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Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism Ancient India’s Rebirth in Modern Germany Douglas T. McGetchin Madison • Teaneck Fairleigh Dickinson University Press © 2009 by Rosemont Publishing & Printing Corp. All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the copyright owner, provided that a base fee of $10.00, plus eight cents per page, per copy is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923. [ 978-0-8386-4208-5/09 $10.00 + 80 pp, pc.] Associated University Presses 2010 Eastpark Boulevard Cranbury, NJ 08512 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McGetchin, Douglas T. Indology, Indomania, and orientalism: ancient India’s rebirth in modern Germany / Douglas T. McGetchin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8386-4208-5 (alk. paper) 1. India—Study and teaching—Germany. 2. India—Civilization—To 1200. 3. Indologists—Germany—History. 4. Orientalism—Germany— History. 5. Germany—Intellectual life. 6. Germany—Civilization—Indie influences. 7. India-Foreign public opinion. 8. India—Relations—Germany. 9. Germany—Relations—India. 10. Public opinion—Germany—History. I. Title. DS435.8.M35 2009 934.0072'043—dc22 2009004743 Contents List of Figures and Tables 7 Acknowledgments 9 List of Abbreviations 13 1. Introduction 17 2. A Comparison of Indology in England and France 31 3. A Foundation: Ancient India and the German Cultural Sphere 55 4. The Study of Sanskrit in German Universities, 1818-1914 76 5. Reaching the Public 102 6. Indology and Buddhism in Fin-de-siecle Germany 120 7. An Indo-Germanic Connection? 141 8. Conclusion 168 Appendix: Glossary of Scholars 189 Notes 192 Bibliography 251 Index 278 5 Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1 The Expansion of Sanskrit Studies to German Universities 81 Figure ^ Intellectual Geneology of Scholars at the University of Berlin 82 Figure : Title Page, Wilfried Nölle, Impact of Indian Thought on German Poets & Philosophers 173 Figure 1 Cover, Der Buddhist (April-June 1906) 174 Figure f “Des Buddha letzte Rede” von Eduard Biedermann {Der Buddhist II. Jahrgang, No. 1, April-Juni 1906, inside front cover) 175 Tables Table 1: Growth in full professorships in Berlin, Leipzig, and Munich 89 Table 2: Faculty (all ranks) hired at the University of Berlin, 1810-1914, ordered by relative size 90 Table 3: First founding of professorial chairs of Sanskrit-related studies at German-speaking universities, 1818-1914 93 7 Acknowledgments T his work would have been much more difficult and less enjoyable without the assistance of many people along the way. A generous year-long dissertation research fellowship from the Deut­ sche Akademische Austausch Dienst (German Academic Exchange Service) allowed me to do archival research in Germany. Professor Dietmar Rothermund of the University of Heidelberg’s South Asia Institute has generously offered encouragement and invaluable intro­ ductions to other scholars working on the history of German Indol- ogy. With the support of Navin and Pratima Doshi, the conference “The History of Indology and Comparative Philology in Germany, 1750-1958” at the University of California, Los Angeles (April 15, 2000) let me benefit from the enthusiasm and knowledge of Richard Goldman, Sally Goldman, Hanco Jürgens, Frank Neubert, Hartmut Scharfe, Peter K. J. Park, Damodar SarDesai, Indra SenGupta, and Chen Tzoref-Aschkenazi. Sadly, this meeting was also the last public appearance of the late Wilhelm Halbfass, whom I dearly wish could have read this completed work, as his grasp of German Indology’s history rivaled the encyclopedic knowledge of Ernst Windisch. Con­ ferences in New Delhi, Berlin, Harvard University, Heidelberg, Toronto, and at the German Studies Association have added new breadth to my work, thanks to the stimulating insights in conversa­ tions with Sugata Bose, Christopher Bayly, Sai Bhatawadekar, Joerg Esleben, Tilman Frasch, Helga Halbfass, Roland Lardinois, Jürgen Liitt, Kris Manjapra, Suzanne Marchand, Saverio Marchignoli, Claude Markovits, Kamakshi Murti, Perry Myers, Ranjit Nair, Sjahari Pul- lom, Pascale Rabault, Nicholas Germana, Brad Herling, Johannes Voigt, Albrecht Wezler, representatives of the Max Mueller Bhavan, and many others. I also appreciate the advice and encouragement of my students and colleagues at Florida Atlantic University, including Suman Basuroy, Raksha Patel-Basuroy, Evan Bennett, Kristen Block, Michael Bocco, Boyd Breslow, Sarah “Sallie” Brown, Graciella Cruz-Taura, Alana Edwards, René Friedman, Steve Engle, Mary Faraci, Andrew Frank, Barbara Ganson, Taylor Hagood, Eric Hanne, Ken Holloway, Doug 9 10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kanter, Anna Lawrence, Ben Lowe, Sandy Norman, Ken Osgood, Marianne Sanua, Mark Rose, Neil Santaniello, Patricia Killander, and Derrick White. My work has also benefited tremendously from co-editing Sanskrit and “Orientalism”: Indology and Comparative Linguistics in Ger­ many, 1750-1958 (New Delhi: Manohar, 2004) with Peter Park and Damodar SarDesai. The work of the other contributors to this Mano­ har volume has been very stimulating to the development of this study. The friendly spirit of cooperation we have cultivated has helped each of us develop our own projects, and we have been able to benefit from each other’s expertise. Indra SenGupta has pursued work closest to my own and her comments have been immensely helpful. I am particularly grateful to Peter Park, whose tremendous enthusiasm, encouragement, and leadership have made him a welcome companion in Los Angeles, Germany, India, and cyberspace. In Germany, my work improved with the guidance of Professor Dr. Rudiger vom Bruch of Humboldt University and Celia Apple­ gate, Roger Chickering, Andreas Daum, and the other members of the German Historical Institute’s Sixth Transatlantic Doctoral Semi­ nar. Dr. Maria Maria Schetelich and Frank Neubert of Leipzig University’s Institut fiir Indologie und Zentralasienwissenschaften provided crucial insights about Leipzig and larger issues of German Indology. I am also indebted to the kind assistance provided by Das Buddhistische Haus, Berlin-Frohnau and the indispensable, helpful staff of the many archives I consulted, including William Massa, Jr. at the Yale University Sterling Memorial Library. My thanks to the valu­ able criticisms on past drafts of this work by Dan Berenberg, Frank Biess, Carolyn Bissonnette, Stanley Chodorow, Hanley Cocks, Rich­ ard Cohen, Roy D’Andrade, Suzanne Deffendall, Barnet Hartston, Judith Hughes, Todd Kontje, John Hoon Lee, John Marino, Wendy Maxon, Allan Mitchell, William Arctander O’Brien, Heian Park, Lau­ rel Plapp, Diana Reynolds, Natalie Ring, Henry Sanabria, Cynthia Truant, Don Wallace, Angela Vergara, and Andrew Zimmerman. The outstanding “precision and soul” of David Luft has helped to make writing this work an intellectually stimulating and gratifying experi­ ence. Earlier versions of parts of the introduction and portions of chap­ ters 4, 5, and 6 appeared as “Introduction,” chapter 8, “‘Into the Centre of Sanskrit Study’: Ancient Indian Studies and German Cul­ ture in Berlin and Leipzig in the Nineteenth Century,” and chapter 13, “Wayward Disciples: Indology and Buddhism in fin-de-siecle Germany” in the volume I co-edited with Peter K. J. Park and Damo­ dar SarDesai, Sanskrit and “Orientalism": Indology and Comparative ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 11 Linguistics in Germany, 1750-1958, published in New Delhi by Ma- nohar Publishers and Distributors in 2004. I gratefully acknowledge the excellent editorial work Manohar provided and the kind permis­ sion from Manohar’s directors Ramesh and Ajay Jain to reprint these portions here, bringing them up to date with recent developments in the field. The portion of chapter 3 on French oriental scholarship appeared as “Wilting Florists: The Turbulent Early Decades of the Société Asia- tique, 1822-1860” in the Journal of the History of Ideas in 2004 and I gratefully acknowledge the kind permission from the University of Pennsylvania Press to reprint it here. I also wish to thank the director Harry Keyishian, Christine Retz, Christina Baliki, and the other editors and anonymous readers at Fairleigh Dickinson University Press who have helped to improve this book. Raksha Patel-Basuroy earns special praise and appreciation for designing the beautiful cover. I am also grateful for the support of friends and family, including Hy Lerner and Eveline S. Lerner, Marvin and MaryEllen Friesen, Robert and Bow McGetchin, and Carié M. Pieters. For help in Ger­ many, thanks to Wendy and Robert Maxon, Sabine Gaßmann, Elisa­ beth Beagles, Kevin McAleer, and Rob and Nancy Willingham. I especially want to express my deep appreciation to my wife Joy and our daughters Anika and Malia for inspiring me every day with their keen intelligence, good cheer, and love.

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