Papers of Johannes Rahder

Parts 2,3,4 and 5 of the 'Etymological Vocabulary of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Ainu' by Johannes Rahder of Yale University. The second and third parts were privately printed in 1959, the fourth in 1960 and the fifth in 1962, all in New Haven Connecticut, USA. These are typed manuscripts.
* Part 2 runs from page 75-157 with ten pages of Abbreviations and a title page. On this first page of the text is the handwritten note 'pages 1-74 form the first part of J. Rahder's Etymological Vocabulary of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Ainu (first edition printed in Tokyo 1956 as Monograph 16 of Monumenta Nipponica, Sophia Univ; 2nd revised and enlarged edition New Haven 1960).' Foolscap sheets.
* Part 3 has a title page and 66 pages of content. Foolscap sheets.
* Part 4 has a title page, three preface pages and 38 pages of content. Foolscap sheets.
* Part 5 has a title page, 1 preface page and 45 pages of content. Sheets 28cm x 22cm.

Johannes Rahder was born in Lubuk Begalung, now a district of Padang, Indonesia, where his father was governor of western Sumatra. He studied first in Leiden (1917-24), then in Brussels (La Vallée Poussin) and Paris (Pelliot) from 1924-28. He gained his PhD at the University of Utrecht in 1926 under the supervision of Willem Caland (1859 – 1932), the Dutch Indologist, philologist, numismatist and translator. Rahder studied the Daśabhūmikasūtra, the ‘Scripture of the Ten Stages’, the definitive scriptural account of the ten stages (daśabhūmi) of Buddhism. He completed a translation which was subsequently published.
Rahder also published, in 1929, this Glossary of the Sanskrit, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese Versions of the Daśabhūmikasūtra revealing something of the breadth of his research. This copy was sent to the Royal Asiatic Society by the Librarie Orientaliste, Paul Geuthner, in April 1929.
In 1929 he was in Japan as the chargé de mission scientifique at Maison Franco-Japonaise in Tokyo, working on the Hōbōgirin, le dictionnaire encyclopédique du bouddhisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaises, francophone scholars being keen to study texts on Buddhism from a wide range of sources. Rahder returned to Utrecht in 1929 to become Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Linguistics and in 1931 moved to Leiden to become Professor of Japanese. This post gave him the opportunity to travel in Japan and Korea. In 1937-38 he became Visiting Professor at University of Hawai’i, which eventually led to his decision to leave Leiden, in 1946, to became a full Professor in Hawai’i. However that was short-lived. In 1947 Rahder moved to Yale University where he stayed until his retirement in 1965.
Rahder had a keen interest in Buddhism and linguistics. He not only studied Sanskrit and Pali, but also Chinese, Japanese and other languages so he was better able to access original source material. He made significant contributions to the wider understanding and influence of Buddhism as well as the etymology of several languages.

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Rahder sent the papers to the Society in 1960 and 1962.

Johannes Rahder was born in Lubuk Begalung, now a district of Padang, Indonesia, where his father was governor of western Sumatra. He studied first in Leiden (1917-24), then in Brussels (La Vallée Poussin) and Paris (Pelliot) from 1924-28. He gained his PhD at the University of Utrecht in 1926 under the supervision of Willem Caland (1859 – 1932), the Dutch Indologist, philologist, numismatist and translator. Rahder studied the Daśabhūmikasūtra, the ‘Scripture of the Ten Stages’, the definitive scriptural account of the ten stages (daśabhūmi) of Buddhism. He completed a translation which was subsequently published.
Rahder also published, in 1929, this Glossary of the Sanskrit, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese Versions of the Daśabhūmikasūtra revealing something of the breadth of his research. This copy was sent to the Royal Asiatic Society by the Librarie Orientaliste, Paul Geuthner, in April 1929.
In 1929 he was in Japan as the chargé de mission scientifique at Maison Franco-Japonaise in Tokyo, working on the Hōbōgirin, le dictionnaire encyclopédique du bouddhisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaises, francophone scholars being keen to study texts on Buddhism from a wide range of sources. Rahder returned to Utrecht in 1929 to become Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Linguistics and in 1931 moved to Leiden to become Professor of Japanese. This post gave him the opportunity to travel in Japan and Korea. In 1937-38 he became Visiting Professor at University of Hawai’i, which eventually led to his decision to leave Leiden, in 1946, to became a full Professor in Hawai’i. However that was short-lived. In 1947 Rahder moved to Yale University where he stayed until his retirement in 1965.
Rahder had a keen interest in Buddhism and linguistics. He not only studied Sanskrit and Pali, but also Chinese, Japanese and other languages so he was better able to access original source material. He made significant contributions to the wider understanding and influence of Buddhism as well as the etymology of several languages.

This catalogue was created by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2024.

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

The papers were created by Johannes Rahder and in his possession until sent to the Society.

The Society also has some books and a pamphlet by Johannes Rahder. Details can be found in our Library catalogue: https://ras.koha-ptfs.co.uk/.

Published

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