August Conrady

{{Short description|German sinologist and linguist}} '''August Conrady''' (Chi. 孔好古) (28 April 1864, Wiesbaden – 4 June 1925, Leipzig) was a German sinologist and linguist. From 1897 he was professor at the University of Leipzig.

Conrady first studied classical philology, comparative linguistics and Sanskrit; he continued with Tibetan and Chinese language. He put forward his research findings in 1896 on the relationship between the prefix and tones in the Sino-Tibetan languages, in the work ''Eine Indo-Chinesische causative-Denominativ-Bildung und ihr Zusammenhang mit den Tonaccenten'' (1896).

He worked with Sven Hedin, translating the roughly 150 3rd century manuscripts Hedin had found in the ruins of Loulan in 1901. Conrady purchased a part of the castle ''Mildenburg'' in Miltenberg, Bavaria, when it was auctioned off after the death of his uncle, {{Interlanguage link multi|Wilhelm Conrady|de}} to exhibit his art collection.<ref name="Dumont">{{cite book|last=Dettelbacher|first=Werner|title=Franken - Kunst, Geschichte und Landschaft (German)|publisher=Dumont Verlag|year=1974|isbn=3-7701-0746-2}}</ref>{{rp|79}}

He became extraordinary professor of sinology in Leipzig in 1896, that had among its students as future sinologist leaders Gustav Haloun, Otto Maenchen-Helfen, Lin Yutang, Bruno Schindler and his nephew and successor in Leipzig, Eduard Erkes. In 1916 he put forward the theory of an original relationship between Austric and Sino-Tibetan languages. He became a full professor of Sinology in 1920. Materials from the Danish orientalist Kurt Wulff concluded partially in Conrady's development of the theory, and Wulff continued Conrady's work in this field.

== Works (selected) == * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1891 |title=Das Newâri: Grammatik und Sprachproben |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1891 |title=Fünfzehn Blätter einer nepalesischen Palmblatt-Handschrift des Nārada |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1891 |title=Das Hariçcandranṛityam. Ein altnepalesisches Tanzspiel |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1893 |title=Die Geschichte der Siamesen |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1896 |title=Eine Indo-Chinesische causative-Denominativ-Bildung und ihr Zusammenhang mit den Tonaccenten |hdl=2027/hvd.32044060297447 |hdl-access=free |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1905 |title=Acht Monate in Peking. Eindrücke und Studien aus der Zeit der chinesischen Wirren |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1916 |chapter=Eine merkwürdige Beziehung zwischen den austrischen und den indochinesischen Sprachen |pages=475–504 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/aufstzezurkult00kuhn/page/475 |title=Aufsätze zur Kultur-und Sprachgeschichte vornehmlich des Orients: Ernst Kuhn zum 70 |url=https://archive.org/details/aufstzezurkult00kuhn |ref=none }} * {{cite book |given=August |surname=Conrady |author-mask=1 |year=1920 |title=Die chinesischen Handschriften- und sonstigen Kleinfunde Sven Hedins in Lou-Lan |publisher=Stockholm Generalstabens Litografiska Anstalt |url=https://archive.org/details/diechinesischenh00conr |ref=none }}

==References==

<references /> * Johannes Hertel: «Nekrolog auf August Conrady», i: ''Berichte über die Verhandlungen der Sächsischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig'', Philologisch-historische Klasse, v 77 #4 (1926) 7-14 * Bruno Schindler: ''Der Wissenschaftliche Nachlass August Conradys''. AM 3 (1926) 104-115 * Eduard Erkes: «Georg von der Gabelentz und August Conrady», i: Ernst Engelberg (red.): ''Beiträge zu Universitätsgeschichte 1405-1959'', Karl-Marx-Universität Leipzig v1 (1959) 439-463 * David B Honey: ''Incense at the Altar''. AOS 2001, 132f * Christina Leibfried: «Sinologie an der Universität Leipzig: Entstehung und Wirken des Ostasiatischen Seminars 1878 bis 1947», i: ''Beiträge zur Leipziger Universitäts- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte'', ser B v1 (2003)

==External links== * [https://research.uni-leipzig.de/catalogus-professorum-lipsiensium/leipzig/Conrady_27/ Prof. Dr. phil. habil. ''August'' Conrady], Professorenkatalog der Universität Leipzig. * [https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz8681.html Conrady, ''August''], ''Deutsche Biographie''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrady, August}} Category:German sinologists Category:Linguists from Germany Category:1864 births Category:1925 deaths Category:German male non-fiction writers Category:German philologists Category:Linguists of Sino-Tibetan languages