Description

VARIOUS AUTHORS. Richard WILHELM (1873 – 1930), translator.

[Chinese Summer Poems]

Tsingtao: 1919.

8°, first blank sheet with mounted image, title page, printed in black and red, 20 pp. with titles printed in red and text in black, a small image mounted below text on p. 9., inserted unnumbered sheets with mounted full page images between pp. 4 and 5, 12 and 13, 16 and 17, and after p. 20, blank sheet, original silk binding with floral pattern (minor age-toning to the last blank page, small loss of material to the spine and boards, 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.

Featured here are six titles authored by Richard Wilhelmm between 1918 and 1920 in Tsingtao, following World War I. 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 handwritten note at the bottom of the title page, “Othmer, Ninoshima, 18. 10. 1919,” likely indicates the ownership of German educator and sinologist Wilhelm Othmer (1882–1934) – please see item no. 8 for further explanation.

We could trace an example in the University of Wisconsin Madison, and in the following three German libraries: Niedersächsische Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen, Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek and Bayerische Staatsbibliothek.

References: OCLC 553996835. Thomas Zimmer, Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930). Missionar in China und Vermittler chinesischen Geistesguts ; Schriftenverzeichnis, Katalog seiner chinesischen Bibliothek, Briefe von Heinrich Hackmann, Briefe von Ku Hung-ming, 2008, p. 93, nr. 218.