bangha imre

7/27/2019 Bangha Imre

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/bangha-imre 1/13

Imre BanghaFaculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford

Alexander Csoma de Kőrös1

I am not a Tibetologist and I feel it a challenge to present how academicTibetan studies started in the west. The foundation of this discipline inthe early 19th century can be linked to one person, Alexander Csoma de!r"s, who happened to be a Transyl#anian $ungarian. %y research on Alexander Csoma de !r"s co#ers his in#ol#ement with Indian #ernacularlanguages and culture and his modern international reception. In thispaper, howe#er, I will present the life and academic achie#ements of Csoma de !r"s and will talk on his contribution to learning in a globalcontext.

Importance

&'o foreigner has studied the Tibetan more successfully than Csomadid.&( These words of one of the most outstanding Indian scholars,)a*endralal %itra +1(-(/0191, the 2rst Indian president of the Asiatic3ociety of 4engal refer to Alexander Csoma de !r"s +/ April 15/6711 April 1/(, who, in his own words, was a 3iculo0$ungarian fromTransyl#ania.- $is name is well known to Tibetologist who consider himthe founder of Tibetan 3tudies and to $ungarians who admire hisperse#erance in tra#el and scholarship dedicated to the search of therelati#es and origins of the $ungarians. $is life is extraordinary in as

much as the son of a poor family at the periphery of 8urope, through hisdetermination and humility, becomes an outstanding tra#eller and

1 I express my gratitude to rof. :;<a 4ethlenfal#y for pro#iding insights into hisresearch on Csoma de "r"s in many delightful con#ersations o#er the past threedecades. I also am grateful to him and to %r ;ter 3<=nt> for their comments on thispaper.2 ?uoted in 8. 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor 4udapest@ :ondolat, 19(, p. (/9.3 The best monograph on Alexander Csoma de !r"s is still T. Buka, Life and works of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös: a biography compiled chiey from hihero !np!blisheddaa: wih a brief noice of each of his p!blished works and essays" as well as of his sillexan man!scrips TrbnerDs Eriental 3eries Fondon@ Trbner, 1G. The four #olumes

of his collected works #$ibean%&nglish 'icionary" (rammar of he $ibean Lang!age"Sanskri%$ibean%&nglish )ocab!lary" $ibean S!dies* were edited as a set of reprints by H><sef Ter*;k and published by the Akad;miai iad>, 4udapest for the bicentenary ofCsomas birth in 19/. Jor a bibliography on Csoma de !r"s see H. 8st;li and 8.$et;nyi, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor dok!menáci> 4udapest@ 4uddhist %ission, K19(L.There are about two do<en Csoma monographs in $ungarianM the most recent of themare H. ubassek, A +imalá,a magyar reme-,e: Kőrösi Csoma Sándor -le.,akorör-nei -s földra,/i há-rrel (nd ed. 4udapest@ anor=ma, (NN-, . %arc<ell, A0al1sabb Kőrösi Csoma%k-phe< 4udapest@ ski, (NN-. . H. %arc<ell, Alexander Csomade Kőrös ( #ols. %onograph series olkata@ Asiatic 3ociety, (NN5 is an 8nglish collectionof the authors studies and documents on Csoma. The proceedings of the annual Csoma0conferences at o#=s<naCo#asna in )omania present some of the latest research on thelife of Csoma. The most recent Csoma0conference commemorating the 15Nth death

anni#ersary of the scholar was held at 8"t#"s For=nd Oni#ersity, 4udapest, on 15 April(N1(. The most popular monograph is 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor , which ran into foureditions between 19( and 1999.

1



emerges as the founder of a modern scholarly discipline. $e also standsas an example of 8ast Central 8uropes contribution to the academicdiscourse of contemporary 8urope.

En his Asian *ourney Csoma arri#ed in Fadakh in 1(( and spentse#eral years in Tibetan monasteries studying Tibetan language and

literature. Although he did not 2nd Tibetan links or references to the$ungarians, he compiled the 2rst scholarly Tibetan08nglish dictionaryand wrote the 2rst Tibetan grammar in 8nglish and presented Tibetan4uddhism to the world in do<ens of scholarly articles. According to E. .e*ariwal, the author of a monograph on the Asiatic 3ociety of 4engal,CsomaDs 'icionary marked a milestone in the history of the Asiatic3ociety and increased its pro2le in a way in which few other e#ents had, /

and Csoma became Pthe father of Tibetan studiesQ in the eyes of laterscholars.G

Life6

Alexander Csoma de "r"s 7 or !r"si Csoma 3=ndor, as he is called in$ungarian, 7 was born in 15/, or, according to the most recentresearch, perhaps in 155 or 155 in Transyl#ania. $is ethnic group, the3<;klers, claimed continuity with Attilas $uns of the 2fth centuryconsidering themsel#es to be a branch of the $uns who did not withdrawto the 8ast after the death of king Attila +and returned as the $ungariansin the ninth century, but settled in Transyl#ania in the 2fth century.

After the #illage school Csoma was allowed to continue his educationin the renowned rotestant college of Transyl#ania, the 4ethlenianum of 'agyenyed +today Aiud, )omania. The students that were pro#ided

PfreeQ education 7 the so0called graisae 7 in reality paid for it with someform of manual labour for the college. At the age of ((, he has passed hisexams successfully. Rhile working as a teacher of the lower0le#el classes,he embarked on his further studies, three years of philosophy and four years of theology, the training of a protestant clergyman. It was certainlyin this period that he became acSuainted with the #arious theoriesconcerning the origins of $ungarians. The Suestion of positing$ungarian within 8uropean languages became topical under theinuence of the emerging science of Indo08uropean studies, whichpresented almost all languages of 8urope, but not $ungarian, asbranches of the same great Indo08uropean tree. The idea of the

$ungarian0Oyghur relations had adherents among the professors of thecollege. Csoma, likely basing himself on their notions, de#eloped his ideathat he would 2nd the ancient $ungarian homeland and the $ungarians

4 E. . e*ariwal, $he Asiaic Sociey of 2engal and he disco0ery of 3ndia4s pas" 5678%579 'ew Belhi@ Exford Oni#ersity ress, 1999, p. 11.5 %. Fussier, 4uddhism and )omanticism. Liera!re Compass, #ol. -, no. G, (NN, p.1119.6 This chapter is largely based on the Life of Alexander Csoma de Körös as presented onthe website of The Fibrary of the $ungarian Academy of [email protected] compiled by Ugnes elecs;nyi and :ergely Eros<.7

4. Fe Calloch, %ikor s<letett tula*donk;ppen "r"si Csorna 3=ndor6, in Koro;siCsoma Sa <ndor e <s a magyar kelek!aás, ed. H><sef :a<da and 8telka 3<ab>,o#=s<naCo#asna@ oVroWsi Csoma 3a Xndor oW<muV #eloVde Xsi 8gyesuWlet, (NN/, pp. 501(..

2

http://csoma.mtak.hu/en/index.htm

http://csoma.mtak.hu/en/index.htm



Pleft behindQ somewhere in Central Asia or among the Oyghurs when heembarked on his search.

Along with Fatin and :reek, he also learned $ebrew and Jrench in thecollege, as well as :erman and )omanian in the nearby 3axon and)omanian settlements. In 11G he won the so0called P8nglish stipendQ of

the college, which he used, the following Jebruary, to fund a #isit to theuni#ersity of :"ttingen. :"ttingen has for long been an outstandingcentre of learning with famous students including the mathematicianCarl Jriedrich :auY +1555 0 1GG, the politician Etto #on 4ismarck, thephilosopher 8dith 3tein and others. Jor a period the :rimm brotherswere also teachers there. This uni#ersity with its professors of international reputation and its #ast library oZered Csoma excellentpossibilities to broaden his knowledge. Eriental studies were becoming aspeciali<ed uni#ersity sub*ect at this time, and a number of theirrenowned representati#es held academic chairs in :"ttingen. Ene of them, the famous 4iblical professor and Erientalist Hohann :ottfried8ichhorn, often called the founder of modern Eld Testament criticism,was also responsible for o#erseeing the aZairs of students coming fromthe college of 'agyenyed. It was he who taught Arabic and Turkish toCsoma.

After a brief period at 'agyenyed, Csoma left Transyl#ania in late 119with a temporary passport, and set oZ to the 8ast to 2nd the old$ungarian homeland. After a *ourney partly on ship and mostly on footthrough the 4alkans, the %editerranean, Iran, 4okhara, Afghanistan,un*ab and ashmir, by the middle of April 1(( he arri#ed in Feh, thecapital of Fadakh, one of the westernmost centres of Tibetan culture. $e

planned to reach central Asia by *ourneying to [arkand, but found thisitinerary #ery diZicult, costly and dangerous. Therefore, after twenty02#edays he turned back to Feh. It was on his way back that he met the4ritish oZicer Rilliam %oorcroft, whom he accompanied to Feh, wherethey stayed together.

%oorcroft was a well0paid 4ritish #eterinary surgeon and the managerof the 8ast Indian Companys stud, who wanted to 2nd an o#erland routeto renew the 4ritish Indian horse stock from Central Asia #ia Afghanistan. Indian history shows that it was people with connections tothis horse stock that were again and again successful in conSueringIndia. %oorcroft was also instrumental in pro#iding the pashmina goats,

indigenous to high altitudes of the $imalayas, for the 4ritish by enteringin disguise into Tibet. This #enture of his, howe#er, did not succeed. Although he carried o#er the goats to India, when, howe#er, the 4ritishsent them o#er to 4ritain in separate ships for the males and the females,one of the ships sunk.

%oorcrofts expedition included a ersian speaking member who alsoknew Tibetan. 4oth %oorcroft and Csoma picked up the rudiments of thelanguage from him. %oorcroft, while dismissi#e of Csomas search for&some obscure points of $istory&, was fully aware of the importance of Fadakh and Tibet in general for the 4ritish in these early years of the

8 :. Alder, 2eyond 2okhara: he life of =illiam >oorcrof" Asian explorer and pioneer0eerinary s!rgeon" 56?6%57@G Fondon@ Century ub, 19G.

3



:reat :ame. $e was also impressed by the fact that Csoma was abletra#el the dangerous route he intended to take in the opposite direction,and in which %oorcroft e#entually met his death in 1(G.

This encounter triggered a decisi#e change in the life of Csoma. $etra#elled to ashmir with %oorcroft and recei#ed from him a copy of the

#ery 2rst book on Tibet, the Alphabe!m $ibean!m, the edited reports of 1th0century missionaries, and it was %oorcroft who spurred Csoma tohis Tibetan studies. Csoma 7 perhaps hoping to 2nd new sources aboutthe history of ancient $ungarians in the literature of the Tibetans, anation neighbouring the Oyghurs and an absolute erra incognia at thattime. Onable to continue his *ourney to Central Asia 7 Csoma stayed inFeh and began to learn Tibetan with the help of ersian as anintermediate language. After acSuiring the rudiments of the language, hedecided to perfect his knowledge Pthrough the many and interesting #olumes conser#ed in the monasteriesQ, thus he asked for the support of %oorcroft, who e#entually pro#ided him with the most necessarymaterials, and wrote recommendations for him both to the kal"n KbkablonL 7 the chief royal minister 7 of Feh and to the head of the settlementof \angla, 3angs0rgyas hun0tshogs +3angye huntsog, who would laterbecome the teacher of Csoma. !r"si left ashmir on %ay (, 1(-, andarri#ed in Feh on the 2rst of Hune. $ere he was gi#en gifts and a furtherletter of recommendation from the kalön" who directed him to \angla,where he arri#ed nine days later.

!r"si stayed in \angla for 1 months +from Hune (N, 1(- to Ectober((, 1(/. There he learned Tibetan amidst shockingly harsh conditionssuch as passing a Tibetan winter without 2re, and began to familiari<e

himself with Tibetan literature. $e studied se#eral works Pfrom the two0part collection of translations from 3anskritQ 7 that is, from the an*ur2kaB Bgy!r and the Tan*ur 2san Bgy!r" the about --N #olumes of Tibetan canon, literally thousands of pages ] and makes special mentionof a long 3anskrit0Tibetan glossary that is of extreme importance to hiswork. This was most probably the >ahD0y!pai, a famous dictionary of 4uddhist terminology compiled in the 9th century, which later wouldform the basis of CsomaDs third, posthumous monograph. An interestingtraditional Tibetan way of learning was that Csoma recei#ed answers tomany of his Suestions in writing. Csomas Tibetan manuscripts, the socalled &Alexander0books&, treasured now at the $ungarian Academy of

3ciences, include a manuscript with lama unga Cholegs Kun0dga hoc0legsL answers to Csomas Suestions.

Csoma laid the foundations of his later works in the sixteen monthsspent in \angla. In this period he not only mastered the Tibetanlanguage, but he also acSuired knowledge of a remarkable part of thecanoni<ed literature, and 7 as is re#ealed by his later writings and someletters concerning him 7 he composed a glossary of about -N.NNN wordsduring this period.

Csoma continued his Tibetan studies in two subseSuent stays with3angs0rgyas hun0tshogs. After 2nally entering 4ritish India in 1-N he

spent the remaining 1( years of his life in 4engal. Rorking mostly in thecapital city of Calcutta, in similarly simple conditions, he published the

4



achie#ements of his research and studied 3anskrit and Indian #ernaculars to 2nd traces of any linguistic interaction with $ungarian.Rhen in 1/( he *udged the political situation fa#ourable for a *ourney tothe Oyghurs #ia Fhasa in Tibet, he set oZ to achie#e his original goal.$owe#er, he died on his way on 11 April in Bar*eeling.

Csoma was a consistently independent scholar who did not accept anyindi#idual gift +not e#en a coat from one of his #isitors9 but only moneyfrom public funds. Rhile he has repeatedly recei#ed support from the4ritish, had 4ritish friends and se#eral contemporary westerners praisedhis erudition and simplicity, his relationship with them was not alwayssmooth. Rhen he 2rst reported his ser#ice to the 4ritish at the then Indo0Tibetan border in 1(/, the 4ritish looked on him with suspicion. +Thecommander of the border town 3ubathu at that time was the 3cottishCaptain Charles ratt ennedy, the founder of 3himla, who later becameone of the principal supporters of the $ungarian scholar A recurringearly grie#ance of Csoma against the 4ritish was that they consideredhim a spy.1N Rhen he was e#entually cleared and admitted to the colonialcircles, he was ridiculed. $e wore &nati#e& clothes until Captain. ennedyasked him to change them into 8uropean ones. Another instant of 4ritishcolonial antipathy is that of $.$. Rilson, the 3ecretary of the Asiatic3ociety, who hindered the publication of the Tibetan dictionary. Rilsonwrote, &I do not think that the Fiterature of Tibet #oluminous as it isoZers much that will add to the stock of knowledge.& 11 Rhile fully awareof Csomas work at the $imalayas, in 19( the Asiatic 3ociety publisheda poorly edited Tibetan08nglish dictionary in 3erampore. The $ungarianscholar was about to fall into neglect. $is work gained renewed 4ritish

support only when the professor of Chinese at aris, Hulius laproth,published a de#astating article on the 3erampore dictionary and ridiculedthe 4ritish trying to penetrate Tibetan culture from the 3outh.1( This thentriggered on criticism of the Asiatic society from Fondon. Rhene#entually readmitted on the 4ritish payroll Csoma did not take hismonthly salary of 1NN )s apart from the 2rst two months.1- $e alsorefused 4ritish approaches that fell outside the scope of what hepromised to do and did not go back to Afghanistan to collect %oorcroftDsbelongings, did not record the temperature of anam and did not takepart in the 4hutan expedition.1/ En a *ourney to north 4engal he wrote

9:erards letter Suoted in 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor , p. 1N.10 8.g. in CsomaDs letter to :. . :erard written on (1 August 1( in huktar Suoted in:. 4ethlenfal#y, %oorcroft h=trahagyott iratai ;s !r"si Csoma 3=ndor, in &ml-kköny0Cseri &lek s/Ele-s-nek nyolc0anadik -0ford!il1,ár a, ed. =l Hudit ^ 3ipos :=bor,olo<s#=r@ 8rd;lyi %_<eum 8gyeslet, (NN/and in H. :. :erardDs letter written to R.Jraser on (1 Han. 1(9 Suoted in 8. 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor /th ed. 4udapest@Talentum, 1999, p. 195.11 Rilson to 3winton on 1/ Bec 1-N published in %arc<ell, Alexander Csoma de Kőrös, #ol (. p. (1-.

12 According to 4aktay +19( p. 15- its 2rst publication is unknown. A secondpublication appeared as H. laproth, Ebser#ations sur le Bictionnaire tib;tain imprim; =3;rampore. Fo!0ea! Go!rnal AsiaiH!e, #ol. 1(, no. *uin.13

rinseps letter to the :o#ernor in Hanuary 1-/, Suoted in $ungarian translation by4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor , pp. (N-0/.14 4ethlenfal#y, %oorcroft h=trahagyott iratai ;s !r"si Csoma 3=ndor, p. 51.

5



politely to Hames rinsep, the subseSuent 3ecretary of the Asiatic 3ociety,&3ince I intend to prosecute only my philological researches, and willabstain from e#ery statistical, political, or e#en geographical inSuiry, if Ishall write but seldom to you, and at that time also shortly, I beg you willexcuse me.&1G

Rhen he left Calcutta to learn 4engali in Titalia he refused to belodged in the house of %a*or Floyd, claiming that li#ing in the ma*orDshouse would result in losing the trust of the `nati#esD, and he took asimple Indian hut instead. 1

Achievement

There ha#e been Hesuit and Capuchin missions to Tibet already in theeighteenth century15 and missionaries prepared three dictionaries and ageneral book but all lacked good edition.

1. The 4iblioth;Sue 'ationale in aris has preser#ed in manuscript 1the extract of a Fatin0Tibetan Bictionary, which was commenced in15N by the Capuchin Jriars :iuseppe da Ascoli and Jrancesco %ariada Tours and completed by J. Bomenico da Jano +15/015(, whotook it to )ome in 151- and made this extract thereof for two Jrenchscholars. The manuscript contains about (,GNN words in Tibetanscript.1

(. The Alphabe!m $ibean!m" published in 15( in )ome, presentsthe reports of the Italian missionaries and includes a rudimentarygrammar and a glossary. It was edited poorly by a non0specialist,

Agostino Antonio :eorgi.-. The so called 3erampore Bictionary +or 3chr"ters Bictionaryprepared by Jrancisco Era<io de la enna and published in 1(, wasoriginally in Italian then a non0Tibetologist translated it into 8nglish./. A 4hutanese dictionary from the early 1NNs is also deposited inms at the A3.19

3ince the renaissance it has been a commonly accepted #iew thatlanguage and textual studies hold the key to the understanding of aculture. It was also belie#ed at Csomas time that the study of a culturesclassical language+s is the foundation of such understanding. Csoma has

15 Csomas letter from Halpaiguri, 5 %arch 1- published in Buka, Csoma de Kőrös, p.1-.16 %a*or FloydsDs letter Suoted in 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor , +1999 p. (95.

17 4ooks on the early explorers of Tibet include F. etech, 3 missionari ialiani nel$ibe e nel Fepal 5 #ols. )oma@ Fibreria dello 3tato, 19G(0G, J. annini, $he 2ellof Lhasa 'ew Belhi@ Ks.n.L, 195. C. ). %arkham, Farrai0es of he mission of(eorge 2ogle o $ibe" and of he ,o!rney of $homas >anning o Lhasa" edI" wihnoes" an inrI JcI by CII >arkham Fond.15. Hesuits and Capuchinscompeted for Tibet at )ome. The $oly 3ee was uncertain whether Tibet shouldbe considered part of China +gi#en to the Hesuits or of India +gi#en to theCapuchins.

1

R. 3imon, Tibetan lexicography and etymological research. $ransacions of he hilological Socie y, #ol. -, no. 1, 19/.19 ersonal communication of rof. :;<a 4ethlenfal#y +1 April (N1(.

6



pro#ided the tools that his times deemed necessary for entering into ascholarly discourse on Tibet.

Csomas work has been collected into four #olumes for the bicentenaryof his birth in 19/@ 1. Bictionary, (. :rammar, -. 3anskrit0Tibetan ocabulary, called >ahD0y!pai, /. 3tudies. Apart from this published

work, he catalogued the #oluminous Tibetan manuscripts acSuired by the Asiatic 3ociety from 'epal. Csoma not only presented the language butalso the written classical culture of Tibet through his articles. I wouldlike to point out that it was he, who described the Tibetan canon, thean*ur +A and the Tan*ur +4 and presented a #ersion of the life of the4uddha +C. %ost of his works in the HA34 are presentations of theTibetan material rather than theoretical studies. %any of them are titled&notes& or &notices&.

A list of Csoma's studies

Asiatic )esearches +1-01-9

A. 4kaD0wgyur@ 1. Analysis of the Bul#a +15G0((5 , (. Analysis of the3her0chin +(G0(5- , -. hal0chen (5-0(5, /. on0tsheg (50(/ G. Analysis of the %do a0'a +(/0-(N , G. a 0 A +-(N0-G, . %yang0$das +-G9 , 5. Analysis of the :yut a0'a +-G90-, a0\ha +-0/(/4. 4stan0wgyur@ Abstract of the content of the 4stan0$gyurC. 'otices of the Fife of 3hakya +i.e. 4uddha

Hournal of the Asiatic 3ociety of 4engal +1-(01/N

1. :eographical 'otice of Tibet@ HA34 I +1-(, 1(101(5.(. Translation of a Tibetan Jragment@ HA34 I +1-(, (90(5.-. 'ote on the Erigin of the ala0Chakra and Adi04uddha 3ystems@ HA34II +1--, G50G9./. Translation of a Tibetan assport, dated A. B. 1@ HA34 II +1--,(N1.G. Erigin of the 3hakya )ace translated from the Fa, or the (th #olumeof the mBo class in the a0gyur, commencing on the 11st leaf@ HA34 II+1--, -G0-9(.. Tibetan 3ymbolical 'ames, Osed as 'umerals@ HA34 III +1-/, G0.

5. 8xtracts from Tibetan Rorks@ HA34 III +1-/, G501.. Analysis of a Tibetan %edical Rork@ HA34 I +1-G, 10(N.9. Interpretation of the Tibetan Inscription on a 4hotian 4anner, taken in Assam, and presented to the Asiatic 3ociety by Captain 4ogle@ HA34 +1-, (/.1N. 'ote on the Rhite 3atin08mbroidered 3carfs of the Tibetan riests@ HA34 +1-, --.11. 'otices on the BiZerent 3ystems of 4uddhism, extracted from theTibetan Authorities@ HA34 II +1-, 1/(01/5.1(. 8numeration of $istorical and :rammatical Rorks to be met with in

Tibet@ HA34 II +1-, art II, 1/501G(.

7



1-. )emarks on Trans0$imalayan 4uddhist Amulets@ HA34 I +1/N, artII, 9NG09N5.1/. A 4rief 'otice of the 3ubh=sita )atna 'idhi of 3askya andita, withextracts and translations@ HA34 I +1GG, 1/101G. pM +1G,(G50(9/.

Although his dictionary is considered to be the 2rst scholarly one, it hasits shortcomings. $e did not organise the word order according to thetraditional Tibetan alphabetical order relying on the so called radicalconsonants.(N $is Tibetan grammar describes the grammar on thepattern of Fatin0based grammars, as was usual at that time but would bedeemed unpractical today. The biggest mistake happened with the third #olume, the >ahD0y!pai, &a #aluable and most extensi#e polyglot #ocabulary +of which %. );musat attempted a small portion in aris fromChinese works.&(1 After the publication of his dictionary and grammarCsoma was keen on lea#ing Calcutta and did not insist on its publication.It was decades later, that Csomas biographer Buka dug out thisforgotten manuscript and presented it to the world and e#entuallyBenison )oss undertook its publication +#ols I 191N K1911L, II 191 andthen Chatter*ee #ol -. 19//.

Although his dictionary is reprinted again and again +e.g. %a*ur195-, its importance lies in the fact that it pro#ided the basis for all laterTibetan dictionaries.

En publication Csomas works were sent out to the most importantacademic centres in 8urope, and scholars were now able to engage in thestudy of Tibetan. Academia at Csomas time were more open to the study

of a wide range of languages and 2rst it was scholars of other cultures of the Erient who undertook the study of Tibetan in Calcutta, 3t etersburg,:ermany, aris, ienna and elsewhere. It is also worth mentioning thatCsoma taught Tibetan to the future secretary of the Asiatic 3ociety,3olomon Caesar %alan +April ((, 11( 7 'o#ember (G, 19/ ] bornalmost exactly two hundred years ago.

In 1/1 the %ongolist Isaak Hacob 3chmidtDs $ibean%(erman 'icionary +with a :erman0Tibetan Index was published, followed two years later bya Tibetan0)ussian #ersion. This was preponderantly a translation into:erman, with a rearrangement of entries according to Tibetan practice,

of CsomaDs dictionary. hilippe douard Joucaux +111019/ publishedthe 2rst Tibetan grammar in Jrench in 1G.((

Csomas biographer, Theodore Buka +1(G019N was a $ungarianlieutenant of the 1/0/9 war of independence who took refuge in 4ritain20 Jor example in the word bKrA the letter K is called radical. Tibetan dictionariesarrange the words in the order of their radicals. Csoma, *ust as the 3eramporedictionary, organised his words according to the 2st letters, in our case b. $is dictionaryis used con#eniently only through an index.21 Fetter of rinsep to %acnaughten on G Han 1-/, Suoted by H><sef Ter*;k in the reface to 3. !r"si Csoma, Sanskri%$ibean%&nglish 0ocab!lary: being an ediion andranslaion of he >ahD0y!pai Collected works of Alexander Csoma de !r"s

4udapest@ Akad;miai iad>, 19/, p. #.22 4. Fe Calloch, hilippe08douard Joucaux@ Jirst Tibetan teacher in 8urope. $ibe Go!rnal, #ol. 1(, no. 1, 195, pp. -90/9.



and became an army doctor in India and married into the 4ritisharistocracy. $is take on the life of Csoma was markedly pro04ritish(- aswas already pointed out almost immediately by 3ir Rilliam Rilson$unter +1/N019NN, one of the leading Erientalists of his times and iceresident of the )oyal Asiatic 3ociety.(/ $unterDs writing, howe#er, was

less accessible to later scholarship than BukaDs monograph.The Jrench philosopher, *ournalist, statesman, and possible illegitimate

son of 'apoleon, Hules 4arth;lemy03aint0$ilaire +1NG 719G, professorof ancient philosophy at the Collge de Jrance in Le 2o!dha e sareligion. +aris@ Bidier, 1N, wrote highly appreciati#e lines on Csomaconcerning the disco#ery of 4uddhism and summarised in Jrench Bukasassessment and biographical account.(G 3cholars and explorers whoreferred systematically to Csomas results include the 8nglishgeographer, explorer, and writer 3ir Clements )obert %arkham +1-N0191, Faurence Austine Raddell +1G/719- a 4ritish explorer,rofessor of Tibetan, rofessor of Chemistry and athology, the explorerof Chinese Turkestan 3#en $edin +1G019G( and the Jrench scholar of 4uddhism F;on Jeer +1-N019N(. The editor of his >ahD0y!pai was noone else than Benison )oss +151019/N, the 2rst director of the 3choolof Eriental and African Fanguages, one of the foremost institutes in theworld for the study of the 2eld.

Csomas work in its entirety can be accessed on the [email protected]#um.kcst.huindex.html and the electronic $he Csoma

Archi0e of he Library of he +!ngarian Academy of [email protected] has been included in the O'83CE %emory of theRorld )egister in (NN9.

%odern studies in 8nglish are scarce +Jox (NN1 and %arc<ell (NN5and since the publication of Bukas work no authoritati#e monographappeared in 8nglish that would present the research of the past 1-N years.

Modern western reception

Csoma de !r"s is considered to be a national hero amongst the$ungarians and his nati#e #illage was renamed after him. A #isit to histomb in Bar*eeling is normally part of any $ungarian $ead of 3tateDs #isitto India. [et recent western scholarship and popular writing is

ambiguous towards him. According to one of the most inuential books on the Erient in the past

2fty years, 8dward 3aids Mrienalism +195 8uropeans, includingscholars, held up what 3aid calls &Erientalist discourse&, an uncriticalcommon acceptance of the superiority of Restern culture o#er that of theeast, and ser#ed colonial or neo0colonial interests, whether aware of it ornot. The word &Erientalist& acSuired a pe*orati#e sense in recentacademic 8nglish and departments and faculties of oriental studieschanged their names into Asian 3tudies or something similar.23 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor +1999 1/71G, ((G.24

$is writing A ilgrim 3cholarD was published in instalments in the ioneer >ail+Allahabad in 1G.25 %arc<ell, Alexander Csoma de Kőrös, p. (-/.

9

http://www.archivum.kcst.hu/index.html

http://csoma.mtak.hu/

http://www.archivum.kcst.hu/index.html

http://csoma.mtak.hu/



3ome scholars also presented Csoma as working for 4ritish Imperialinterests in a 3aidian `ErientalistD framework since he was a westernscholar acti#e within the intellectual en#ironment of the 4ritish 8mpire.It was the 4ritish agent Rilliam %oorcroft who persuaded him toundertake the study of Tibetan, a language and culture strategically

important for the 4ritish. Fater, it was in the capital city of 4ritish Indiaand in 4ritish ser#ice that he published his works, and his tomb inBar*eeling is among those of the 4ritish colonial oZicials. $is studieswere indeed in#aluable for the 8mpire and a 3aidian approach is madeeasier by the markedly pro04ritish attitude of his biographer, TheodoreBuka.

8Zorts to present Csoma in a 3aidian framework emphasise the4ritish agent %oorcroftDs role in directing Csoma towards Tibetanstudies and Suote his statements of allegiance to the 4ritish Crown.Ene of the most distinguished American experts on 4uddhism, Bonald3. Fope<(, cited Csoma saying that his research was done to ful2l hisPhea#y obligations to the K4ritishL :o#ernment Kof IndiaL,Q and hintedat Tibetan resistance saying that Csoma worked Pwith, it appears, onlythe grudging cooperation of a lama.Q In another sentence, howe#er,Fope< distinguished between CsomaDs moti#ation and those of the8mpire by stating that the Pcoincidence of the interests of nationalism,represented by Csoma de !r"sDs search for $ungarian origins, and of empire, represented by %oorcroftDs con#iction that a knowledge of Tibetan language would pro#e of #alue to the 4ritish, resulted in thecreation of a science and a profession called $ibeology Q.

Fope<Ds #iews 2t well into the rhetoric of late0twentieth0century Asia

scholarship aiming at distancing itself from the earlier `ErientalistsD bypresenting in a negati#e light scholars who worked before 195, and thusFope< portrays %oorcroft as Pa self0appointed spyQ and claims thatCsoma was Pwhat 3aid would call a gifed amae!r enh!sias.Q

Two other writers, 8dward Jox and :eorge Allen, present an entirelydiZerent image of Csoma, that of an eccentric scholar. 8dward Jox in hisshort biography $he +!ngarian =ho =alked o +ea0en: Alexander Csoma de Koros 5678%578@, published in (NN1, tells with exotic detailhow Csoma was educated at his austere Cal#inist school. $e considersCsomas *ourney to the 8ast as a pilgrimage to disco#er the roots of the$ungarian people and describes how he came to study the Tibetan

language and the #ast Tibetan 4uddhist canon in free<ing conditions in atiny cell in the $imalayas, which led to the compilation of the 2rst&relati#ely& reliable Tibetan08nglish dictionary.(5

According to Charles Allen, the accomplished writer of bestsellingbooks on 4ritish in#ol#ement in 3outh Asia, Csoma was an eccentricwanderer and it was *ust a coincidence that he produced scholarly work. Allen in his 2!ddha and he Sahibs +(NN(( follows up the western

26 B. 3. H. Fope<, C!raors of he 2!ddha: $he S!dy of 2!ddhism !nder ColonialismChicago@ Chicago Oni#ersity ress, 199G, pp. (G79.27 8. Jox, $he +!ngarian who walked o hea0en : Alexander Csoma de Koros" 5678%578(

3hort li#es Fondon@ 3hort, (NN1.2 C. Allen, $he 2!ddha and he sahibs: he men who disco0ered 3ndia4s los religio nFondon@ H. %urray, (NN(.

10



disco#ery of 4uddhism. $is attitude re*ects the 3aidian paradigm andemphasises that the explorers of 4uddhism contributed to the increase of global knowledge. Allen, whose ancestors for generations ha#e beencolonial administrators in India, in a capti#ating style how one of theworlds oldest religions has been disco#ered in the west. $is book is not

an academic monograph but rather a popular enterprise that includessubstantial research. Along with the presentation of the de#elopment of western knowledge on 4uddhism Allan also pro#ides exotic personaldetails on its ma*or exponents. Jor example he tells how the 4ritishresident in 'epal, 4. $. $odgson, one of the 2rst explorers the 3anskritsources of 4uddhism li#ed at his residence in the company of a tiger, amountain sheep, a wild goat, four bears, three ci#ets and three do<ens of beautiful pheasants.(9

According to Allen Csoma was an enthusiastic crank, obsessed with theSuestion of the origins of the $ungarians, who out of nai#ety took seriously %oorcrofts stipend. $e forced himself on the 4ritish, whoalways looked at him with curiosity. Allen underlines that in dirtinessCsoma was a match to his Fama and that he slept in the same garment hewore during the day. All this caused a great deal of pu<<lement to the4ritish since it was diZicult to 2nd accommodation for the unwashedforeigner and he was 2rst put up at the home of )amkamal 3en -N, thetreasurer of the Asiatic 3ociety ] and later in a back room of the 3ociety. Although Allen also Suotes some appreciati#e statements on Csoma, heemphasises that all his 8uropean acSuaintances, %oorcroft, :erard,Rilson and e#en his compatriot, Ugoston 3h"ft, somehow regardedCsoma an eccentric.-1 It was Csomas eccentricity that e#entually

resulted in his death. $e spent a night at the forest at foothills of the$imalayas in spite of knowing that it was a malaria infected area andmost tra#ellers, therefore, passed through it fast at daytime. Csomamentioned to the doctor in Bar*eeling that he had malaria se#eral timesand did not need medicine for it.

It can be admitted that without the inuence of the 4ritish 8mpire inthe person of %oorcroft and his other friends and later in the Asiatic3ociety, we might not ha#e seen any fruits of CsomaDs scholarship, sincehe did not 2nd and therefore did not publish anything substantial aboutthe origins of the $ungarians in Asia. As there is no authoritati#emonograph in 8nglish on Csoma and on certain points of his life we lack

any material, lacunae in his biography gi#e scope to a 3aidianinterpretation. Fama 3angye untsog, for example, was reluctant onlyduring one period of their cooperation, the reason for which isunknown.-( Jor most of the time, howe#er, between ( Huly 1(- and ((Ect 1(/ in \angla and for three years in anam in 1(50-N, they wereable to work together intensi#ely and the Fama oZered to work two yearslonger than originally planned in anam. As a monument to Fama 3angye

29 Allen +(NN( 1N9.30 3en was a rather conser#ati#e $indu, opposing Bero<io and )ammohan )oy.31 Allen, $he 2!ddha and he sahibs, pp. 111711/.32

4aktay speculates that the lamaDs reluctance was due to the fact that for a while theanti04ritish circles in Feh and in Fhasa became more inuential than the anti0Bogragroups. 4aktay, Kőrösi Csoma Sándor +1999 pp. (1G7((N.

11



untsogDs cooperation, Csoma also put his name on the co#er page of hisdictionary. As if to remind the readers that learning exists outside8uropean academia, he mentioned after his name Plearned Fama of \angskarQ. :ottlieb Rilhelm Feitner +1/N0199, a medical doctor fromest, in 1 reported how the Tshilinggi Basa +8uropean disciple Kphyi

gling giL was remembered fondly in the huktar +hugtal %onastery. A Tibetan informant who remembered %r Tashi %orup, whose father knewCsoma closely, stated in 19( that P3angye untsog was #ery fond of 3kander beg +%r. Alexander and taught him e#erything he knew.Q --

Beyond the scientic

Csoma, though eSuipped with western scholarship, came from theperiphery of 8uropean cultural circulation. $e de2ned himself not as asub*ect of the $apsburg 8mpire but rather as a 3<;kler $ungarian. $ispatriotism prompted him to state his nationality on the co#er0page of hisbooks@ `Alexander Csoma de !r"s, 3iculo0$ungarian of Transyl#aniaD.

'otwithstanding his gratitude towards the 4ritish, or rather hisfaithfulness to his promise, CsomaDs ultimate moti#ation for research wasnot the ser#ice of the 4ritish 8mpire but 2rstly a uni#ersal human curiosityin exploring the unknown, about which he said, Pthe delight ID#e felt duringmy studies and disco#eries of the secrets of these ancient matters de2es alldescription.Q 3econdly, it was a patriotic enthusiasm to 2nd the kinsmen of the $ungarians in the 8ast. $e was not working to present the Erientalpeople as the `othersD, but was searching for relati#es.

It was romantic enthusiasm for his homeland and his delight in

scholarship that ga#e him the strength to li#e in uttermost simplicityboth in Tibet, where in his room Pthe cold was so intense as to make it atask of se#erity to extricate the hands from their eecy resort to turno#er the pagesQ-/, and in Calcutta, where as a librarian of the Asiatic3ociety he li#ed in a small back room.

4ecause of his deep understanding of 4uddhism, Alexander Csoma de!r"s is held in high regard among 4uddhists and Indians. $is statuewas gi#en a place of honour and his room is still re#erently preser#ed atthe Asiatic 3ociety in olkata.

Csoma de !r"s with the training of a protestant priest was able toappreciate and present to the world Tibetan 4uddhism, a culture that in

the west today is considered to be one of the most importantrepresentati#es of a great world religion. $is simplicity andextraordinary perse#erance became an example for scholars in $ungary,Transyl#ania and beyond.

Bibliography

33 Ibid. +1999 pp. (N97(1(. In 19(9 4aktay always found positi#e memories of Csomaamong the Tibetans, who were especially impressed by CsomaDs spending a winter

without 2re in his house. 3ee ]]], Kőrösi Csoma Sándor +1999 pp. 1G971(.34 Br. H. :. :erardDs letter written to R. Jraser on (1 Han. 1(9. ?uoted in e*ariwal, $he Asiaic Sociey , p. 1/.

12



!lder, "arry# Beyond Bokhara: the life of William Moorcroft, Asian explorer and pioneer veterinary surgeon,

17671!"## $ondon% &entury 'u(, 195#!llen, &)arles# $he Buddha and the sahi%s: the men &ho discovered 'ndia(s lost religion# $ondon% *# +urray,

2002#a-tay, .rvin# )*r+si soma -.ndor # uda/est% "ondolat, 1962# # )*r+si soma -.ndor # 4t) edn# uda/est% alentu, 1999#

et)lenfalvy, "a# +oorcroft )tra)ayott iratai s 8r:si &soa Sndor# ;n /ml0kk+nyv setri /lek s2let0s0nek nyolcvanadik 0vforduil34.ra, edited (y 'l *udit < Si/os "(or, 66=71# 8olosvr%.rdlyi +>eu .yes?let, 2004#

@u-a, ivadar# 5ife and &orks of Alexander soma de )*r+s: a %iography compiled chiefly from hitherto

unpu%lished data: &ith a %rief notice of each of his pu%lished &orks and essays, as &ell as of his still

extant manuscripts, r?(nerAs Oriental Series# $ondon% r?(ner, 15#.stli, *Bsef, and .rn Cetnyi# )*r+si soma -.ndor dokument.ci3# uda/est% udd)ist +ission, D192E#Fox, .dard# $he ungarian &ho &alked to heaven : Alexander soma de )oros, 17!1!", S)ort lives#

$ondon% S)ort, 2001#

8eGarial, O# '# $he Asiatic -ociety of Bengal and the discovery of 'ndia(s past, 17!1!8! # He @el)i% OxfordUniversity 'ress, 1999#

8la/rot), *ulius# O(servations sur le @ictionnaire ti(tain i/ri Sra/ore# 9ouveau ournal Asiati;ue

12, no# Guin% 401=33#

8r:si &soa, Sndor# -anskrit$i%etan/nglish voca%ulary: %eing an edition and translation of the Mah<vyutpatti, &ollected or-s of !lexander &soa de 8r:s# uda/est% !-adiai 8iadB, 194#

8u(asse-, *nos# A imal.4a magyar remet04e: )*r+si soma -.ndor 0let=t4a kort+rt0neti 0s f+ldra4i h.tt0rrel #2nd edn# uda/est% 'anora, 2003#

$e &allocI), eard# +i-or s?letett tulaGdon-//en 8:r:si &sorna SndorJ ;n )*r+si soma -.ndor 0s a

magyar keletkutat.s, edited (y *Bsef "ada and .tel-a Sa(B, 7=12# 8ovsnaK&ovasna% 8r:si&soa Sndor 8:Lveldsi .yes?let, 2004#

$e &allocI), ernard# ')ili//e=.douard Foucaux% First i(etan teac)er in .uro/e# $i%et ournal 12, no# 1

M197N% 39=49#$o/e, @onald S# *r# urators of the Buddha: $he -tudy of Buddhism under olonialism # &)icao% &)icao

University 'ress, 1995#$ussier, +ar-# udd)is and oanticis# 5iterature ompass 3, no# 5 M2006N% 1107=23#+arcell, 'ter# A val3sa%% )*r+si somak0phe # uda/est% '?s-i, 2003#

+arcell, 'eter *# Alexander soma de )*r+s# 2 vols, +onora/) series# 8ol-ata% !siatic Society, 2007#+ar-)a, &leents o(ert# 9arratives of the mission of >eorge Bogle to $i%et, and of the 4ourney of $homas

Manning to 5hasa, ed?, &ith notes, an intr? @c? %y ?C? Markham# $ond#176#'etec), $uiano# ' missionari italiani nel $i%et e nel 9epal # 7 vols# oa% $i(reria dello Stato, 1952=56#Sion, Palter# i(etan lexicora/)y and etyoloical researc)# $ransactions of the Dhilological -ociety 63,

no# 1 M1964N% 5=107#Qannini, Fulentius# $he Bell of 5hasa# He @el)i% Ds#n#E, 1976#

13

bangha imre

Documents