Max Kaltenmark康德谟

Style & Daoist names

Max Kaltenmark

Period

Modern

Dates

1910 — 2002

Role

SinologistDaoist Scholars

Birthplace

Vienna, Austria

Life

Max Kaltenmark, an Austrian-born French sinologist and student of Henri Maspero, held the chair in 'Chinese Religions' in the Fifth Section of the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris. He edited and published Maspero's posthumous writings, directed the early stages of the Paris Daozang research project, and trained a generation of Daoist scholars including Kristofer Schipper, Anna Seidel, and Isabelle Robinet, making him effectively the founder of the French school of Daoist studies. His works include an annotated French translation of the Liexian zhuan (Le Lie-sien tchouan, 1953) and Lao tseu et le taoïsme (1965, translated into multiple languages), as well as important papers on the Taiping jing and on the term 'lingbao' in the Lingbao scriptures; his textual study of the concept of 'lingbao' and his research on the ideology of the Taiping jing in particular became classics of early Daoist studies.

Contributions & Influence

• Founded the French school of Daoist studies, training Kristofer Schipper, Anna Seidel, and others
• Produced an annotated French translation of the Liexian zhuan and wrote Lao tseu et le taoïsme
• Studied the concept of 'lingbao' and the Taiping jing

Works

• Le Lie-sien tchouan (annotated translation of the Liexian zhuan)
• Lao tseu et le taoïsme (Laozi and Taoism)
• The Ideology of the T'ai-p'ing ching