Old Indologists reply to Preciado-Solis

[KJKARTTU]

To indology at liverpool.ac.uk
Subject: Old Indologists, reply to Preciado-Solis

For various reasons I have just now joined the Indology list, but by 
kindness of colleagues I have seen Preciado-Solis's question about 
Stael-Holstein and Venis with notes by O. Freiberger and G. Zeller (1 
August). Freiberger referred to my collection and here follows, what I 
have found out about these two scholars. If someone knows the date of 
birth for Venis, I would be very thankful. To avoid complications with 
e-mail I have eliminated diacritics. I hope this answer will reach 
Preciado-Solis.

Extracted from the MS. of:
K. Karttunen: WHO WAS WHO IN WESTERN INDOLOGY. Including South Asian, 
Iranian, and Tibetan Studies. A Biographical Dictionary 

STAL-HOLSTEIN, Alexander Wilhelm, Baron von (Aleksandr fon 
Stal'-Gol'stejn). Livonia, in the now Tostamaa in SW Estonia 
20.12.1876/1.1.1877 - Peking 16.3. 1937. Russian (German of Estonia) 
Indologist and Buddhist Scholar, after the revolution in China. 
Professor in Peking. Born in a family of Livonian German nobility AvSH 
was educated at Kollmann Gymnasium in Tartu and in 1894-96 studied 
classical philology and Sanskrit (under Leo Meyer) at Dorpat (Tartu) 
University. Further studies at Berlin (Weber) and Halle. Ph.D. 1900 
Halle. Back at home he entered Russian foreign service and in 1903-04 
visited India. From 1911 Docent at St. Petersburg, in 1913 degree at 
Oriental Faculty there. In 1915 he was sent to Tokyo by Russian Imperial 
Academy and in 1916 he was nominated the Professor of Sanskrit and 
Tibetan at Peking High School. From 1929 full Professor of Central Asian 
Philology and Director of the Harvard Sino-Indian Institute in Peking. 
193? member of Chinese Academy. In the 1930s visited Europe including 
his native Estonia. In 1929 married in Peking with Olga von Grave, also 
a member of Baltic German nobility, had one son and one daughter.
AvSH was a notable Buddhist scholar, best known of his work on the 
Kasyapaparivarta, edited from a Central Asian MS. in St.Petersburg. 
After his dissertation, a continuation of the edition, begun by 
Schrader, of a Parisista to the Gobhiliyagrhyasutra, he turned 
completely to Central Asian studies. In addition to Sanskrit, Tibetan 
and Chinese, he was interested in Central Asian fragments in Turkic and 
Tocharian. In Peking he was the rst foreigner, who was allowed to visit 
and study the Forbidden Town. As a nobleman he is said to have been 
imperious nature and often difcult to his subordinates.

Publications: diss. Karmapradipa. Prapathaka 2. 63 p. Halle 1900.
- edited with W. Radloff: Tisastvustik. Ein in turkischer Sprache 
bearbeitetes buddhistisches Sutra. 1. Transcription und Ubersetzung von 
W._R. 2. Bemerkungen zu den Brahmiglossen des Tisastvustik-Manuscripts 
von A. v. St.-H. 8+143 p. Bibl. Buddh. 12. St.P. 1910.
- edited: Kien-Ch'ui-Fan-Tsan (Gandistotragatha). 29+289 p. Bibl. Buddh. 
15. St.P. 1913 (from Chinese transcription).
- edited: The Kasyapaparivarta. A Mahayanasutra of the Ratnakuta Class. 
26+234 p. Shanghai 1926 (in Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese); Sthiramati's 
commentary on the same. 1933.
- articles in Mel. as., HJAS, etc.

Sources: Deutsch-Baltisches Biographisches Lexicon 1710-1960; *S. 
Elisseeff, HJAS 3, 1938, 1-8; *E. Schierlitz, Monum. Serica 3:1, 1938, 
286-291; Mart Laanemets, Homeland (Kodumaa) April 8, 1987 (n.b. those 
marked by * I have not yet seen or checked).

VENIS, Arthur. 18?? - 5.6.1918. British (Scots) Educator and Indologist 
in India. Professor in Benares and Allahabad. After studies at Edinburgh 
and Oxford (M.A., Balliol College) he joined Indian Educational Service 
in 1881 and became Professor of English Literature at Queen's College in 
Varanasi. From 1888 Professor of Philosophy and Principal of Sanskrit 
College in Varanasi, from 1897 Principal of Queen's College ibid. In 
1914-18 Professor of Post-Vedic Sanskrit at University of Allahabad. 
D.Litt. C.I.E.
AV was a specialist of Indian philosophy, especially of Vedanta. The 
main part of his work consists of text editions.

Publications: edited and translated: Dharmaraja's Vedantaparibhasa, 
Pandit N.S. 4-7, 1882-85; Vidyaranya Madhava's Pancadasi, Pandit 5-8, 
1883-86; Prakasananda's Vedantasiddhanta-muktavali, Pandit 11-12, 
1889-90.
- edited with commentary: Udayana's Laksanavali, Pandit 21-22, 
1899-1900; Varadaraja's Tarkikaraksa, Pandit 21-25, 1899-1903 (as book 
1906).
- translated: Appayya Diksita's Siddhantalesasamgraha, Pandit 21-25, 
1899-1903 (incomplete); Padmapada's Pancapadika, Pandit 23, 1901 & 25, 
1903.

Sources: Who Was Who 1916-1928. 

Klaus Karttunen