Tiziano Terzani
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2014) |
Tiziano Terzani | |
---|---|
Born | Orsigna, Italy | 14 September 1938
Nationality | Italian |
Years active | 1965–2003 |
Tiziano Terzani (Italian: in the mid-1970s.
Early life
Terzani was born in
Career as a journalist
After a first stint as journalist within
Terzani knew much about the historical and political background of Asia, but had also a deep interest in the philosophical aspects of Asian culture. Though an unbeliever, he always looked in his journeys for the spiritual aspects of the countries he was visiting. He lived for years at a time in Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and New Delhi. While staying in Hong Kong working as a journalist, he had a name in Chinese, 鄧天諾 (Deng Tiannuo) (meaning: "heavenly/godly promise"). His stay in Beijing in the 1980s came to an end when he was arrested and expelled in 1984 from the country for "counter-revolutionary activities".[1] He stopped using his Chinese name after this incident. Based on his experiences in China, he wrote La Porta Proibita (Behind The Forbidden Door).[2]
Books and essays
Terzani's experiences in Asia are described in articles and essays in newspapers, as well as in the several books that he wrote. In his first book, Pelle di leopardo (Leopard Hide) (1973), he describes the last phases of the
Final work and death
In his last book Un altro giro di giostra (One More Ride on the Merry-go-round), in 2001, Terzani deals with his illness, a
Terzani died on 28 July 2004, aged 65. His last memories are recorded in an interview for Italian television entitled "Anam", an Indian word that literally means "the one with no name", an appellative he gained during an experience in an ashram in India.
Legacy and Biopic
His testament-book La fine è il mio inizio (The End Is My Beginning), co-authored with his son Folco, was published posthumously in March 2006 and sold 400,000 copies in 4 months. According to The Times[4] its supposedly New Age theme has been allegedly attacked by Vatican and certain Roman Catholic sources, such as the newspaper Avvenire. However, reading the articles related to Terzani in Avvenire shows just the contrary view: "Terzani is more Christian than a New Age guru".[5] It is underlined there that his experiences as a student (shishya) in the ashram of Swami Dayananda in 2004 have not persuaded him to "convert" to Hinduism, and that he was generally skeptical about New Age (e.g. in Un altro giro di giostra, 2004).
His books are being translated into many languages: German, French, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Slovenian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, Romanian and published in India (in English), Thailand (English), Brazil (Portuguese) and Argentina (Spanish).
The movie The End Is My Beginning was based on the book of the same name, depicting his last days (summer 2004, when he succumbed to cancer), when he is narrating to his son Folco the adventures of his life, his travels, and his philosophical views on life and death.[6] The role of the ailing, retired Terzani, now living in the mountains of Tuscany dressed and groomed just like an Indian sadhu, is played by Swiss-German actor Bruno Ganz and that of his son by Italian actor Elio Germano.[7] The movie, an art-house German-Italian production, was not expected to be a blockbuster but received positive reviews in the European press. "In this film [see below], your father has a Franciscan spirit in some ways... «I think it's a wonderful compliment. I understood what the Franciscan spirit really is by working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, caring for the dying».[8]
Books published in English
- Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon (Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon, 1976, reprinted also in Thailand in 1997 as Saigon 1975: Three Days and Three Months)
- Behind The Forbidden Door: Travels in Unknown China (La porta proibita, 1985)[9]
- Goodnight, Mr Lenin: A Journey Through the End of the Soviet Empire (Buonanotte, signor Lenin, 1993)
- A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earth-bound Travels in the Far East (Un indovino mi disse, 1997)
- Letters Against the War (Lettere contro la guerra, 2002)
- One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round (Un altro giro di giostra, 2016)
Books published in Italian
- Pelle di leopardo. Diario vietnamita di un corrispondente di guerra 1972-1973, 1973
- Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon (Giai Phon! The Liberation of Saigon), 1976
- La porta proibita (The Forbidden Door), 1984
- Buonanotte, signor Lenin (Goodnight Mr Lenin), 1992
- Un indovino mi disse (A Fortune Teller Told Me), 1995
- In Asia (Asia), 1998
- Lettere contro la guerra (Letters Against The War), 2002
- Un altro giro di giostra (One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round), 2004
- La fine è il mio inizio (The End Is My Beginning), 2006
- Fantasmi: dispacci dalla Cambogia (Ghosts: Despatch from Cambogia), 2008
- Un’idea di destino: Diari di una vita straordinaria (An Idea of Destiny: Diaries of an Extraordinary Life), 2014
References
- ^ "Tiziano Terzani". 2 August 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ "Illusione, disillusione e rigenerazione. Le guerre dell'Indocina nel percorso letterario e ideologico di Tiziano Terzani ricostruito da Luigi G. de Anna". Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ RYSZARD KAPUŚCIŃSKI & TIZIANO TERZANI in: Polish website dedicated to Tiziano Terzani, partly in English, Polish, Italian and German
- ^ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2308919,00.html A bestseller, but not to Catholic tastes by Richard Owen, The Times of 12 August 2006
- ^ Terzani, più cristiano che guru new age by Franco Cardini, Avvenire of 17 April 2011; see also below the quotation from Avvenire in reference to the film based on this book
- ^ Mara Amorevoli (2009-08-27). "Ganz to play Terzani (in Italian)". La Repubblica. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- IMDb
- ^ Ganz: «Il mio Terzani e il tabù della morte» by Luca Pellegrini, Avvenire of 26 March 2011.
- ^ Tiziano Terzani (1985). The Forbidden Door. Asia 2000 Ltd – via Internet Archive.
External links
- Tiziano Terzani "fan" club (in Italian)
- [1] [2] Letters against the war in PDF, English
- Polish Website Dedicated to Tiziano Terzani
- Tiziano's former house in Bangkok