubilai as She-Tsu , founder of the Yuan Dynasty , and Arik-Buka as the Great Khan of the Mongols. Arik-Buka is defeated several times and is handed over to his brother. But this does not treat him like a prisoner, but like his brother and releases him.
At the end of the story, the narrator sums up the Emperor She-Tsu (Kubilai):
"She-Tsu protected all religions and races of his empire and was a father to many peoples."
This résumé and the described résumé of Kubilai can, similar to the Baumann novels I drew with Hannibal and The great Alexanderzug , be seen as an autobiographical processing of Baumann with the time of National Socialism and as a coming to terms with the past. At the end of the timeline, the author adds on the motivation and genesis of the book:
“ In the winter of 1943 in Russia, I got the idea of writing a book about the conquest of Genghis Khan. During the captivity in France, the plan matured. The story was written in 1953, from June to December. "
effect
The book encouraged post-war youth to turn to Far Eastern customs and peoples. In the mid-1950s, boy scout groups were inspired by the novel to create ideas for games, names and manners based on the world of Mongolian riders.
Fritz Westphal sees the novel as an attempt “to make the terrible effects of every tyranny clear” . The pedagogue Erika Hoffmann recognizes the critical examination of National Socialism as the main motive, but doubts whether this was entirely successful due to the overemphasis on the ruler type. According to the British literary magazine The Times Literary Supplement , the book is dedicated to peace. ( “The dedication to peace” ) In the GDR literary magazine neue deutsche literature , the “humanistic tendency of the book” was emphasized. For the reviewer Günther Deicke , the book was proof that the author was undoubtedly not engaging in “re-fascization”.
expenditure
Steppensons first appeared under the title Steppensons. About the victory over Genghis Khan. at Enßlin & Laiblin Verlag from Reutlingen. In 1964 a new version was made by the same publisher under the title Steppensöhne . Later it appeared in the program dtv-Junior of the German paperback publishing house where it reached the 7th edition. The novel was also published by Thienemann Verlag and Arena Verlag. The book has been translated into English, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Japanese and Afrikaans.
Awards
The book received the 1958 New York Herald Tribune 's award for best youth book of the year. It was also on the shortlist for the German Youth Book Prize .
literature
- Winfred Kaminski: Heroic inwardness. Studies on youth literature before and after 1945. Dipa, Frankfurt am Main 1987. (= Youth and Media; Volume 14).
Individual evidence
- ^ Günter Hartung: German Fascist Literature and Aesthetics: Collected Studies , Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-934565-92-1 , p. 230 f.
- ↑ Harald Pinl: In the sign of the diamond lily: The Association of German Scouts in Erlangen 1949–1971 , BoD, Norderstedt 2014, ISBN 978-3-7357-9086-6 , p. 81 f.