Description

ANON. Richard WILHELM (1873 – 1930), translator.

[Tsingtao: s. d., but probably between 1918 and 1920].

8°, blank sheet with mounted image, illustrated title page, 10 pp. with illuminated initial on the first page and last page with mounted image, blank sheet with mounted image, original light blue wrappers with highlighted pattern and lettering on the front, signature “Fred Othmer” in pencil on title page, stapled (minor wear to the edges, otherwise good).

Richard Wilhelm (1873 – 1930) was a notable German sinologist, born in Stuttgart, who learned Chinese while working as a missionary in China. He arrived shortly before 1900 in the Empire of China, specifically the city of Tsingtao, as part of the German East Asia Mission.

In 1908, Wilhelm traveled to China for a second time. During World War I, he faced significant challenges continuing his work at the school and serving as pastor for the German community in Qingdao, as the region was under Japanese occupation. In the summer of 1920, after twenty years of missionary work, he returned to Germany.

Upon his return, he was appointed as an honorary professor to the newly established endowed chair for Chinese History and Chinese Philosophy at Frankfurt am Main University in 1924. In 1925, he founded the China Institute at the University of Frankfurt, which he directed until his death in 1930.

Wilhelm translated several significant German works into Chinese and vice versa. His most renowned work is a translation of the I Ching (also known as Yijing), an ancient Chinese divination text regarded as one of the oldest Chinese classics.

The texts blend elements of Chinese philosophy with Eastern evangelical tradition. The pages feature beautiful yet somewhat rustic printing from manuscripts, complemented by elegant original wrappers and bindings that showcase intricate Chinese patterns. Some publications even include mounted images of Chinese landscapes and motifs, which vary from one edition to another.

These publications were likely printed in very limited quantities by an organization associated with Christ’s Church in Tsingtao, which was established in 1910, where Wilhelm played an active role.

The signature on the title page, “Fred Othmer” likely indicates the ownership of German educator and sinologist Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Othmer (mostly known as Wilhelm Othmer in later articles 1882–1934). Othmer was active in Tsingtau until World War I, at which point he joined the army. Like many others, he was captured and sent to a Japanese prison. It is known that his wife, who remained in Tsingtao, was sending him letters—possibly also books—while he was imprisoned in Ninoshima in 1919.

The official romanization of Mandarin Chinese into the German language, known as the Lessing-Othmer System, is named after Wilhelm Othmer and his colleague Ferdinand Lessing (1882–1961). They first introduced this method while working as translators in Tsingtao, and it was published in 1912 in their book titled “Lehrgang der nordchinesischen Umgangssprache” (translated as “Course in the North Chinese Colloquial Language”).

Determining the number of printed and preserved institutional examples is challenging, as the book with the same title and translator was also published in Germany (Jena) in 1914 and 1917.