Publisher's Synopsis
Walter Liebenthal (1886-1982), was a German philosopher and sinologist who specialized in Chinese Buddhism. He translated many philosophical works from Pali, Sanskrit and specially from Chinese into German or English. Based upon his extensive research in Indian Buddhism and Chinese religion, one of his main conclusions was that early Chinese Buddhism through Ch'an (Zen) was not a Chinese version of Indian Buddhism, but rather, that it developed from Taoism, a Chinese religion. Indian concepts are present, but at the core it represents a Chinese perspective. Professional Career: - University of Breslau, Germany. PhD, 1933 - Sino-Indian Institute, Yenching University of Peking, China, Research Fellow, 1934-36 - Peking University, China, Lecturer in Sanskrit and German, 1937 - Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, India, Senior Research Fellow 1952-54, Visiting Professor of Sino-Indian Studies 1955-59 - Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel, Visiting Professor, 1959 - Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises, Sorbonne, Paris, France, 1960 - University of Tübingen, Germany, Honorary Professor, 1962 Main Publications: - "Satkarya in der Darstellung seiner buddhistischen Gegner". 8 vo. 151 pp Kohlhammer, Stuttgart-Berlin, 1934 - "The Book of Chao". Monumenta Serica, Series XIII 8 vo. 195 pp. Peking, 1948 - "On World Interpretations". 8vo. 88 pp. Santiniketan, 1956 - "Chao Lun: The Treatises of Seng-Chao", 2nd Rev edition, 152 pp. Honk Kong University Press, Oxford University Press, 1968 - "Das Wu-men kuan: Zutritt nur durch die Wand / Wu-men Hui-k'ai". 142 pp. Heidelberg: Lambert Schneider, 1977 The Liebenthal Festschrift was planned by Dr. P.C.Bagchi, Vice-Chancellor of the Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, India, and founder-editor of the Sino-Indian Studies, to felicitate his colleague, the veteran sinologist, Dr. Walter Liebenthal on the occasion of his 70th birthday. This book is a tribute by fellow scholars from around the world to Dr. Liebenthal, and also of Visva-Bharati University, where Dr. Liebenthal had joined the staff in 1952, coming from Peking, China, and where he had contributed significantly to the development of the Sino-Indian Research Department. The 1st edition was of only 500 copies. We are reprinting this book at this time both in memory of his life and work, but also in recognition of his fellow scholars contributions. We are convinced that it will be of value to students of Buddhism throughout the world.
