Jacques Bacot (4 July 1877 – 18 June 1965) was an explorer and pioneering French

Tibetologist Tibetology () refers to the study of things related to Tibet, including its history, religion, language, culture, politics and the collection of Tibetan articles of historical, cultural and religious significance. The last may mean a collection of ...

. He travelled extensively in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, western China, and the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

an border regions. He worked at the

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

. Bacot was the first western scholar to study the Tibetan grammatical tradition, and along with

F. W. Thomas Frederick William Thomas (21 March 1867 – 6 May 1956), usually cited as F. W. Thomas, was an English Indologist and Tibetologist. Life Thomas was born on 21 March 1867 in Tamworth, Staffordshire. After schooling at King Edward's School, Bir ...

(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 Gendun Chompel or Gendün Chöphel () (1903–1951) was a Tibetan scholar, thinker, writer, poet, linguist, and artist. He was born in 1903 in Shompongshe, Rebkong, Amdo. He was a creative and controversial figure and is considered by many to ha ...

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

in 1906, starting from

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

, 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 devoted himself to the study of Tibetan with

Sylvain Lévi Sylvain Lévi (March 28, 1863 – October 30, 1935) was an influential French orientalist and indologist who taught Sanskrit and Indian religion at the École pratique des hautes études. Lévi's book ''Théâtre Indien'' is an important ...

. Jacques Bacot explored various Asian countries: * The valley of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

(1907) ; * The north of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

(1909–1910) ; * The

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

(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'

in 1936. He became a member of l'

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

in 1947, and entered the

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 ...

in 1908. He became president after the death of

Paul Pelliot Paul Eugène Pelliot (28 May 187826 October 1945) was a French Sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts such as the Dunhuang manuscripts. Early life and career ...

, 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 The Guimet Museum (full name in french: Musée national des arts asiatiques-Guimet; MNAAG; ) is an art museum located at 6, place d'Iéna in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. Literally translated into English, its full name is the Nationa ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacot, Jacques People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1877 births 1965 deaths Tibetologists Explorers of Tibet French orientalists French geographers University of Paris faculty École pratique des hautes études faculty French ethnologists Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Société Asiatique