Jacques Bacot
Encyclopedia
Jacques Bacot was an explorer and pioneering French
Tibetologist. He travelled extensively in India
, western China
, and the Tibet
an border regions. He worked at the École pratique des hautes études
. Bacot was the first western scholar to study the Tibetan grammatical tradition, and along with F. W. Thomas
(1867–1956) belonged to the first generation of scholars to study the Old Tibetan Dunhuang
manuscripts. Bacot made frequent use of Tibetan informants. He acquired aid from Gendün Chöphel
in studying Dunhuang manuscripts.
in 1906, starting from Tonkin
, in the course of which he followed a pilgrimage route which must have put him in intimate contact with the religious life of Tibet. After his return to France in 1908, he devouted himself to the study of Tibetan with Sylvain Lévi
.
Jacques Bacot explored various Asian countries:
and travelled extensively in India, in the east of China, and the border regions of Tibet.
Jacques Bacot was named director of studies (directeur d'études) of Tibetan at l'École pratique des hautes études
in 1936. He became a member of l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres
in 1947, and entered the Société Asiatique
in 1908. He became president after the death of Paul Pelliot
, in 1945, and remained so until 1954.
The paintings and bronzes which he acquired in his various expeditions are now held at the Guimet Museum
in Paris
, which he donated to in 1912. His library and papers were also donated to the museum after his death.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Tibetologist. He travelled extensively in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, and the Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an border regions. He worked at the École pratique des hautes études
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
. Bacot was the first western scholar to study the Tibetan grammatical tradition, and along with F. W. Thomas
F. W. Thomas
Frederick William Thomas was an Indologist and Tibetologist. He studied Sanskrit under the influential Orientalist Edward Byles Cowell at Cambridge. He was a librarian at the India Office Library between 1898 and 1927. Subsequently he was appointed the Boden professor of Sanskrit at Oxford...
(1867–1956) belonged to the first generation of scholars to study the Old Tibetan Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Dunhuang is a city in northwestern Gansu province, Western China. It was a major stop on the ancient Silk Road. It was also known at times as Shāzhōu , or 'City of Sands', a name still used today...
manuscripts. Bacot made frequent use of Tibetan informants. He acquired aid from Gendün Chöphel
Gendün Chöphel
Amdo Gendün Chöphel . A creative and controversial figure, friend of Rahul Sankrityayan, who is considered by many to have been one of the most important Tibetan intellectuals of the twentieth century...
in studying Dunhuang manuscripts.
Biography
The Tibetological career of Jacques Bacot began from a round the world trip which he made in 1904 and from an expedition to TibetTibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in 1906, starting from Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, in the course of which he followed a pilgrimage route which must have put him in intimate contact with the religious life of Tibet. After his return to France in 1908, he devouted himself to the study of Tibetan with Sylvain Lévi
Sylvain Lévi
Sylvain Lévi was an orientalist and indologist. Born in Paris on March 28, 1863, his book Théâtre Indien is an important work on the subject. Lévi also conducted some of the earliest analysis of Tokharian fragments discovered in Western China.-Biography:Sylvain Levi passed the agregation...
.
Jacques Bacot explored various Asian countries:
- The valley of the Yangtze RiverYangtze RiverThe Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...
(1907) ; - The north of IndochinaIndochinaThe Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
(1909–1910) ; - The HimalayasHimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
(1913–1914 and 1930–1931)
and travelled extensively in India, in the east of China, and the border regions of Tibet.
Jacques Bacot was named director of studies (directeur d'études) of Tibetan at l'École pratique des hautes études
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
in 1936. He became a member of l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
in 1947, and entered the Société Asiatique
Société Asiatique
The Société Asiatique is a French learned society dedicated to the study of Asia. It was founded in 1822 with the mission of developing and diffusing knowledge of Asia. Its boundaries of geographic interest are broad, ranging from the Maghreb to the Far East. The society publishes the Journal...
in 1908. He became president after the death of Paul Pelliot
Paul Pelliot
Paul Pelliot was a French sinologist and explorer of Central Asia. Initially intending to enter the foreign service, Pelliot took up the study of Chinese and became a pupil of Sylvain Lévi and Édouard Chavannes....
, in 1945, and remained so until 1954.
The paintings and bronzes which he acquired in his various expeditions are now held at the Guimet Museum
Guimet Museum
The Guimet Museum is a museum of Asian art located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, which he donated to in 1912. His library and papers were also donated to the museum after his death.
Works
- 1913 Les Mo-so. Ethnographie des Mo-so, leurs religions, leur langue et leur écriture. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1913.
- 1925 Le poète tibétain Milarépa, ses crimes, ses épreuves, son Nirvāna. (Classiques de l’Orient 11 ) Paris: Éditions Bossard.
- 1928 Une grammaire tibétaine du tibétain classique. Les ślokas grammaticaux de Thonmi Sambhoṭa, avec leurs commentaires. (Annales du Musée Guimet. Bibliothèque d’études 37) Paris: P. Geuthner.
- 1946. Grammaire du tibétain littéraire. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient.
- 1947 Le Bouddha. (Mythes et religions 20 ) Paris: Presses universitaires de France.
- 1948 Grammaire du tibétain littéraire. Index morphologique. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient.
- 1956 “Reconnaissance en haute Asie septentrionale par cinq envoyés ouigours au VIIIe siècle.” Journal Asiatique 2 :137-153.
- Bacot, Jacques et al. (1940). Documents de Touen-Houang relatifs à l’histoire du Tibet. (Annales du Musée Guimet 51). Paris: P. Geuthner, 1940.