During its propagandist days the contents of the Káwa
were, of course, chiefly political, and, though valuable for
Articles of
interest
in the old
Káwa.
the light they throw on events in Persia, and
especially on the doings of the Nationalist
“Committee of Defence,” have little bearing on
literary matters until after the armistice, though
here and there exceptions to this rule occur. Thus No. 4
(March 14, 1916) contains a Kurdish poem;
*
No.20 an obituary
notice of that eminent man of letters Sayyid Muḥammad
Ṣádiq “Qá'im-maqámí,”
*
better known by his title of Adíbu'l-
The Káwa of the New Series, which began on Jan. 22, 1920, is, on the other hand, almost entirely literary, and High literary and critical value of the new Káwa. contains numerous articles of the greatest value and interest. The Persian colony in Berlin, though comparatively small, included several men of great intellectual distinction, and, though ardent patriots, keenly alive to the national faults, and eager to absorb what was best of European learning. The special characteristic of the best German scholarship is its sobriety, thoroughness, painstaking accuracy, and exhaustive examination of relevant material from all available sources. This steadying influence is exactly what the Persians, with their tendency to ingenious but rash conjectures and premature theories, most need. In the leading article which opened the New Series the editor, Sayyid Ḥasan Taqí-záda, thus defined his aims:
“The Kawá newspaper was born of the War, and therefore its conduct was correlated with the situations arising from the War. Now The new Káwa's definition of its aims. that the War is ended and International Peace has supervened, the Káwa considers its War period as concluded, and now enters on a Peace period. It therefore adopts, as from the beginning of the Christian year 1920, corresponding with the 9th of Rabí' ii, A.H. 1338, a new basis and line of conduct. It has nothing to do with the former Káwa, and is, indeed, a new paper, the contents of which will for the most part consist of scientific, literary, and historical articles. Above all else, its object will be to promote European civilization in Persia, to combat fanaticism, to help to preserve the national feeling and unity of Persia, to endeavour to purify and safeguard the Persian language and literature from the disorders and dangers which threaten them, and, so far as possible, to support internal and external freedom…In the opinion of the writer of these lines, that which is today in the highest degree necessary for Persia, which all patriotic Persians should exert themselves to promote, literally, with all their strength, and should place before everything else, is threefold.
“First, the adoption and promotion, without condition or reservation, of European civilization, absolute submission to Europe, and the assimilation of the culture, customs, practices, organization, sciences, arts, life, and the whole attitude of Europe, without any exception save language; and the putting aside of every kind of self-satisfaction, and such senseless objections as arise from a mistaken, or, as we prefer to call it, a false patriotism.
“Secondly, a sedulous attention to the preservation of the Persian language and literature, and the development, extension, and popularization thereof.
“Thirdly, the diffusion of European sciences, and a general advance in founding colleges, promoting public instruction, and utilizing all the sources of material and spiritual power…in this way…
“Such is the belief of the writer of these lines as to the way to serve Persia, and likewise the opinion of those who, by virtue of much cultural and political experience, share his belief.
“Outwardly and inwardly, in body and in spirit, Persia must become Europeanized.
“In concluding this explanation of fundamental beliefs, I must add that in the writer's opinion perhaps the greatest and most effective service of this sort which one could render would be the publication in Persia of translations of a whole series of the most important European books in plain and simple language.”
In pursuance of this programme, there are a certain number of articles on the German system of education, the Some interesting articles in the new Káwa. proceedings of the Perso-German Society, * and the arrangements for facilitating the studies of Persian students in Germany; but matters connected with the language and literature of Persia supply the subject-matter of most of the articles. Thus we find in the year 1920 a series of admirable articles by Taqízáda (signed Muḥaṣṣil) on the most notable Persian poets of early times; * an original article written in Persian by Dr Arthur Christensen of Copenhagen on the existence of verse in Pahlawí; * a discussion on the evolution of the Persian language during the last century; * articles entitled “Bolshevism in ancient Persia” on Mazdak; * comparisons between Eastern and Western research and its results (greatly in favour of the latter), entitled Munáẓara-i-Shab u Rúz (“Dispute between Night and Day”); * the four periods of the Persian language since the Arab conquest; * “a Touchstone of Taste,” on good modern Persian verse and what the writer calls “Karbalá'í verse”; * Pahlawí, Arabic and Persian sources of the Sháh-náma; * ancient and modern translations from Arabic into Persian; * and a very interesting article on the “Sources of eloquent Persian and ‘Khán-i-Wálida Persian’”, * in which the writer ridicules and condemns the slavish imitation of Turkish idiom and style practised by certain young Persians resident in Constantinople. These articles, in most cases, display a wealth of knowledge, critical ability, and originality which I have nowhere else encountered in Persian, and deserve a fuller analysis than can be accorded to them in this volume.
During the last year of its existence (1921) the Káwa maintained the same high standard, publishing many The last year (1921) of the Káwa. articles, both historical and literary, which were fully up to the level of the best European scholarship. A series of important historical articles on “the Relations of Russia and Persia during the period of the Áq-Qoyúnlú and Ṣafawí dynasties, down to the beginning of the reign of Áqá Muḥammad Khán Qájár,” written by Sayyid Muḥammad 'Alí Jamál-záda, also appeared as a monthly supplement, and showed very wide and judicious use of all available sources, both Eastern and Western. The sudden cessation of the paper after December, 1921, was a great loss to Persian learning and scholarship.
In June, 1922, there appeared at Berlin a new Persian
literary and scientific review entitled Írán-shahr, edited by
The Iránshahr.
Ḥusayn Káẓim-záda, which, though described
as a “Revue…bimensuelle,” actually appeared
only once a month. It is of a lighter and more
popular character than was the Káwa, and shows a more
marked preference for matters connected either with pre-
“We Persians (with the exception of the people of Ádhar-