Yang Enlin (1929–2014)

This article introduces Yang Enlin, whose scholarly life was dedicated to building and deepening the cultural understanding between China and Germany. Born in Yunnan, China, in 1929, he graduated from the Central University of Governance (Guoli zhongyang zhengzhi daxue 國立中央政治大學) in Nanjing in 1948. To continue his studies, he then moved to Switzerland and later Germany. From the 1950s, he lived in East Berlin, first working as a translator, and then, after doctoral studies at Humboldt University, at the East Asian Art Collection of the Pergamon Museum. During his tenure at this institution from 1959 to 1994, he not only contributed to the museum’s mission in the form of exhibitions and catalogues, but also continued his research in the areas of Chinese art history and German studies. He, moreover, kept working on the translation of Chinese literature into German and was teaching Chinese language, calligraphy, and painting.