HUTH, Georg. Krotoschin, Posen (now Krotoszyn in Poland) 25.2.1867 — Berlin 1.6.1906. German Indologist and Tibetologist. Born in a Jewish family in the then Prussian part of Poland, where his father Aron Huth (d. 1893) was Rector of a Jewish school, mother Keile Pincus (thus Vogel & ancestry.com, Knüppel has Dina Zaduck). Later the family moved to Berlin, where the father was director of a Jewish orphanage. Studies at Kiel and from 1885 Berlin, of Sanskrit, Pāli and Avesta (under Deussen, Oldenberg and especially Weber), Hindustani (Fr. Rosen), Tibetan (on his own), Mongolian, Manchu and Chinese (G. v. d. Gabelentz, W. Grube). Started scholarly work already as a student, especially in comparative study of fairy tales. Ph.D. 1889 Leipzig (under Windisch). From 1891 PD für tibetische und mongolische Sprache at Berlin. Worked as Hilfsarbeiter in Museum der Völkerkunde, Berlin. In 1897 visited Helsinki, but the planned collaboration with Finnish scholars in exploration of Siberia fell down on his arrogant attitude: the Finnish, as supposed Mongolians, should be just a kind of native assistants to him. His planned assistant was —> G. J. Ramstedt, who then went to Mongolia on his own and became famous as a Mongolist. So did also Huth, who collected material about Tungus languages in East Siberia for St. Petersburg Academy in 1897. Then employed in Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin. In 1902-03 participated in the Prussian Turfan expedition of Grünwedel, then remained in Central Asia (in Osh, Chokand and Samarkand) until 1904, learning Turkic and Iranian languages and making an important collection of material. Married 1904 Gertrud Triest, one son.
Huth was one of the first specialists of Tibetan and Mongolian in Germany. His early death interrupted many plans, like the catalogue of Berlin Tibetan manuscripts. His main work was the edition and translation of the Buddhist history of Jigs-med nam-mk’a (the 3rd part, notes and indexes, he could not finish). Among his interests was also epigraphy (Tibetan, Turkic, Mongolian and Niüchi). He was a thorough and cautious scholar, who avoided theorizing. Financial difficulties interrupted much with his research work.
Publications: Diss. Die Zeit des Kālidāsa. Mit einem Anhang zur Chronologie der Werke des Kālidāsa. 68 p. B. 1889.
– Die Reisen der drei Söhne des Königs von Serendippo. 71 p. B. 1888; also in Zeitschrift für vergl. Literaturgeschichte und Renaissanceliteratur 4, 1891.
– Edited: The Chandoratnākara of Ratnākaraçānti. Sanskrit Text with a Tibetan translation. 5+34 p. B. 1890.
– Die tibetische Version der Naiḥsargikaprâyaçcittidharmâs. 51 p. Strassburg 1891 (with Pāli and Chinese versions).
– “Tibetischer Sūtra der “Acht Erscheinungen”. Tib. text mit Übersetzung von J. Weber, hrsg. von G. H.”, ZDMG 45, 1891, 577-591.
– Translated: Die Geschichte des Buddhismus in der Mongolei. Aus dem Tibetischen des ’Jigs-med nam-mkha. 1-2. Strassburg 1893-96.
– Edited: Die Inschriften von Tsaghan Baišin. 63 p. Lp. 1894 (in Tibetan & Mongolian, with transl.); Neun Mahaban-Inschriften. 19 p. Veröff. d. kgl. Mus. f. Völkerkunde, Suppl.heft. B. 1901.
– “Verzeichnis der in tibetischen Tanjur, Abth. Mdo (Sūtra), Band 117-124 erhaltenen Werke”, SBeAW 1895, 267-286; “Nachträge”, ZDMG 49, 1895, 279-284.
– Brief articles in Fs. Weber, OC 9 & 10, JA 1895, Bull. Acad. Imp. St.Pet. 1896, 1901, OLZ 1905-06, SBeAW 1901, etc.
Sources: M. Knüppel, Encyclop. Iranica 2014 (0nline); B. Laufer, TP N.S. 7, 1906, 936-940 with bibliography; Stache-Rosen 1990, 164 with photo; Cl. Vogel, N.D.B. 10, 1974, 94; Walravens 2008, 173f.; Wikipedia (more details in German version).
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