Jean Berlie (also named Jean A. Berlie, Johan Berlie, Komlan in African Ewe, or 韓林, Hanlin in Chinese) is a French socio-anthropologist specialising in Asia and China.

Background

Berlie was born in Misahohé, near

Kpalimé Kpalimé is a city in the Plateaux Region of Togo, 120 km north of Lomé and 15 km from the border with Ghana. It is the administrative capital of Kloto Prefecture. Kpalimé has a population of 75,084, making it the fourth-biggest to ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

in 1936, from a family of French colonial administrators. He was in the French merchant navy until 1960 when he joined the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

as a Fusilier Marin, where he later became a Naval Aviation pilot, then

Capitaine de Corvette Corvette captain is a rank in many navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette (small warship). The equivalent rank in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth, and United States is lieutenant commander. The Royal Canadian Navy uses ...

. In 1969 he became an

airline pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, working with

Dassault Dassault Group (; also GIM Dassault or Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault SAS) is a French group of companies established in 1929 with the creation of Société des Avions Marcel Bloch (now Dassault Aviation) by Marcel Dassault, and led by son Ser ...

Balair Belair, legally ''Belair Airlines AG'', was a Swiss charter airline headquartered in Glattbrugg operating out of Zürich Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg. It was a subsidiary of Air Berlin and operated under the Air Berlin brand ...

Air Inter Air Inter (Lignes Aériennes Intérieures) was a semi-public French domestic airline. Before its merger with Air France, the airline was headquartered in Paray-Vieille-Poste, Essonne.''World Airline Directory''. Flight International. 26 March-1 Apr ...

, and

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

. He has visited more than 100 countries in Asia, Pacific, Africa, Europe, Americas, India, and most provinces of China, both in his earlier careers, and for his

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

studies. He speaks more than 15 languages. Berlie has been awarded with the French

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

Academic career

During his pilot career, Berlie studied

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

under the supervision of Lucien Bernot and Georges Condominas, famous French

anthropologists An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

. He was also a visiting scholar at Oxford University in 1996. Berlie was awarded with a PhD in

at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris University (France) in 1985, and with a PhD in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

University (France) in 1997. * Honorary Research Fellow at th
Center for Greater China Studies (CGCS)
of The

Hong Kong Institute of Education The Education University of Hong KongUniversity title ...

, Hong Kong, since 2012. * Former

board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

at the
American Journal of Asian Studies
' (USA). *

Board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

at the
Tai Culture Review
', Berlin (Germany), since 1995. * Researcher at th
Centre of Asian Studies
of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hon ...

, Hong Kong, since 1991. * Former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

o
The French Association of Research on South-East Asian Studies (AFRASE)
Paris (France), from 1989 to 1994.

Scholarly societies

* Life member of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

, Hong Kong . * Member of the Asiatic Society (

Société Asiatique The Société Asiatique (Asiatic Society) 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 ...

), Paris (France). * Life member of the Assam Research Society ( Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti),

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

, Assam (

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

). * Life member of the International Association of French Speaking Sociologists ( Association internationale des sociologues de langue française - AISLF),

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

(France).

Scholarships

Lingnan University

Teaching South-East Asian

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

in 1992 at the

Lingnan University Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance sinc ...

, Hong Kong (

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Cultural Institute of Macau

Scholarship at th
Cultural Institute of Macau
from 1995 to 2000 in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

(

)
A study of the Chinese of Macau and the Macanese
In July 2009 a conference was presented on this subject at th

Casa de Misericordia, in

International Institute for Asian Studies

Scholarship at the Leiden University "International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS)" of

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration w ...

(the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) in 2006. A public lecture was presented in

on the

Rohingya The Rohingya people () are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Before the Rohingya genocide in 2017, when over 740,000 fled to Bangladesh, an ...

Arakan Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...

Jinan University

Visiting professor at the Institute of South-East Asian Studies of

Jinan University Jinan University (JNU, ) is a public research university based in Guangzhou, China. "Jinan" literally means "reaching southward", indicating the university's original mission to disseminate Chinese learning and culture from North to South wh ...

from 2009 to 2010 in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

(

). Teaching

, economics, and society.

Macao Foundation

Scholarship at th
Macao Foundation
from 2010 to 2011 in

(

). A study of the Chinese of Macau. Identity, case studies, life stories, and prospects.

Bibliography

Berlie has been mentioned as a reference in numerous books and publications specialized in anthropology. He is the author of hundred of articles and reviews, has held numerous conferences, and written many books under the names Jean Berlie, Jean A. Berlie, Johan Berlie, Hanlin, or 韓林. His books are: China's Globalization and the Belt and Road Initiative. published in 2020. * ''East Timor independence, Indonesia and ASEAN'', published in 2017. * ''The Chinese of

Macao Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a po ...

a decade after the handover'', published in 2012. * ''The Burmanization of Myanmar's Muslims'', the

acculturation Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...

of the

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

in Burma including

, published in 2008. * ''East Timor, politics and elections'' (in Chinese)/ 东帝汶政治与选举 (2001–2006): 国家建设及前景展望, published in 2007. * ''

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

in China, Hui and Uyghurs: between

modernization Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber, ...

and

sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

'', the study of the Hui and

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Cent ...

of China, published in 2004. * ''East Timor: a bibliography'', a bibliographic reference on a newest independent country, launched by PM

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...

, published in 2001. * ''Macau's overview at the turn of the century'', published in 2000. * ''Macao 2000'', an overview of

edited by Jean A. Berlie before the handover to China, published in December 1999. * ''

Sinicization Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...

: at the crossing of three China regions, an

ethnic minority The term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...

becoming increasingly more Chinese: the Kam People, officially called

Dong People The Kam people, officially known in China as Dong people (; endonym: , ), a Kam–Sui people of Southern China, are one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. They are famed for their native-bred ''Kam ...

'' (in French)/ '' Sinisation: à la limite de trois provinces de

Chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

, une minorité de plus en plus chinoise: les locuteurs kam, officiellement appelés Dong'', published in 1998. * ''

of the Kam (

), a China minority'' (in French)/ '' Sinisation d'une minorité de

, les Kam ( Dong)'', published in 1994. * '' Neua (Na) in Yunnan (

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) and the

LPDR Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

: a minority and a "non-minority" in the Chinese and Lao political systems'', published in 1993. * ''The Tai of China: Zhongguo de Dai zu'' (in French)/ ''Les Tai de Chine: Zhongguo de Dai zu'', published in 1991. * ''A Malay village of

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

: rice growing, kinship, beliefs'' (in French)/ ''Un Village malais du

: riziculture, parenté, croyances'', published in 1984. * ''Tepi Laut: a Malay village on the coast'' (in French)/ ''Tepi Laut: un village malais au bord de la mer'', published in 1983. * ''The Rajbanshis: preliminary enquiry towards a study of a complex

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

of South-East

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

and

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

'', published in 1982.''The Rajbanshis: preliminary enquiry towards a study of a complex ethnic group of South-East Nepal and Bengal''
Johan Berlie, 233 pages, Regmi Research Institute editor, Kathmandu, Nepal 1982
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlie, Jean Living people 1936 births People from Plateaux Region, Togo French anthropologists French sociologists 20th-century anthropologists Recipients of the Legion of Honour Members of the Société Asiatique Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society French male writers Commercial aviators