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Вестник СПбГУ. Востоковедение и африканистика. 2023. Т. 15. Вып. 4
"The last manuscript, discovered and researched by Mr. Erdmann, is not known in Europe at all" (Chr. D. Frähn): Orientalist Franz Erdmann at Kazan University and His Heritage (1818-1845)*
R. M. Valeev1, R. Z. Valeeva2, N. M. Bertuol2
1 Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University,
18, ul. Kremlevskaya, Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation
2 Kazan Innovative University (IEML),
42, ul. Moskovskaya, Kazan, 420111, Russian Federation
For citation: Valeev R. M., Valeeva R. Z., Bertuol N. M. "The last manuscript, discovered and researched by Mr. Erdmann, is not known in Europe at all" (Chr. D. Frähn): Orientalist Franz Erdmann at Kazan University and His Heritage (1818-1845). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, pp. 750-765. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2023.410
The article presents a brief overview of the main milestones in the biography of Fyodor Iva-novich Erdmann, also known as Friedrich Franz Ludwig Erdmann (1795-1862). The authors pay special attention to the main stages of his pedagogical and scholarly pursuits at Kazan University (1818-1845). After Chr. D. Frähn (1782-1851), Erdmann became the second visiting German professor of Oriental literature at the university and one of the last students of the famous German orientalist O. G. Tychsen (1734-1815). In 1819, at the age of 24, F. I. Erdmann moved to Kazan, Russia. During the first half of the 19th century, the invitation of representatives of European universities and various peoples of the Russian Empire to the city became an important academic and humanistic tradition that contributed to the development of Oriental studies at Kazan University. Following his dismissal from the university on May 11, 1845, Professor F. I. Erdmann was appointed Director of schools in Olonets region on February 7, 1847. Two months later, on April 8, 1847, Erdmann was transferred to the post of Director of schools in Novgorod region, a post which he held until his dismissal from service on August 20, 1855. Upon his death on November 14, 1862, the academic was buried in Kazan. Keywords: Oriental studies, orientalist, legacy, biography, Chr. D. Frähn, F. I. Erdmann, Franz Ludwig Erdmann.
Introduction
Kazan and St. Petersburg Universities, the Asian Museum and other institutes occupy an important place in the history of Russian and European Oriental studies and in the culture and academic tradition of Russia — these are key centers with rich research and humanistic traditions of Oriental studies. Many prominent national academics and practitioners were formed in these institutes, including some originally of German parentage (G. S. Bayer, G. J. Kerr, H. J. Klaproth, Chr. D. Frähn, B. Dorn, F. I. Erdmann, J. Gottwald, W. Radloff, etc.), who graduated from universities in Germany and subsequently
* This paper has been supported by the Kazan Federal University Strategic Academic Leadership Program.
© St. Petersburg State University, 2023
linked their fates with Russia. Graduates of German universities have undoubtedly made a significant contribution to the formation and development of Oriental studies in Russia. Specifically, Professors Chr. D. Frahn, F. I. Erdmann, J. Gottwald, and W. Radloff developed Oriental studies in Kazan to a fundamentally different standard and left a significant mark on the history of both Kazan University and the city of Kazan itself.
Materials and Methods
The materials for the study of F. I. Erdmann's life and work are diverse in their content and origin, typology, and degree of instructiveness. There is no single unified database of archival documents. Only their comprehensive research allows to study all the pages of his academic biography and heritage.
This article applies the principle of historicism and scientific objectivity in combination with a systematic approach. This study is based on an objective analysis of various sources, which makes it possible to systematize the "Kazan period" of the academic and his pedagogical and civil service pursuits, as well as to revise some well-established stereotypes in assessing the heritage of Erdmann.
The main methods used are historiographical, historical-scientific and source analysis, and synthesis. The use of the chronological method made it possible to consider the biographical sequence when covering the stages of the professor's life at Kazan University. Source heuristics was used when comparing facts and information presented in different types of sources, while methodological textual analysis was used in the study of published and archived texts. The article uses both historical and anthropological approaches to present an idea of the personal perception of various events in Erdmann's biography.
Results
The organization of oriental education and science about the East in Russia, the trend in their development is one of the most important problems of domestic Oriental studies. Of great interest are the processes of formation and development of scientific Oriental studies in Russia in the 19th — early 20th centuries. This period was characterized by the diversity and richness of Russian Oriental studies, manifested in the creation of a system of Oriental education and scientific research, which united the activities of the Academy of Sciences, universities, lyceums, gymnasiums, theological academies, seminaries and scientific societies. The Russian state and society played an important role in the formation and development of the science of the East. Oriental studies have become an important area of the humanities, which has achieved significant success, including in the Russian university education system, upbringing and science.
University Oriental studies in Russia, including Kazan, in the first half of the 19th century had to solve the problem of training orientalists and deepening the scientific line, which became most acute in Russian Oriental studies at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.
The key result of the development of Oriental studies at Kazan University in the middle of the 19th century was the formation of a complex linguistic, historical-philological and source research school of Oriental studies. In many respects, the traditions of Russian university classical orientalism eroded established Eurocentric myths and stereotypes about the East.
In 1851, the literary journal "Sovremennik" noted the following: "A lot of writings about the life of Eastern peoples are scattered in the Academic Notes of Kazan University" and mainly "about Eastern literature. Some of these writings constitute an important acquisition for science. In our country, just as in all of Europe, the falsest notions of the East still dominate. In the middle of the 19th century, among such false concepts about the East that existed in the European consciousness, the following stood out: "there is no thought there," "no personality," "the East has no history of its own"1.
First half of the 19th century is a significant period in the history of domestic and European Oriental studies. The East ".. .has just opened to surprised Europe, when everything oriental was carried far back, into the depths of centuries, and when the first glimpses of human thought were sought in the East. This enthusiastic attitude towards the East, of course, could not but affect the work of scientists of that time and made them somewhat forget the historical perspective."
The beginning of the functioning of the first Oriental languages department at the university, headed by Professor Chr. D. Frähn, in 1807 marked a new milestone in the history of Kazan scientific Oriental studies, which ends in 1854/1855 in connection with the transfer of the Oriental literature category to St. Petersburg University.
Chr. D. Frähn, A. K. Kazem-Bek, I. N. Berezin, V. F. Dittel, A. V. Popov, V. P. Vasiliev and others continued their scientific and cultural mission in the galaxy of domestic orientalists in the first half of the 19th century at Kazan University and later at the Asian Museum and at the Oriental Faculty of St. Petersburg University.
The life path of Professor F. I. Erdmann in Kazan city and Kazan University demonstrated a somewhat different historical, scientific and biographical line in the history of Russian Oriental studies in the first half of the 19th century.
Professor at Imperial Kazan University — Franz Friedrich Ludwig Erdmann (also known as Fyodor Ivanovich Erdmann) lived from March 16, 1795 to November 14, 18622, and was born in Ludwigslust (located in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin).
His father, Johann Ernst Friedrich Erdmann, and his mother, Louise Charlotte Ulrika Abel, were married on May 30, 1794, in Gross Tessin. Johann Ernst Friedrich Erdmann, son of theologian and teacher Johann Job Erdmann, served until 1798 as a teacher at the pedagogical school in Ludwigslust, and then as a pastor in Schwerin. Louise Charlotte Ulrika Abel was the daughter of composer, violinist and bandmaster Leopold Abel (1718-1794)3, niece of composer Carl Friedrich Abel, and granddaughter of violinist and composer Christian Ferdinand Abel.
Franz Erdmann studied at home until 1808. From 1808 to 1812, together with his cousin Johann Leopold Abel, Erdmann studied at the Katharineum Gymnasium in Lübeck. In 1813, the pair began their studies at the Department of Theology at the University of Rostock. Among their professors was O. G. Tychsen, who first introduced young Erdmann to Oriental studies. In December 1813, Franz Erdmann's mother passed away,
1 Sovremennik [Contemporary], 1851, V. XXVIII, pp. 2-6.
2 Biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias (for example, the "Russian Biographical Dictionary") provide inaccurate and incomplete information about the specific dates of birth and death of F. I. Erdmann. Work in a number of archival centers in Germany and England has made it possible to clarify biographical information and systematise archival facts and materials for a more complete study of the academic heritage ofF. I. Erdmann.
3 Abel, Leopold August. Electronic resource. Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/A6enb,_ neononbfl_ABrycT (accessed: 31.01.2024). (In Russian)
and in April 1814, his father died of fever. As a result, his paternal uncle became his legal guardian. After graduating from the Rostock University, Franz Erdmann continued his education at the Gottingen University, while his cousin returned to Ludwigslust and followed in his father's footsteps. Johann resumed his musical studies, and in 1818 he permanently relocated to London and became a famous performer. Like Christian Ferdinand Abel before him, he had a son, Frederick August Abel, who gained international renown for his work as an explosive chemist.
After graduating from the University of Gottingen, Franz defended his theological dissertation and got a job as a teaching assistant. Beginning in 1818, Erdmann corresponded with Chr. D. Frahn, who recommended him to Kazan University. Between 1816 and 1817, Franz Erdmann was invited to Kazan University and on September 4, 1818, was approved as a standard professor, but in the end was able to come to Kazan and start working only in August 1819. These are some of the key stages of F. I. Erdmann's childhood and youth prior to his arrival in Kazan and his activities at Kazan Imperial University between 1819 and 1845.
The family traditions and famous descendants of Professor F. I. Erdmann deserve future attention from researchers.
The first Department of Oriental Languages at the University began its work in 1807, with the invitation of Professor Chr. D. Frahn marking a new milestone in the history of scholarly Oriental studies in Kazan. This period ended in 1854-1855 with the transfer of the Oriental literature study to the northern capital and the resulting formation of the Oriental Department at the St. Petersburg University.
The Kazan period of Erdmann's activity is associated with important institutional changes in the history of forming the Oriental studies at the University, including introducing the main courses and disciplines of Oriental studies, forming different departments, and consolidating professors and other faculty, among others.
Below follows a summary of the personal and professional activities at F. I. Erdmann's time at the University. From August 1819 to May 1845, he held the following administrative and academic-pedagogical positions at Kazan University: from 1819 — standard professor of Oriental languages, from 1825 — head of the Department of Arabic and Persian Literature, part of Oriental Literature. At the same time, starting in 1824, he was the head of the Numismatic Cabinet and the Cabinet of Curiosities; 1822-1832 and 1835-1836 he was the Dean of the Linguistics Sciences Department of the Philosophy Department. Between 1841 and 1845, Erdmann was Dean of the Philosophy Department; 1822-1826 — a teacher of Arabic and Persian languages at the First Men's Gymnasium of Kazan. In 1828-1845 Erdmann was a "separate censor" of Oriental writings4. In 1832-1835, he was Inspector of Students and Director of the Pedagogical Institute. Starting on August 23, 1839, by order of the Minister of Public Education, Erdmann was approved as vice-rector, and in 1843 became, deservedly so, a full professor at the University5.
4 Professor F. I. Erdmann served as censor after Ibrahim Khalfin (1801-1828). In the 19th century, the censorship of Arab-Islamic books in Kazan was carried out by university Orientalist professors Mirza A. K. Kazem-Bek (1845-1850), I. N. Berezin (1850-1855), and I. F. Gottwald (1855-1874).
5 "The case of the Nizhny Novgorod Noble Deputy Assembly on the introduction of Erdmann O. P. ... into the noble genealogy book of the Nizhny Novgorod province for 1884-1885" [I, pp. 2-5]. The main positions and stages of F. I. Erdmann's administrative and academic-pedagogical pursuits are recorded in the certificate issued to him.
In 1825, on behalf of the trustee of the Kazan Educational District, F. Erdmann embarked upon an academic expedition to Orenburg and the Kama region in order to study the antiquities of the Kazan, Orenburg and Vyatka provinces. In the 1820s he repeatedly raised the need to prepare a grammatical compendium and a dictionary of the Tatar language before the University Council, and in 1829 he presented his "Program for Compiling a Complete Tatar Dictionary".
In 1836, F. I. Erdmann drew up a project entitled "The Distribution of Teaching Arabic, Persian and Turkish-Tatar Languages" at the First Men's Gymnasium in Kazan. This project was not printed but has been preserved in archival funds [II, pp. 135-140]. When studying Islamic languages, F. Erdmann focused on the well-known textbooks and anthologies of I. A. Silvestre de Sacy, E. Rosenmüller, V. Jones, F. Wilken, M. Limsden, and A. Boldyrev on Arabic and Persian languages, published in Europe and Russia in 18181833. Among the grammatical compendiums and textbooks on Turkic linguistics, the publications of A. Davids ("Grammar of the Turkish Language", London, 1833), P. Jau-bert ("Turkish Grammar", Paris, 1823), A. Troyansky ("Tatar Grammar", Kazan, 1824) and I. Khalfin's anthology ("The Life of Dzhingiz Khan and Aksak Timura", Kazan, 1822) may be highlighted. F. Erdmann compiled the "distribution" of teaching Islamic languages at the First Men's Gymnasium based on his teaching practice there.
By the time of F. I. Erdmann's dismissal from the University in 1845, according to the "Regulations on the Teaching of Asiatic Languages in the First Kazan Gymnasium", the teaching of Oriental literature was divided into five categories: 1) Arabic-Persian, 2) Arabic-Turkish, 3) Armenian-Turkish, 4) Chinese-Manchurian, and 5) Mongolian-Manchurian.
During the years of F. I. Erdmann's work, Orientalism at Kazan University underwent major academic, organisational, educational and research changes. The period between 1807 and the 1840s marks a significant stage in the institutionalisation and development of the disciplinary status of Oriental education and science at Kazan University.
For the first time, the target program for the formation and development of Oriental studies at a university level in Kazan was outlined by the trustee of the educational district M. N. Musin-Pushkin on April 14, 1833, in a letter to the Ministry of Public Education. Highlighting the public interest in the East and the difficulties in its study, as well as assessing the state of Oriental studies at the university, he wrote that many students
express a desire to study Oriental languages, and many of them are engaged in them with considerable success. But a three-year academic course with a variety of subjects included in it is not enough to improve in Oriental languages. Moreover, state-funded students who have been diligently studying Oriental languages are enlisted as senior teachers of the gymnasium at the end of their studies. And so all their labours, all their successes, all their knowledge of Oriental languages remain completely useless, both for them and for the state, and they, not having in mind any goal that encourages them to improve and disseminate information, finally abandon their studies completely [III, p. 1].
According to the firm conviction of M. N. Musin-Pushkin, it is
Kazan, connecting European Russia with Asian [Russia], [which serves] as a trading post for Oriental goods, attracting Asians with its extensive trade, containing many Tatars, many of which are quite educated, having studied in Bukhara, [and] is [...] the place where very easily but perhaps without great expense the theoretical and practical studies of Oriental languages could be connected [III, p. 1].
In 1828, the first two independent specialized departments were formed within the Department of Oriental Literature at Kazan University: Departments of Turkish-Tatar Literature and Arabic-Persian Literature. The Department of Turkish-Tatar Literature was headed by A. K. Kazem-Bek (1802-1870) until 1846, and from 1846 — by the Extraordinary (from 1854 — Standard) Professor I. N. Berezin (1818-1896). The Department of Arabic-Persian Literature was headed by F. I. Erdmann until 1845, then by A. K. Ka-zem-Bek in 1846-1849, and finally by Standard Professor J. Gottwald (1813-1897) between 1849-1855.
On July 25, 1833, the first department for the Mongolian language in Russia and Europe was established at Kazan University. Standard professors of the Department of the Mongolian Language — O. M. Kovalevsky (1800-1878) and A. V. Popov (1808-1865) — became the founders of scholarly university-level study of Mongolian Studies in Kazan, Russia and Europe as a whole.
On May 11, 1837, for the first time in Russia, the Department of Chinese Language and Literature was opened, and in 1844, it was transformed into the Sino-Manchurian Department. The first professor of Chinese at Kazan University was Archimandrite Daniel (D. P. Sivillov, 1798-1871), who taught in 1837-1844. The successor of Archimandrite Daniel at the University was J. P. Wojciechowski (1793-1850), who laid the foundations of scholarly Manchurian studies in Kazan in 1844-1850. In 1851-1855, the Department was headed by V. P. Vasiliev (1818-1900).
The active institutionalization and specialization of Oriental studies at a university level was aided by the fact that two new departments were created at Kazan University in 1842 — Armenian language and Sanskrit. Between 1842-1849, the Department of the Armenian language was headed by S. I. Nazariants (also known as Nazarian, Nazari-ants) (1812-1879). Between 1841-1851 the Sanskrit language was taught by P. Ya. Petrov (1814-1875), who headed the Department of Sanskritology between 1842-1852. The traditions of Sanskritology in Kazan between 1852-1856 were continued by F. F. Bollensen (1809-1896), who was educated at the University of Gottingen. F. F. Bollensen, librarian of the Hydrographic Department of the Maritime Ministry, was appointed as a standard professor of the Sanskrit Language Department of the University on February 6, 1852. After the termination of the study of Oriental literature at Kazan University and the dismissal of F. F. Bollensen in 1858, he left for Germany.
After the dismissal of F. I. Erdmann in 1846, a department of the Kalmyk language was opened at the university, headed by A. V. Popov, a Mongol and Kalmyk scholar. This department did not receive further organisational, scientific, methodological and research development.
In the 1840s, three new Oriental departments for the Hindustani, Tibetan and Hebrew languages were slated to open6.
These are the noteworthy facts during the development of scholarly disciplines of university-level Oriental studies in Russia. Such a broad specialisation was dictated not only by the internal development course of classical Oriental studies in the Russian Empire, but also by external political and social processes in the foreign relations between Russia, the East and the West.
6 About the establishment of the Department of the Hindustani language at Kazan University. January 15, 1844 [IV]; About the opening of the Department of the Hebrew Language at Kazan University. January 29, 1843 [V] and others.
Erdmann's main works from his time at Kazan University were published in Latin, German, English and Russian in both Europe and Russia, and were devoted to the history, ethnography, numismatics, literature, and languages of the Islamic peoples and Arab-Islamic historical sources.
When exploring the specific research topics of Professor F. I. Erdmann, one may highlight the following: the study and cataloguing of coins of medieval Arab-Islamic dynasties of Turkic-Mongolian and Persian origin; the analysis and description of Arab-Islamic written sources (the chronicle of Iskander Munshi, the Sabatulajizin ("The Resistance of the Weak") manuscript of Sufi Alayara); Mongols in Persia according to the collection of chronicles of Rashidaddin (edition by Etienne-Marc Quatremere in Paris, 1836; the genealogy of Turks and Mongols and biography of Temuchin; the ancient history of Persia based on ancient Greek authors about the Persians and the tales of Shah-nama by Firdousi and others.
Professor F. I. Erdmann's heritage reflects the development of the institutional model of Oriental studies at the University and in Kazan and is closely related to the teaching of Oriental languages and comprehensive research of written and physical materials as historical and cultural sources of the East. This is clear from his work in searching for manuscripts, cataloguing7, publishing and translating of original texts; studying and publishing individual artefacts and extracts from various historical and literary sources; describing and cataloguing manuscripts and books and, in general, the source-study forming and systematizing the manuscript and book collections of the peoples of the East.
F. I. Erdmann was also elected a corresponding member and a full member of well-known scholarly societies in Europe and Russia: The Paris Asiatic Society (1825), the Moscow Society of Russian History and Antiquities (1829), the London Asiatic Society (1829), the Copenhagen Society of Northern Antiquities (1833), the Royal Academy of Sciences of History and Antiquity in Stockholm (1844), the German Society of Orientalists (1847), St. Petersburg Archaeological and Numismatic Society (1849), and the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1850).
On May 10, 1840, F. I. Erdmann took the oath of citizenship of Russia but retained his Lutheran faith.
After his dismissal from Kazan University on May 11, 1845, a new stage of Erdmann's biography began. By imperial order (dated February 7, 1847), he was appointed Director of Schools in the province of Olonets, and two months later (April 8, 1847) was transferred to the post of Director of schools in the province of Novgorod, which he held until August 20, 1855, at which time he was dismissed from service "for lengthy service, with a uniform assigned to the position of university professor". Erdmann died on November 14, 1862, at
7 In this area, an important successive work of F. I. Erdmann was the publication of a catalog of Oriental coins, see: Numi Asiatici Musei Universitatis Caesareae Literarum Casanensis quos recensuit et illustra-vit Franciscus Erdmann; Pars I Volumen primum. Casani, Universitatis caesareae typographia, 1834. 311 S. ("Asian coins of the Museum of Kazan Imperial University, described and illustrated by Franz Erdmann". Kazan, 1834). Mirza A. K. Kazem-Bek in his letter to academician Chr. D. Frähn in June 1845 wrote: "By tomorrow's mail I am sending to Your Excellency the work of Mr. Erdmann Numi Asiatici in two volumes; since you wished to send him to Germany, according to your last letter to Mr. Pushkin". See: Epistolary Heritage of Russian Orientalists: Letters of Mirza A. K. Kazem-Bek to Academician Chr. D. Frähn (1831-1846). Ed. by R. M. Valeev; transl. from English by T. I. Zyapparova, M. V. Ponikarovskaya; preparation for publication, preface, commentary by R. M. Valeeva, T. I. Zyapparova, T. V. Kostina, O. A. Kirikova; introd. articles by N. N. Dyakov, I. F. Popova, I. V. Tunkina. Kazan, 2015. P. 126.
the age of 67, and was buried at the Lutheran cemetery in Kazan. His wife and children had previously converted to Russian Orthodoxy.
The pedagogical and scholarly pursuits of F. I. Erdmann have not found detailed and thorough coverage in the pre-revolutionary domestic, Soviet, modern Russian and European Oriental literature. Russian and German literature even formed a negative image of F. I. Erdmann's Oriental studies in Russia and his role in the history of Oriental studies at Kazan University. Academician W. Barthold reflected this assessment in his conclusion: "As an academic, Erdmann was not successful either in his homeland or in Russia.." [1, p. 47].
Furthermore, when comparing the two leading representatives of Oriental Literature of the University of the 1820s-1840s, Barthold wrote: "There is no doubt that Kazem-Bek can be called the creator of the Kazan school of Orientalists with much more right than Erdmann" [1, p. 47]. Unfortunately, this assessment has been preserved to this day in the historiography of Russian Oriental studies. However, it is much too categorical to conclude that "having worked together for more than 35 years at Kazan University, neither Frähn nor Erdmann left any successors" [2, p. 121].
At the present stage, no one has compiled a complete bibliography of Erdmann's main works, and a detailed comprehensive assessment of his research during both the Kazan and subsequent periods of pedagogical, academic and administrative pursuits has not been undertaken. Today, in various reference and encyclopaedic publications of Russia and Europe, and in catalogues of libraries in European universities (for example, in Germany — at Rostock and Göttingen universities), one can find articles and work published by Erdmann between 1820 and 1862 listed in both paper and electronic formats8. Special attention should be paid to searches in the archives and libraries of Russia and Germany for handwritten materials devoted to the biography of F. I. Erdmann, an Orientalist scholar who gave his life to pedagogical and academic research on the history and culture of the Islamic East.
The first work of F. I. Erdmann — Сhristiani Fraehn de qvibvsdam Semanidarvm ac Bvidarvm nvmis schediasma, ex lingva arabica in latinam vertit notvlisqve instrvxit Fran-ciscus Erdmann — related to the translation from Arabic into Latin of the famous 1806 work of Chr. D. Frähn, dedicated to the description of 17 Samanid and Buid coins. The translation was published in Göttingen in 1816. This work should be considered an important milestone in the Orientalist pursuits of the academic, which were subsequently developed at Kazan University in 1819-1845. We have yet to study and publish letters of F. I. Erdmann in German, written starting from 1818, to academician Chr. D. Frähn from Rostock, Moscow and Kazan9.
In the biography of F. I. Erdmann and in the history of Oriental studies at Kazan University, the correspondence and relationship of the academic with the Khan of the Bukeev Khanate — Dzhangir (1801-1845), deserve attention. Their relationship played an impor-
8 Göttinger Universitätskatalog (GUK). Electronic resource. Available at: https://opac.sub.uni-goet-tingen.de/DB=1/SET=1/TTL=22/MAT=/NOMAT=T/REL? PPN=528668358 (accessed: 01.03.2021).
9 In his first letters, F. I. Erdmann wrote to academician Chr. D. Frähn about his desire to take the position of professor of Oriental literature at Kazan University. For example, in his first letter from Rostock dated July 20, 1818, he wrote: "I was no less pleased to learn from you that, perhaps, a small plan of my initiated research could contribute to my transfer to Kazan". Additionally, in a letter from Rostock dated September 9, 1818, Erdmann asked: "Now, please allow me to ask you in your next letter, which you kindly promised me, to inform me of some information about the state of the Kazan University Library so that I can arrange the purchase of the missing books for me. In addition, it would be helpful if I could also get from you a brief picture of the lifestyle in Kazan" [VI, pp. 40, 60; 3].
tant role in replenishing the university library with "precious handwritten works". Professor F. I. Erdmann in his report to the Council of Kazan University (dated May 27, 1844) wrote:
All these offerings10, feedback and donations in favour of both Kazan University and the learned world, proving a love both for academia and for the patronage of learned classes and institutions, and especially Oriental languages and their literature on the part of ... [the] khan, give me the courage to ask again the venerable Council of the University: would it not be pleasing to elect him Khan Chegangir Bukeyev to the venerable members of the Imperial Kazan University? [4, p. 417].
On July 19, 1844, the trustee of the Kazan Educational District M. N. Musin-Pushkin informed the University Council about the approval by the Minister of Public Education of Khan Dzhangir as an honorary member of the Imperial Kazan University and suggested "adding Khan Bukeev to the list of honorary members of the University and delivering him a diploma" [3, p. 417]. Vice-Rector of the University F. I. Erdmann (since December 17, 1844) reported on the execution of this order on October 28, 1844, and wrote:
.at the same time, I have compiled a list of Arabic, Persian and Turkish handwritten works, of which the Khan wishes to acquire, if possible, for Kazan University from the Bukharans, I humbly ask. The Council to approve this list, to allow me to enter into communication with the khan on this so very useful matter for the university [4, p. 432].
This list included 60 original Arab-Islamic historical, philological, and religious manuscripts [4, pp. 433-434].
One of the last major Erdmann's works discovered by the researchers (not presented in encyclopaedic and reference publications) is Temudschin der Unerschütterliche. Nebst einer geographisch-ethnographischen Einleitung und den erforderlichen besondern Anmerkungen und Beilagen von Professor Dr. Frans von Erdmann ("Temuchin the Unshakable.."), published in 1862 in German in the famous Oriental studies centre of Europe — Leipzig. Between the time spent living in Rostock and Kazan, F. I. Erdmann prepared and published more than 20 articles and full-fledged works presented in the "Reviews" of the first historians of Oriental studies at the University, O. M. Kovalevsky [5] and K. K. Voigt [6], and later in various reference and encyclopaedic publications.
Academician Chr. D. Frähn, evaluating the publications of Franz Erdmann in the early 1820s, wrote in his review:
Moreover, any person who judges impartially must agree that these three works of Mr. Erdmann clearly testify to his rapid activity, his tireless diligence, his great devotion in essays on his part and his zeal to be useful, as well as being a prolific writer [VII, p. 29].
Discussion
From the beginning of the 19th century to the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, the key components of Spiritus movens (driving spirit) of Russian classical oriental studies were formed. The personalities and heritage of Russian orientalists are the main rods of the driving spirit of oriental studies in Russia. In the second half of the 18th-19th century, a set
10 In 1839 and 1844 Khan Dzhangir presented as a gift six original Arab-Islamic handwritten works (see: [6, p. 416]).
of criteria for the objectivity and scientific character of Oriental studies — empirical and theoretical — is formed. The main elements of scientific knowledge in Oriental studies are facts from the history and culture of the peoples of the East, patterns and theories, and in general — the scientific picture of the world and civilizations of Asia and Africa. One of the main distinctive qualities of scientific Oriental knowledge is its systematization and complexity.
The process of constructing scientific disciplines has become a key factor in Oriental science. Orientalism included separate disciplines that are interconnected and united with each other. The emergence and development of scientific Oriental knowledge forms required prerequisites of a political and ideological nature, especially intra-institutional factors. In the genesis of Russian oriental studies as a specific form of knowledge of Asian states and peoples, the classical scientific revolution took place at the end of the 18th — the first half of the 19 th century.
The legacy of F. I. Erdmann, formed at Kazan University in the first half of the 19th century, shows the origins and some features of the Oriental studies development as a complex science, and domestic Orientalists have become "universal scientists, combining a linguist, literary critic, ethnographer, historian" [7, p. 5].
Our planned comprehensive archival research and materials allow us to further write and critically revise the well-established stereotype about F. I. Erdmann's contribution to the formation of Orientalism at Kazan University in 1819-1845, and generally to Russian and European Orientalism during the first half of the 19th century.
Conclusion
The personality of the Russian and German Orientalist academic F. I. Erdmann is of scholarly and public interest to contemporaries. His life pursuits in Germany and Russia provide material for understanding the history of Oriental studies, social and quotidian history, and historical anthropology.
The creative legacy of Standard Professor F. I. Erdmann during his period of activity at Kazan University is characterized by complexity, the wide breadth of his interdisciplinary approach, and an organic combination of philology, history, literature, culture, and the religions of the peoples of the Arab-Islamic East. Professor F. I. Erdmann made both organisational and research contributions to the formation of the university model of Oriental studies in Kazan and in Russia during the first half of the 19th century.
The Oriental heritage of F. I. Erdmann is of historical, historiographical and source studies significance and is a case in point of the academic and cultural ties between Russia and Germany. His biography and legacy are both a vivid example and an important factor in Russo-German relations in the history of Orientalism in Russia and Germany during the 18th — early 20th century, and provide a basis for prospective interaction between Russia, the East and Europe.
Sources
I. Central Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod region, folio 639, case inventory 126, case 10854, pages 2-5.
II. State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, folio 92, case inventory 1, case 3833, pages 135-140.
III. Russian State Historical Archive, folio 733, case inventory 41, case 86, page 1.
IV. State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, folio 92, case inventory 1, case 5529, page 5.
V. State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, folio 92, case inventory 1, case 5256, pages 12.
VI. Saint Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, folio 778, case inventory 2, case 388.
VII. State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, folio 92, case inventory 1, case 1428, page 29. References
1. Barthold W. Works on the history of Oriental Studies. Moscow, Nauka, Glavnaia redaktsiia vostochnoi literatury Publ., 1977. 969 p. (In Russian)
2. The history of Russian Oriental studies until the middle of the nineteenth century. Moscow, 1990. 439 p. (In Russian)
3. Franz von Erdmann (1793-1862) als Orientalist in Kazan. Im Spiegel seiner Briefe an Christian Martin Frahn. Die Jahre 1818-1820. Hrsg. von Hartmut Walravens unter Mitarbeit von Nikolaj Serikoff. BoD, 2021. 89 S.
4. Zhanaev B. T., Inochkin V. A., Sagnaeva S. Kh. History of the Bukeev Khanate. 1801-1852. Collection of documents and materials. Almaty, Daik-Press, 2002. 1118 p. (In Russian)
5. Kovalevsky O. M. Review of the progress and successes of teaching Asian languages at the Imperial Kazan University to the present. Kazan, 1842. 36 p.
6. Voigt K. Review of the progress and successes of teaching Asian languages at the Imperial Kazan University for the decade from 1842 to 1852. Kazan, 1852. 73 p.
7. Kononov A. N. History of the study of Turkic languages in Russia: Pre-October period. Lenngrad, Nauka Publ., 1982. 359 p.
Received: June 5, 2023 Accepted: October 13, 2023
Authors' information:
Ramil M. Valeev — Dr. in History; rm.valeev@yandex.ru Roza Z. Valeeva — PhD in Pedagogy; rvaleeva@yandex.ru Natalia Matilda Bertuol — BertuolNM@ieml.ru
"Последняя рукопись, обнаруженная и исследованная мистером Эрдманом, доселе неизвестная в Европе" (Х. Д. Френ): востоковед Франц Эрдман из Казанского университета и его наследие (1818-1845)*
Р. М. Валеев1, Р. З. Валеева2, Н. М. Бертуоль2
1 Казанский (Приволжский) федеральный университет, Российская Федерация, 420008, Казань, ул. Кремлевская, 18
2 Казанский инновационный университет им. В. Г. Тимирясова, Российская Федерация, 420111, Казань, ул. Московская, 42
Для цитирования: Valeev R. M., Valeeva R. Z., Bertuol N. M. "The last manuscript, discovered and researched by Mr. Erdmann, is not known in Europe at all" (Chr. D. Frahn): Orientalist Franz Erdmann at Kazan University and His Heritage (1818-1845) // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Востоковедение и африканистика. 2023. Т. 15. Вып. 4. С. 750-765. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2023.410
* Данная статья была подготовлена при поддержке Программы стратегического академического лидерства Казанского федерального университета.
Важное место в истории российского и европейского востоковедения, в культуре и науке России занимают Казанский и Санкт-Петербургский университеты, Азиатский музей и другие институты — ключевые центры с богатыми исследовательскими и гуманистическими традициями изучения Востока, в формировании которых большую роль сыграли выдающиеся отечественные ученые и практики, в том числе немцы по происхождению (Г. З. Байер, Г.-Я. Кер, Г. Ю. Клапрот, Х. Д. Френ, Б. А. Дорн, Ф. И. Эрдман, И. Ф. Готвальд, В. В. Радлов и др.), которые окончили университеты в Германии и связали свою судьбу с Россией. Выпускники университетов Германии, несомненно, внесли значимый вклад в становление и развитие востоковедения в России. Так, профессора Х. Д. Френ, Ф. И. Эрдман, И. Ф. Готвальд и В. В. Радлов подняли казанское востоковедение на принципиально иной уровень и оставили значимый след в истории Казанского университета и Казани. В статье представлен краткий обзор биографии Федора Ивановича Эрдмана, известного также как Фридрих Франц Людвиг Эрдманн (1795-1862). Особое внимание авторы уделяют основным этапам его педагогической и научной деятельности в Казанском университете (1818-1845). Ф. И. Эрдман стал вторым приглашенным немецким профессором восточной литературы в университете после Х. Д. Френа (1782-1851) и одним из последних учеников известного немецкого востоковеда О. Г. Тихсена (1734-1815). В 1819 г., в возрасте 24 лет, Ф. И. Эрдман переехал в Россию, в Казань. В первой половине XIX в. приглашение выпускников и представителей европейских университетов и различных народов Российской империи стало важной академической и гуманистической традицией, способствовавшей развитию востоковедения в Казанском университете. После увольнения из университета 11 мая 1845 г. профессор Ф. И. Эрдман 7 февраля 1847 г. был назначен директором школ Олонецкого края. Через два месяца, 8 апреля 1847 г., Эрдман был переведен на должность директора школ в Новгородской области, эту должность он занимал до своего увольнения 20 августа 1855 г. По смерти 14 ноября 1862 г. профессор был похоронен в Казани. Архивные и неопубликованные материалы статьи позволяют внести уточнения в имеющиеся о профессоре Ф. И. Эрдмане биографические сведения, дополнить их; обозначить процесс оценки вклада ученого в казанскую ориенталистику в период его работы в университете (1818-1845), а также в летопись его переписки с акад. Х. Д. Френом и истории российского востоковедения, в том числе арабо-мусульманских штудий XIX в.
Ключевые слова: востоковедение, востоковед, наследие, биография, Х. Д. Френ, Ф. И. Эрдман, Франц Людвиг Эрдман.
Статья поступила в редакцию: 5 июня 2023 г., рекомендована к печати: 13 октября 2023 г.
Контактная информация:
Валеев Рамиль Миргасимович — д-р ист. наук, проф.; rm.valeev@yandex.ru Валеева Роза Закариевна — канд. пед. наук; rvaleeva@yandex.ru Бертуоль Наталья Матильде — BertuolNM@ieml.ru
APPENDIX
F. I. Erdmann's (Friedrich Franz Ludwig Erdmann) first letter to Academician Chr. D. Frähn. 29.03.1818 Rostock. Saint Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, folio 778, case inventory 2, case 388. Sheets 11 — 11 turnover (Fig. 1-2).
Wohlgeborener, Hochgelehrter, Hochzuehrender Herr Hofrath,
Sie haben schon durch mehrere Beweise Ihrer Huld die wohlwollenden Gesinnungen welche Sie gegen mich hegen, beurkundet. Ich dürfte in dieser Hinsicht mich nur auf die mir gütigst ert-heilte Erlaubniß berufen, Ihre m^ durch Übersetzung, u. so weit es Zeit und finanzielle Umstände gestatteten, auch durch Commentar dem deutschen gelehrten Publico bekannt machen zu dürfen, dem sie leider wegen der damahligen unglücklichen Zeitverhältnisse größtentheils unbekannt geblieben war. Durch unsern nunmehr verewigten Tychsen zum Studium der Quellen des Orients angefeuert, war mein zweyjähriger hiesiger academischer Auffenhalt [=Aufenthalt] unter seiner Leitung ganz demselben gewidmet. Geschah nun hier größtentheils in allen Dingen erst der Anfang und mußte noch manches geregelt und gehörigen Orts fixirt werden, so lieh mir in dieser Rücksicht die hülfreiche Hand eines Göttinger Tychsen und Eichhorn Ausbeute genug, mich auf den Stand-punct zu versetzen, von welchem herab ich das noch fehlende in der Zeit meiner Muße zu ergänzen, und meinen Überblick zu erweitern vermochte. Zunächst fesselte mich daher das Studium paläo-logischer und historiographisches Gegenstände; und ich darf dasselbe auch noch jetzt meine Lieblingsbeschäftigung nennen. Würde mich nur nicht die Ausarbeitung eines commentarii perpetui zu den Klagliedern Jeremiä, der schon die Zeit seiner Bekanntmachung mit Sehnsucht erwartet, für verflossene Augenblicke in meiner Zeit beschränkt haben, und wäre schon die trefliche Bibliothek unsers verewigten Tychsen ganz, wegen des geringen Interesse, welches man hier zu Lande dem orientalische Studio zollt, ihrer mehr denn zweyjährigen Lethargie entrissen worden, so möchte ich nur vielleicht Gelegenheit nehmen, Ihnen, geehrtester Herr Hofrath, eine schon seit einiger Zeit begonnene Schrift geschichtlichen Inhalts vorzulegen.
Schon seit der Zeit Ihres von unserer Academie Ihnen gewordenen Rufs haben Sie die Gemüther Aller in die größte Spannung versetzt. Mit Sehnsucht harren sie der Zeit entgegen, zu der sie mit Ihrer Ankunft d.
lä^I in ihren Mauern zu erblicken mit Recht hoffen. Dürfte ich bey dieser Gelegenheit einen Wunsch zu äußern wagen, so würde ich Ihre Gewogenheit in Rücksicht der in Casan entledigten Professur in Anspruch nehmen. Sie würden mich sehr verpflichten, wenn Sie ein gutes Wort für meine Beförderung zu dieser Stelle bey der höhern Behörde einzulegen vermöchten, wie Sie es ja vermögen.
Nebst der Erlaubniß, mit der nächsten Gelegenheit Ihnen die schon erwähnte m^ nebst anderweitigen Beweisen meiner Studien vorlegen zu dürfen, bitte ich auch fernerhin die vollkommenste Hochachtung zu genehmigen, in der ich verharre
Ew. Wohlgeboren ganz gehorsamster Diener Franz Erdmann Rostock den 29/3 18.
/Г/Г, i
Fig. 1. A scan of Erdmann's letter to academician Frahn
Translation into Russian
Ваше благородие, многомудрый, высокоуважаемый господин надворный советник,
Многочисленными доказательствами Вашей милости Вы уже подтвердили те добрые чувства, которыми Вы дорожите по отношению ко мне. В этой связи я могу сослаться только на любезно предоставленное мне разрешение с помощью перевода и, насколько
Fig. 2. A scan of the final part of Erdmann's letter to academician Frahn
позволят время и финансовые обстоятельства, также посредством комментариев познакомить с Вашей12 (книгой, письмом. — Р. В.) немецкую ученую публику, для которой, к сожалению, она из-за печальных обстоятельств того времени осталась в значительной
12 Also "message", "letter" ("poslanie", "pis'mo") — м1^-.
степени неизвестной. Я, воодушевленный нашим ныне почившим Тихсеном13 на изучение источников Востока, под его руководством полностью посвятил свое двухлетнее академическое пребывание здесь данному вопросу.
В то время как изучение большей частью здесь только начиналось и многие обстоятельства все еще должны были быть урегулированы и должным образом зафиксированы, для данных целей Тихсен14 и Эйхгорн15 из Гёттингена предоставили мне достаточно средств, чтобы определить меня на должность, где я мог бы восполнить все еще отсутствующие в то время знания для расширения моего кругозора. Поэтому сначала я был увлечен изучением палеологических и историографических объектов; и даже сейчас я могу назвать это моим любимым занятием. Если бы мое время не было ограничено commentarii раграШ^6 «Песни плача Еремии», которая уже с нетерпением ждет своего издания, и если бы превосходная библиотека нашего увековеченного Тихсена была бы уже полной, которая ввиду небольшого интереса в нашей стране к изучению Востока находилась в двухлетней летаргии, то я просто хотел бы воспользоваться этой возможностью, чтобы представить Вам, высокоуважаемый господин надворный советник, произведение исторического содержания, процесс написания которого начался уже некоторое время тому назад.
С тех пор как Вы получили приглашение от нашей Академии, Вы наполнили умы всех нетерпеливым ожиданием. Они с нетерпением ждут того времени, когда смогут по праву с Вашим прибытием созерцать (последнего пророка, букв.: печати пророка. —
Р. В.) в ее стенах. Если бы я осмелился высказать пожелание по этому случаю, я бы обратил внимание Вашего Благородия к вакантной в Казани профессорской должности. Я был бы очень признателен, если бы Вы в соответствии с Вашими возможностями замолвили словечко в высшей инстанции за мое продвижение на эту должность.
В дополнение к разрешению при удобном случае представить Вам уже упомянутую (книгу. — Р. В.) наряду с другими доказательствами моих исследований, я и впредь остаюсь с глубоким почтением к Вам, в котором я пребываю.
самый послушный слуга Вашего благородия Франц Эрдман Росток, 29/3 18.
13 Olaf Gerhard Tichsen (December 14, 1734, Tönner — December 30, 1815, Rostock) studied at the University of Gaul and in 1763 became professor of Oriental languages at the University of Bützow. In 1789, the universities of Bützow and Rostock were merged, and Tichsen was given the position of chief librarian. His main work is "Bützowische Nebenstunden" ("Free Hours in Bützow") in 6 volumes, 1766-1769. Most of his excellent personal library was acquired by the University of Rostock.
14 Thomas Christian Tichsen (May 8, 1758, Horsbüll — October 23, 1834, Göttingen), in 1784 — professor of theology, in 1788 — professor of Oriental languages in Göttingen.
15 Johann Gottfried Eichhorn (October 16, 1752, Dörrenzimmern — June 25, 1827, Göttingen) — orientalist, historian and theologian, in 1775 — professor of oriental languages in Jena, in 1788 — in Göttingen.
16 Continuous commentary.
