Michał Kleczkowski – the parallel life of Norwid’s cousin

Abstract

Cyprian Norwid’s cousin Michał Kleczkowski chose an untypical career of a sinologist. As a professional translator and diplomat in the French service, he was finally awarded the positon of a chargé d’affaires, and after a long time spent in China (1847-63) he was made consulgeneral for Chinese affairs, eventuallybecoming professor of Chinese at the École nationale des langues orientales vivantes for a period of twelve years. He represented a new type of professional diplomat, and although he would receive support from influential figures, he owed his career mainly to diligence and engagement. His professionalism and probably rather conventional morality created tension in his relations with Norwid, who subscribed to a much different ideal of a free artist and wouldnot accept technical work on conditions dictated by others. The article attempts to balance the so far negative assessment of Kleczkowski’s attitude to Norwid by indicating that the poet’s cousin supported Norwid financially for twelve years, passing to him a significant portion of his own income. Further, the article challenges the negative view of OEuvre de Saint-Casimir, showing that it was a respectable institution that granted its inhabitants relative dignity, especially in comparison with the conditions suffered by the Parisian poor who had no support. Theses formulated in the article are illustrated with passages from Kleczkowski’s correspondence, which is preserved in the Princes Czartoryski Museum in Kraków.