Werner Sasse
Werner Sasse – Wikipedia
Werner Sasse – Wikipedia
Werner Sasse
Werner Sasse (born August 30, 1941 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a German Koreanist .
Life
[ Edit | Edit source ]Before Sasse studied Korean studies, Chinese literature and linguistics in the 1970s , he visited Korea for the first time in 1966. [ 1 ] After receiving his doctorate in 1975 in Bochum and his habilitation at the University of Bochum, he was Professor (C4) for Korean studies in Hamburg from 1992 to 2006. After his retirement, Sasse settled in South Korea . [ 2 ] Here he held a visiting professorship at Chonnam University in 2007 and a chair at Hanyang University from 2008 to 2011. [ 1 ]
While he initially taught Korean from a philological perspective, he later tried to combine this language with the Altaic languages through the study of Middle and Old Korean. He later turned to cultural studies. [ 2 ] More recently, he has held events on the role of Confucianism in Korean culture, arguing that Korea is not actually a Confucian country. [ 3 ] [ 1 ]
Since his retirement in 2006, he has been working extensively on (ink) painting , an activity that he previously kept largely secret because he feared that his academic seriousness could be questioned if it became known. Even after his second university career in Korea, he continues to do research and translate. He now lives on the island of Jeju . [ 4 ]
awards
[ Edit | Edit source ]- Wilhelm-Hollenberg-Preis (1985)[5]
- Dongsung Academy Prize (Seoul 2008)[5]
Writings (selection)
[ Edit | Edit source ]- The glossary Koryǒ-pangǒn in the Kyerim-yusa. Studies on the decoding of a Chinese glossary of Central Korean words (= Publications of the East Asia Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum . Volume 18 ). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-447-01800-3 (also: dissertation, University of Bochum).
- Introduction to the Korean Written Language (= Korean . Volume 2 ). Verlag Vorspann-Werbung Scherer, Heilbronn 1985, OCLC 310622641 .
- Studies on the decipherment of the script of ancient Korean poetry . Vol. 1: Theory and practice of decipherment ; Vol. 2: Concordance. Part 1. Silla-Hyangga (= Publications of the East Asia Institute of the Ruhr University Bochum . Volume 37). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1988, 1989, ISBN 3-447-02789-4 (Vol. 1 also a partial print of: Habilitation thesis, University of Bochum).
- with An Jung-Hee: The Moon Reflected in a Thousand Rivers: The Life of Buddha Gautama Set in Verse in 1447 by King Sejong . Sohaksa, Seoul 2002, ISBN 89-7191-212-X .
- Koreans with pretty bare faces: A German scholar of Korea explores 50 years of Korean culture . ‚Minnatchi yebbeun Korean'. Hakkojae, Sŏul-si 2013, ISBN 89-5625-225-4 (koreanisch).
- The Record of the Seasonal Customs of Korea: Tongguk Sesigi by Toae Hong Sŏk- mo Hrsg.: Robert E. Buswell (= Korean Classics Library: Historical Materials . Band 12 ). University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu 2022, ISBN 978-0-8248-9159-6 (translated, annotated and with an introduction by Werner Sasse).
literature
[ Edit | Edit source ]- Hyun-Sook Park und Hong-beom Ahn: Werner Sasse: Blue-Eyed Scholar with a Profound Love of Korea. In: Koreana. 21, Nr. 4 2007, S. 60.
Weblinks
[ Edit | Edit source ]- Literature by and about Werner Sasse in the catalogue of the German National Library
- Entry "Werner Sasse" in the Hamburg Professors' Catalogue
individual references
[ Edit | Edit source ]- ↑ a b c Bereket Alemayehu, Korea is not a Confucian country: German scholar, The Korea Times vom 26. Dezember 2023.
- ↑ a b Werner Sasse on koreanstudies.com.
- ↑ Jon Dunbar, German scholar lectures on 'Saving Confucius from Confucianism', The Korea Times vom 9. Dezember 2023.
- ↑ The hidden hanji - JEJU WEEKLY . ( jejuweekly.com [accessed January 20, 2024]).
- ↑ a b Werner Sasse. In: Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender Online. degruyter.com, accessed on January 18, 2024 (Founded by Joseph Kürschner , constantly updated online edition with restricted access).
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Korea is not a Confucian country: German scholar
Posted : 2023-12-26 01:06Updated : 2023-12-26 10:19
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Werner Sasse debunks myths, misconceptions in RAS Korea lecture
Professor Werner Sasse poses in the courtyard of KOTE in Insa-dong, central Seoul, Dec. 12. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
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By Bereket Alemayehu
In a thought-provoking hybrid lecture organized by Royal Asiatic Society Korea, German scholar Werner Sasse challenged common misconceptions about Confucius and Confucianism, shedding light on its complex influence on Korean culture and society.
Contrary to popular belief, Korea is not a Confucian country, asserted Sasse, who first came to Korea in 1966.
“First of all, if you like contradictions, Confucianism is a wonderful subject," he told a packed room at KOTE in central Seoul's Insa-dong area on Dec. 12.
"For some people, Confucianism is the villain, the bad man for keeping Korea backward. For others, he is the one, because of his zest for education, that helped Korean culture, and Korean people, to come out of poverty into what we have as Korea today. Both of them, of course, are wrong. It is far too superfluous."
He critiqued these oversimplified views, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of Confucianism in Korean culture for his lecture, titled “Is THAT what Confucius said? Saving Confucius from Confucianism.”
"When we talk about Confucianism, we have to be very careful," he added. "There is no such thing. The name Confucianism was coined by Westerners. There is no equivalent to Confucianism in any of the Asian languages. Confucius is just the Latin form of the teacher Gong Ja.”
He explained how the teachings of Confucius and other scholars close to him entered Western thought in the mid-17th century, following the devastation of the Thirty Years' War. After the religious-based conflict laid waste to many European countries, many of its great thinkers looked for ethics based on reason and secularism. Some, like Voltaire, Christian Wolff and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, embraced it, while other philosophers found the wisdoms contained within too simplistic and obvious.
Time for reevaluation
Sasse underscored the need to reevaluate the term and recognize the diversity within East Asian philosophy.
Examining the historical trajectory of Confucianism in Korea, Sasse dismissed the widely held notion of Korea as a Confucian country. He detailed how Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism entered Korea around the fourth century, with Buddhism temporarily becoming the state religion. However, the political shift to Confucianism in the 14th century was not rooted in anti-Buddhist sentiment but rather political and economic considerations. He added that almost half of the kings in the supposedly Confucianist Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) were Buddhists and that even King Sejong's creation of the writing form of Hangeul came from more of a Buddhist influence.
Sasse addressed one major misunderstanding — the perception of Confucianism as a religion. He emphasized that Confucianism has always been more about social ethics than religious doctrine.
The lecture delved into the coexistence of various religious practices within Korean families, showcasing the flexibility and tolerance inherent in traditional Korean religiosity. “I can say yes, that is what I found when I came to Korea in 1966," he said. "Traditional Korean religiosity was centered on ad hoc ritual-based communities. Participation in rituals was not normally taken as a sign of a long-term commitment to a particular religion. A person could participate in a Buddhist ritual today, a shaman ritual the next day and a Confucian ritual the day after without feeling any contradiction and without being seen as a Buddhist, a shamanist or a Confucian scholar. "
He explained the religious structure of a Korean family he got to know in the 1960s: "Father was nothing and when asked he would say Confucian. Mother would go to a temple. And the children because they were modern were Christian. All of them would in the family have no problem with that. They would accompany each other. So, on Christmas, the Buddhists would go to church. When there was Buddha's Birthday the Christians would come up to the temple. No contradiction.”
Sasse tackled three prejudices associated with Confucianism: corruption and nepotism, hierarchy and etiquette, and the importance of education. He dismissed the notion that Confucius advocated blind obedience and explored how the ancient scholar emphasized the responsibility of those in power. According to Confucius, education's importance lies in its quality rather than its pursuit for its own sake. He quoted Analects 2.15: "Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous."
Sasse highlighted that Confucius was one of four classic individuals alongside Socrates, Buddha and Jesus, according to the German philosopher Carl Jaspers. He discussed the five constant relationships — the father and son, prince and subject, husband and wife, old and young, and friend and friend — that govern society, which he said are not one-way power relationships but reciprocal between two parties with different characteristics. He also clarified that the relationship between men and women is simply they are different — Confucius did not say one has to serve the other.
Professor Werner Sasse breaks down the distribution of religious beliefs in Korean society during a lecture for Royal Asiatic Society Korea at KOTE in central Seoul, Dec. 12. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
Professor Werner Sasse breaks down the distribution of religious beliefs in Korean society during a lecture for Royal Asiatic Society Korea at KOTE in central Seoul, Dec. 12. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu
In his transformative lecture, Sasse called for a review of Confucianism, urging those in attendance to move beyond simplistic narratives and engage with the profound philosophical traditions embedded in the East Asian cultures of Korea, China and Japan.
Sasse studied Korean studies, Chinese literature and general linguistics at Bochum University in Germany in the early 1970s. He was an assistant professor of Korean studies at the university from 1975 until 1988, at which point he became a full professor and founded the university’s Korean studies department. In 1992 he moved to Hamburg University where he founded another Korean studies department. He was a guest professor at Chonnam University in Gwangju in 2007, and a chair professor at Hanyang University from 2008 to 2011. He was also president of the Association of Korean Studies in Europe (AKSE) from 1999 to 2003.
Visit raskb.com for more information.
Bereket Alemayehu is an Ethiopian photo artist, social activist and writer based in Seoul. He's also co-founder of Hanokers, a refugee-led social initiative, and freelance contributor for Pressenza Press Agency.
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독일어
Werner Sasse (* 30. August 1941 in Frankfurt am Main) ist ein deutscher Koreanist.
Leben
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]Bevor Sasse in den 1970ern Koreanistik, chinesische Literatur und Linguistik studierte, besucht er 1966 erstmals Korea.[1] Nach der Promotion zum Dr. phil. 1975 in Bochum und der Habilitation an der Universität Bochum war er von 1992 bis 2006 Professor (C4) für Koreanistik in Hamburg. Nach der Emeritierung ließ Sasse sich in Südkorea nieder.[2] Hier hatte er 2007 eine Gastprofessur an der Universität Chonnam und von 2008 bis 2011 nochmals einen Lehrstuhl an der Hanyang-Universität inne.[1]
Lehrte er Koreanisch zunächst aus philologischem Verständnis heraus, bemühte er sich später über das Studium des Mittel- und Altkoreanischen diese Sprache mit den Altaischen Sprachen zu verbinden. Später wandte er sich den kulturwissenschaftlichen Untersuchungen zu.[2] In jüngerer Zeit hielt er Veranstaltungen ab über die Rolle des Konfuzianismus in der koreanischen Kultur, wobei er die These aufstellte, dass Korea im Grunde kein konfuzianisches Land sei.[3][1]
Seit seinem Ruhestand 2006 beschäftigt er sich umfänglich mit der (Tusch-)Malerei, eine Tätigkeit, die er vorher weitgehend geheim hielt, da er fürchtete, dass bei Bekanntwerden seine akademische Ernsthaftigkeit angezweifelt werden könnte. Auch nach seiner zweiten universitären Karriere in Korea betreibt er weiterhin Forschung und übersetzt. Er lebt heute auf der Insel Jeju.[4]
Auszeichnungen
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- Wilhelm-Hollenberg-Preis (1985)[5]
- Dongsung Academy Prize (Seoul 2008)[5]
Schriften (Auswahl)
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- Das Glossar Koryǒ-pangǒn im Kyerim-yusa. Studien zur Entschlüsselung eines chinesischen Glossars mittelkoreanischer Wörter (= Veröffentlichungen des Ostasien-Instituts der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Band 18). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-447-01800-3 (Zugleich: Dissertation, Universität Bochum).
- Einführung in die koreanische Schriftsprache (= Koreanisch. Band 2). Verlag Vorspann-Werbung Scherer, Heilbronn 1985, OCLC 310622641.
- Studien zur Entzifferung der Schrift altkoreanischer Dichtung. Bd. 1: Theorie und Praxis der Entzifferung; Bd. 2: Konkordanz. Teil 1. Silla-Hyangga (= Veröffentlichungen des Ostasien-Instituts der Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Band 37). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1988, 1989, ISBN 3-447-02789-4 (Bd. 1 zugleich Teildruck von: Habilitationsschrift, Universität Bochum).
- mit An Jung-Hee: Der Mond gespiegelt in tausend Flüssen: Das Leben des Buddha Gautama in Verse gesetzt im Jahre 1447 von König Sejong. Sohaksa, Seoul 2002, ISBN 89-7191-212-X.
- 민낯 이 예쁜 코리안 : 독일인 한국 학자 의 50년 한국 문화 탐색. ‚Minnatchi yebbeun Korean‘. Hakkojae, Sŏul-si 2013, ISBN 89-5625-225-4 (koreanisch).
- Record of the Seasonal Customs of Korea: Tongguk sesigi by Toae Hong Sŏk-mo. Hrsg.: Robert E. Buswell (= Korean Classics Library: Historical Materials. Band 12). University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu 2022, ISBN 978-0-8248-9159-6 (übersetzt, kommentiert und mit einer Einführung versehen von Werner Sasse).
Literatur
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- Hyun-Sook Park und Hong-beom Ahn: Werner Sasse: Blue-Eyed Scholar with a Profound Love of Korea. In: Koreana. 21, Nr. 4 2007, S. 60.
Weblinks
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- Literatur von und über Werner Sasse im Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
- Eintrag „Werner Sasse“ im Hamburger Professorinnen- und Professorenkatalog
Einzelnachweise
[Bearbeiten | Quelltext bearbeiten]- ↑ a b c Bereket Alemayehu, Korea is not a Confucian country: German scholar, The Korea Times vom 26. Dezember 2023.
- ↑ a b Werner Sasse auf koreanstudies.com.
- ↑ Jon Dunbar, German scholar lectures on 'Saving Confucius from Confucianism', The Korea Times vom 9. Dezember 2023.
- ↑ The hidden hanji - JEJU WEEKLY. (jejuweekly.com [abgerufen am 20. Januar 2024]).
- ↑ a b Werner Sasse. In: Kürschners Deutscher Gelehrten-Kalender Online. degruyter.com, abgerufen am 18. Januar 2024 (Begründet von Joseph Kürschner, ständig aktualisierte zugangsbeschränkte Onlineausgabe).
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