WIRTZ, Johannes (Hans) Friedrich Alb. Mülheim am Rhein (near Köln) 22.1.1867 — 1942. German Sinologist and former Student of Indology. Son of Wilhelm W., a merchant, lost his mother in 1870 and father 1885. School in Mülheim, gymnasium 1879-83 in Bonn and 1883-87 in Gütersloh. After one term of law studies at Munich in 1887 he served voluntary in the army, disbanded after an accident. From 1889 studied Sanskrit (under Jacobi) and Germanic at Bonn. Ph.D. 1894 Bonn.
After doctorate he turned into Sinology, studied Chinese in Berlin and worked in China from 1898, first as interpreter and in 1900-20 as teacher in the German base of Tsingtau (Qingdao), then taught Chinese as Professor at the new Köln University.
Publications: Diss. Die westliche Rezension des Rāmāyaṇa. 100 p. Bonn 1894 (on textual criticism).
– Writings on China.
Sources: Life in diss.; diss. in Janert; Chinese information in https://www.studeo-ostasiendeutsche.de/archivdokumente/55-manuskriptkatalog/file. I was long hesitating, whether the Indologist and Sinologist were the same person, but this is confirmed in Mittheilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen 4, 1901, p. iv stating that the student of Chinese is “Dr. phil., aus Mülheim a. Rhein”.
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