Universal Brotherhood across the Border: A Note on the Publication of the Taiwanese Version of Prof. Uwe’s Baldin’s Collection of Poems

Paul Tseng (www.ahkue.com)

The Taiwanese version of Prof. Uwe’s Baldin’s Collection of Poems has been remarkably published by St. Paul’s workshop of editing and translation (www.ahkue.com) in Taipei, Taiwan. His collection of pomes is translated by Dr. Paul Tseng (Tseng Kuei-chi), who is a locally trained ph.d in philosophy in Taiwan. Paul chairs the workshop for more than two decades, seeing this free publication as his uttermost honor in order to show his deepest and most sincere love and respect to Prof. Uwe, who is his mentor and model in all his life. With the help of Prof. Uwe’s son Utz and Prof. Ho, a senior research fellow at Academia Sinica in Taipei, this Taiwanese version has been successfully published and can be free downloaded and read at the website www.ahkue.com.

The only reason for Paul’s translation can be well explained by King David’s Psalm 133:
Psalm 133
King James Version

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aarons beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

The universal brotherhood across the border, exceeding race, nationality, language and culture prompts Paul to do everything for Prof. Uwe, whose profound knowledge, dignified character, and excellent world view are so admirable and respectful. My friendship with Prof. Uwe starts in 2008.

“Paul and I have first discussed in person the potential of interpretive approaches at Cankaya University in Ankara at an ISSEI-conference in 2008 with academicians, clerics and artists like Charles Helmetag (Philadelphia), Guy Stern (Detroit), Stefan Höjelid (Malmö), Theo Damian (New York), Claudine Elcenave (Haifa), and David Lovell (Canmberra). Focus then were general hermeneutics in the traditional methodological sense and its impact on the humanities and mostly the social sciences.” The above quotation is Uwe’s memory of our first encounter in Ankara. Since, we have kept fellowship for more than two decades. During this period, I have written four articles to interpret and comment on his literary works. My memorable literary achievements can be traced as follows:

1. “The theological importance of Prof. Uwe’s Christian pomes” published by Dialogo Journal based on Romania: This article can be summarized below:

“Prof. Heinz-Uwe Haus is an internationally renowned director and is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Bertolt Brecht. Besides his theatrical achievements, he proves to have a profound knowledge of Christian doctrines, which is significantly well portrayed in his Christian poems. His poetic lines unveil the essential spirit of the New Testament. In this paper, a few poems are chosen to illustrate his theological thoughts, which are intricately connected with the core value of the New Testament, including Jesus’ crucifixion, salvation, man’s real nature, fundamental faith, and so on.”

2. The first book which I make literary criticism on is Prof. Uwe’s Goethe’s Faust I: The Making and Impact of a Contemporary Performance (Haus, & Lovell, 2016). This book could be briefly introduced as follows: In March 2014, the University of Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players staged the first Part of Goethe’s Faust, adapted and directed by Heinz-Uwe Haus, which forms the centrepiece and raison d’être of this book. This book tracks the creative process of Haus’s adaptation of the play and his attempts to elicit responses from his international networks to his question: how is Goethe’s Faust relevant today?

My literary criticism is briefly stated below:

“Actually, the power of Logos is sharp enough to interpret the author’s hidden meaning and intention. The interpretation of Logos is the foundation of classic traditional hermeneutics. So, we can reconsider Dr. Faust’s downfall on the axis of the Word, which is sure to provide an enlightening solution to the universal problem of the redemption of man’s soul. Especially in this postmodern international community, the unresisting power of God’s words is definitely helpful in solving any conundrum which an individual who pursues the limits of possibilities may encounter.”

3. The second book which I make literary criticism on is Heinz-Uwe Haus on Culture and Politics (Haus & Meyer-Dinkgräfe, 2018), which could be summarized as follows:

“The late 1980s saw the dissolution of the Iron Curtain and the development of democracy in Eastern European countries that had been oppressed by a range of varieties of communist totalitarian regimes. In Germany, this development led to the abolition of the so-called German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the re-unification of Germany (Piercey, 2004). Heinz-Uwe Haus was one of the leading voices of the movement credited with being instrumental in the collapse of communism in the GDR.”

My literary criticism is shortly summarized as follows:
“For this book, I offer a view of Ecclesiastes to interpret the timing of the unification of Germany. This is also an application of Logos as metacricism to interpret the author’s intention and meaning. In addition, I make a comparison on the political situations between Taiwan and Germany. Accordingly, I use the conception of “a personal world” in Being and Time attempting to undergo a fusion of horizons”

4. The third book which I make literary criticism on is Heinz-Uwe Haus and Theatre Making in Cyprus and Greece (Haus & Meyer-Dinkgräfe, 2021). This book could be summarized as follows:
“This book presents to the reader a selection of the considerable amount of material written and published in relation to Heinz-Uwe Hauss productions of Brecht’s plays and Brechtian productions by other dramatists, especially ancient Greek drama, in Cyprus and Greece since his production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle marked the launch of the Cyprus National Theatre in 1975 after the country’s political turmoil that had culminated in the Turkish invasion.”

My literary criticism can be summarized as follows:

“This book presents to the reader a selection of documents and analyses of the activities of more than 40 years by former Berlin stage director Heinz-Uwe Haus in Greek-language theatre. For the first time, all of Haus’s productions and their reception are presented in their aesthetic context—from the legendary Caucasian Chalk Circle by Brecht (1975) all the way to Ibsen’s The Lady from the Sea (2017), both performances of the Cypriot National Theatre (THOK). And what’s been entirely shown forth, in essence, is Prof. Uwe’s theatrical historicality and living experience. “

These four articles combine to be the pillars of my research on Prof. Uwe’s literary achievements. Universal brotherhood is my motivation of translating and publishing “Baldin’s collection of poems,” while the historical reflection on his past major works is the milestone for me to struggle in order to realize my dreams of being a faithful and sincere follower and brother of respectful Prof. Uwe.

As to the postmodern interpretation of his pomes, Prof. Ho has written a remarkable article published by Simposium based in New York. He comprehensively introduces the significance and aesthetics of Prof. Uwe’s poems.

Finally, I still owe Prof. Uwe’s more chances of showing my respect and love to him in all my life. This is the testimony of the universal brotherhood.