Galsan Tschinag (, , , , born Irgit Şınıkay oğlu Çuruk-Uvaa (, ), 26 December 1944 in

Bayan-Ölgii Province Bayan-Ölgii ( ) is the westernmost of the 21 Aimags of Mongolia, aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The country's only Islam in Mongolia, Muslim and Kazakh people, Kazakh-majority aimag, it was established in August 1940. Its capital is Ölgii (cit ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

), is a

n writer of novels, poems, and essays in the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

, though he hails from a Tuvan background. He is also often described as a

Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

, and is also a teacher and an actor.

Life

Born in the upper

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...

in western Mongolia, the youngest son of a Tuvan shaman, Galsan majored in

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

at the Karl Marx University in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(1962-1968). He did his thesis work under

Erwin Strittmatter Erwin Strittmatter (14 August 1912 – 31 January 1994) was a German writer. Strittmatter was one of the most famous writers in the GDR. Biography Strittmatter was born the son of a baker and foods wholesaler. Between 1924 and 1930 he attende ...

, and upon graduation began to work as a German teacher at the

National University of Mongolia The National University of Mongolia () is a public university primarily located in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Established in 1942, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Mongolia, and was originally named in honour of then-Prime Minist ...

. In 1976 his teaching license was revoked because of his "political untrustworthiness". He continued to work twelve-hour shifts, shuttling between all four of the Mongolian universities. In 1980, at the age of 36, Galsan was diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition. He later recovered from the condition and credits his "shamanic powers" and plenty of exercise for saving his life. Today, the author spends most of the year at his home in the Mongolian capital city of

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

, together with his family of nearly 20. He also spends much time giving readings in the German-speaking world and across Europe, as well as seeking to get closer to his Tuvan roots in the western Mongolian steppes. Though he still writes mainly in German, his books have been translated into many other languages. In addition to his writing, Galsan is an activist for the Tuvan minority and practices shamanistic healing.

Works in English

* 200
All the Paths Around Your Yurt
(online poetry translation from ''Alle Pfade um deine Jurte'', 1995) * 200

(online poetry translation from ''Nimmer werde ich dich zähmen können'', 1996) * 200

(online poetry translation from ''Wolkenhunde'', 1998) * 200

(online poetry translation from ''Sonnenrote Orakelsteine'', 1999) * 200

(online poetry translation from ''Der Steinmensch zu Ak-Hem'', 2002) * 200
The Blue Sky: A Novel
(translation in print from ''Der blaue Himmel'', 1994) * 200

(online poetry translation from ''Jenseits des Schweigens'', 2006) * 200
The Gray Earth
(translation in print from ''Die graue Erde'', 1999) * 201

(online poetry translation from ''Steppenwind, Weltenwind'', 2013)

Works in German

(with tentative English titles) * 1981 "Eine tuwinische Geschichte und andere Erzählungen" (A Tuvan Story and other short stories) * 1993 "Das Ende des Liedes" (The End of it) * 1994 "Der blaue Himmel" (The Blue Sky) * 1995 "Zwanzig und ein Tag" (Twenty-One Days) * 1996 "Nimmer werde ich dich zähmen können" (Never Will I Tame You) * 1997 "Die Karawane" (The Caravan) * 1997 "Im Land der zornigen Winde" (In the Land of the Angry Winds, with co-author Amelie Schenk) * 1997 "Der siebzehnte Tag" (The Seventeenth Day) * 1999 "Die graue Erde" (The Grey Earth) * 1999 "Der Wolf und die Hündin" (The Wolf and the Bitch) * 2000 "Der weiße Berg" (The White Mountain) * 2001 "Dojnaa" * 2001 "Das Ende des Liedes" (The End of the Song) * 2002 "Tau und Gras" (Dew and Grass) * 2003 "Die Karawane" (The Caravan) * 2004 "Das geraubte Kind" (The Stolen Child) * 2005 "Mein Altai – Erzählungen" (My Altai - Stories) * 2007 "Die neun Träume des Dschinghis Khan" (The Nine Dreams of Genghis Khan) * 2008 "Die Rückkehr" (The Return) * 2008 "Auf der großen blauen Straße – Geschichten" (On the Big Blue Road - Stories) * 2011 "Das andere Dasein" (A Second Existence) * 2012 "Gold und Staub" (Gold and Dust) * 2013 "Der Mann, die Frau, das Schaf, das Kind" (The Man, the Woman, the Sheep, the Child)

Awards

*1992 Adelbert-von-Chamisso-Preis *1995 Puchheimer Leserpreis *2001 Heimito von Doderer-Literaturpreis *2003 Danish Aloa Literature-Preis *2006 was recognized as a deserving cultural worker in Mongolia *2009 European Trebbia-Preis *2002

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

*2012 City of Marburg Literaturpreis *2015 Literatur Work Award for "Gold and Dust", "The Man, the Woman, the Sheep, the Child" and "My Altai" *2018 Highest award of the Republic of Tuva (Russia)

References

External links

Images of Migration and Change in the German-language Poetry of Galsan Tschinag by Richard Hacken
(pdf)

Friends of Altai

"Das edle, gute Deutschland wird fortbestehen", by Wolfgang Harrer a.k.a. Blau and Alysa Selene, ZDF (in German, audio)

Galsan Tschinag's Website
(German)

Bibliography

Galsan Tschinag: A Searchable Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tschinag, Galsan 1944 births Living people People from Bayan-Ölgii Province Tuvan people Mongolian writers German-language writers Leipzig University alumni Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Academic staff of the National University of Mongolia Tengrist religious workers Shamans