Christian Felix Weiße facts for kids
Christian Felix Weiße (born 1726, died 1804) was a German writer and teacher. He was a very important person during the Enlightenment in Germany. Weiße is known as the person who started German children's literature. He wrote many books and plays, especially for young readers.
Life
Christian Felix Weiße was born on January 28, 1726, in Annaberg-Buchholz in the Ore Mountains. He was a twin! His father, Christian Heinrich Weiße, was a headmaster at a Latin school (a type of old school). He also taught different languages.
When Christian Felix was just one year old, his family moved to Altenburg in Thuringia. This town is about 45 kilometers south of Leipzig. He went to a Gymnasium there, which is a high school in Germany. It was here that he first started writing poetry. Sadly, his father passed away in 1730.
His family later moved to Leipzig. From 1745 to 1750, he studied philology (the study of language and literature) and theology (the study of religion) at the University of Leipzig. During this time, he met many famous writers and thinkers. These included Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and Ewald Christian von Kleist.
After finishing his studies, Weiße became a private tutor for Count Geyersberg, who was also a student in Leipzig. In 1759, Friedrich Nicolai asked Weiße to become the editor of a magazine called Bibliothek der schönen Wissenschaften (which means Library of the Beautiful Sciences). Weiße continued to publish this magazine and its follow-up until 1788.
In the same year, 1759, Weiße traveled to Paris. When he returned, he stopped being a tutor. Instead, he became a social companion to Count Schulenburg at his castle in Burgscheidungen.
In 1762, Weiße became a district tax collector in Leipzig. The next year, he married Christiane Platner. She was the daughter of a well-known surgeon in Leipzig. In 1790, Count Schulenburg helped him buy a castle in Stötteritz (which is now part of Leipzig).
Weiße completely changed the castle and created a beautiful English garden. His property became a summer home and garden. It was a place where many important guests would gather, like Christian Garve and Jean Paul. These gatherings were called a salon.
Besides his poetry and plays, Weiße had great success with his magazine Der Kinderfreund (The Children's Friend). He published this magazine from 1775 to 1782, and it came out in 24 volumes. It is seen as the first magazine for children in Germany!
Four of his poems were even set to music by the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Weiße's most lasting success was writing the stories (called librettos) for Johann Adam Hiller's Singspiele (a type of German opera with spoken dialogue).
Weiße passed away on December 16, 1804, in Stötteritz. He is buried in the Alter Johannisfriedhof in Leipzig. His wife, who died in 1813, survived him. One of their notable children was the historian and lawyer Christian Ernst Weiße.
Works
Christian Felix Weiße wrote many different types of works. He is especially remembered for his contributions to children's literature and for writing the stories for operas.
Librettos (Opera Stories)
Weiße wrote almost all the stories for Johann Adam Hiller's operas. Some of these include:
- Die verwandelten Weiber (1766)
- Lottchen am Hofe (1767)
- Die Jagd (1770)
He also wrote stories for other composers:
- Der Dorfbarbier, with music (1771) by Christian Gottlob Neefe and Johann Adam Hiller.
- Romeo und Julie by Georg Benda was based on Weiße's translation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Comedies
Weiße also wrote plays that were funny.
- Die Freundschaft auf der Probe (1768) (Friendship Tested)
- A collection of his comedies was published in 3 volumes in 1783.
Tragedies
He also wrote serious plays called tragedies.
- Die Befreyung von Theben (1764) (The Liberation of Thebes)
- A collection of his tragedies was published in 5 volumes between 1776 and 1780.
Children's Books and Non-Fiction
This is where Weiße made a huge impact, especially for young readers!
- Kleine Lieder für Kinder (1766) (Little Songs for Children)
- Neues ABC-Buch (1772) (New Alphabet Book)
- Der Kinderfreund (24 volumes, 1775–1782) (The Children's Friend) - This was the first children's magazine in Germany!
- Briefwechsel der Familie des Kinderfreundes (12 volumes, 1784–1792) (Letters from the Family of the Children's Friend)
- Achthundert neue noch nie gedruckte Räthsel (1791) (Eight hundred Never-Before Printed Riddles)
- Christian Felix Weißens Selbstbiographie (1806) (His Autobiography, published after he died)
