In Memory of Oldřich Král

Abstract

IN MEMORY OF OLDŘICH KRÁL LUCIE OLIVOVÁ Oldřich Král (1930–2018) was a student of Jaroslav Průšek and a member of the strong generation of sinologists which this celebrated scholar educated in Prague after 1950. As the most prolific of Průšek’s students, Král left an enduring oeuvre in the field of the history of Chinese literature, comparative literature, and translation. While still dependent on the guidance of his teacher Průšek, like his fellow students Král was engaged with modern literature, and consequently translated Ba Jin’s 巴金 Family (Jia 家) and Mao Dun’s 茅盾 The Shop of the Lin Family (Lin jia puzi 林家鋪子). From then on, however, he turned to classical philosophy and literature, which he considered the core of Chinese culture. In his doctoral dissertation, he analyzed Rulin waishi 儒林外史 and also published his findings in English.1 It needs to be said, however, that the majority of his theoretical work was written in Czech. He also published the full Czech translation of this novel in 1962. This was something new. Before him, from the field of literary prose, only Laocan youji 老殘遊記 and Fusheng liuji 浮生六記 had been translated in full, both by Průšek during the war. By this time, there appeared also Shuihu zhuan 水滸傳 and Xiyou ji 西遊記, translated from the shortened versions which sometimes are more appreciated by the readers. However, Král’s endeavor always was translations of the complete original texts. He became an assistant professor at the Chinese Department of Charles University, Prague, and being on his own, plunged into early medieval literature and literary theory. What he covered is restated in another English study2 which may seem superseded in some respects today, but in those times was a major step opening this domain. Consequently, he compiled and translated the anthology Tao: the Book of Silence, comprising extracts from Laozi, Zhuangzi, the seven masters of the bamboo grove, Lu Ji’s Wenfu, Wang Wei, Tao Qian, and many more. This anthology captures the very special poetics of ancient Chinese writings and was published three times (1971, 1994, 2016). Meanwhile, he completed his Habilitation thesis on Wenxin dialong 文心雕龍 and was about to submit it, expecting academic promotion. Then came the 1968 occupation of Czechoslovakia, the aftermath of which shattered society and caused thousands to lose their jobs. Průšek, Král and other sinologists were among them. Král’s study of Wenxin diaolong had to wait 30 years before it was published as an introduction to the complete Czech translation in 2000. Král had supported the regime, but “woke up” after 1968 and would not yield. He had to leave his post and his career plummeted. At first, he was only able to get a 1 For example, “Several Artistic Methods in the Classic Chinese novel Ju-lin wai-shih,” Archív Orientální 32 (1964): 16–34. 2 “Miscellaneous Writings on Chinese Aesthetics,” in Charles University on Far Eastern Culture: Studies and Essayes, ed. Oldřich Král and Vlasta Hilská (Praha: Univerzita Karlova, 1968), pp. 31–42. CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral and Performing Literature 37. 2 (December 2018): 190–191© The Permanent Conference on Chinese Oral and Performing Literature, Inc. 2019 DOI 10.1080/01937774.2019.1596056 manual job at a large train depot. One year later, life took an unexpected turn, and he became a curator at the Asian Arts Department of the National Gallery. This was only possible thanks to the great courage and risk undertaken by his new employers. It was there that he undertook his massive translations, although he could not publish officially. As the saying goes, his work could only be piled up in the drawer of his writing desk. His translations of the Yijing 易經, The Platform Sutra of the 6th Patriarch (Liuzu tanjing 六祖壇經), Zhuangzi 莊子, Sunzi 孫子, and other works were only published during the 1990s, after the Communist regime fell. There was one exception; an anthology of Tang tales (chuanqi 傳奇) was published in 1980 under an apocryphal translator’s name. Such imposture became practiced in those times, but it was a dangerous practice for the person who lent his name. Translating chuanqi was the gate through which Král...