Helmut Martin (5 May 1940 in Kassel, Germany – 8 June 1999) was a German sinologist best known for his work on modern Chinese literature.
He earned his doctorate with Wolfgang Bauer [de] in 1966, on the subject of Li Yu's dramaturgy.
After a short stay in Kyoto, he returned to Germany in the early 1970s, and was initially a China officer at the Institute for Asian Studies in Hamburg.
From 1990 Martin was involved in the German Association for Chinese Studies (DVCS) and was its chair from 1995 until the time of his death.
[2] Since 1974, when he translated and published previously unpublished works of Mao Zedong, Martin had a tense relationship with the PR China.