Charles-Joseph de Harlez de Deulin

Charles-Joseph de Harlez de Deulin (Liège, 21 August 1832 – Leuven, 14 July 1899) was a Belgian Orientalist, domestic prelate, canon of the cathedral of Liège, and member of the Academie Royale of Belgium, who studied and translated the Zoroastrian holy texts.

Charles de Harlez

The family of de Harlez was an old and noble family of Liège. On completing his ordinary college course de Harlez devoted himself to the study of law in the University of Liège. His success in legal studies was considerable, and a strong doctorate examination brought his career at the law school to a close. His family connections and his own ability gave promise of a bright future, but, growing dissatisfied with the law, de Harlez soon abandoned the legal profession altogether. He then took up the study of theology, and in 1858 was ordained priest. After his ordination he was appointed director of the college of St-Quirin in Huy. In 1867 he was put in charge of a new arts school which had been established for young ecclesiastics in connection with the Catholic University of Leuven (French: Louvain). This position he held for four years. An old predilection for Oriental studies began then to make itself felt again in him. He was appointed to a professorship in the Oriental department of the University of Leuven in 1871 and devoted himself with energy to the study of the Zoroastrian Bible - the Avesta - of which he published a translation (1875–77).

Spiegel had already translated the Avesta into German and Anqueil-Duperron had attempted a translation into French. The translation of de Harlez was an addition to Avesta exegesis, and the second edition of the work appeared in 1881. The relationship between the Rig Veda and the Avesta were not yet fully understood, de Harlez set himself to determine it. He emphasized the differences, in spite of many apparent agreements, between the two texts. His view met with much opposition, but some of his opponents - for instance James Darmesteter - reportedly came round to his point of view.

In 1883 Mgr de Harlez turned to a new department-the language and literature of China. In this department he was chiefly attracted by the problems of the ancient Chinese religion. He shows everywhere in his works this same taste for the study of religious developments, and founded and became first chief editor of a journal, Muséon, which was intended to be devoted to the objective study of history generally and of religious history in particular. It was founded in 1881, and many of the most important of its early articles were contributed by de Harlez. Though he was editor of the "Muséon" and still a keen student of Iranian and Chinese, de Harlez had time for other work. He was all the time professor of Sanskrit in the university and produced a Sanskrit manual for the use of his students.

He also made himself familiar with Manchu literature, and in 1884 he published in Louvain a handbook of the Manchu language. Under him the school of Louvain Oriental studies flourished. The Mélanges Charles de Harlez (Leyden. 1896), a collection of more than fifty scientific articles written by scholars of all countries and creeds, was presented to him on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his Louvain professorship.