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Sandor Korosi CsomaHungarian and Romanian philologist-orientalist
Date of Birth: 27.03.1784
Country:  Hungary |
Content:
Biography of Sándor Kőrösi Csoma
Sándor Kőrösi Csoma was a Hungarian and Romanian philologist and orientalist. He is often referred to as the founder of scientific Tibetology. Born into a impoverished noble family, Csoma studied in Vienna, Heidelberg, and Göttingen. He attended lectures by the anthropologist Blumenbach and studied Eastern languages under the guidance of I.G. Eichhorn. He had the ability to read seventeen languages and spoke many of them fluently.
Exploring Asia
Influenced by the ideas of Klaproth, Csoma became fascinated with the task of finding the roots of the Hungarian people in Asia. In 1820, he embarked on a journey to the East and after facing numerous difficulties, arrived in Ladakh. Here, he studied the Tibetan language under the guidance of a learned lama.
In 1831, Csoma settled in Calcutta and prepared his dictionary and grammar of the Tibetan language, which were the first satisfactory works in the field and surpassed the achievements of J.I. Schmidt due to the latter's archives being destroyed during the fire in Moscow in 1812. Csoma also cataloged Tibetan books in the library of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.
Legacy and Recognition
Csoma died of malaria in 1842 in Darjeeling on his way to Lhasa. He was buried in Darjeeling and his grave has become a local landmark. In 1933, Csoma was recognized as a bodhisattva, a Buddhist saint, in Japan. A monument was erected in his honor at the Buddhist University in Tokyo.
In Hungary, the Csoma de Kőrös Society operates, bringing together researchers of the Tibetan language and literature, Buddhism, and the history of Central Asia. Csoma's life is the subject of the documentary film "Guest of Life" (Az Élet Vendége: Csoma-Legendárium) by Tibor Semző, featuring Mari Törőcsik and Szusanna Jók (2006, special mention at the Locarno Film Festival).
