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, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, western

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and the

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

an border regions. He worked at the

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

. 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 Dunhuang () is a county-level city in northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Sachu (Dunhuang) was ...

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 h ...

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, including both the ...

, 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 intellectual and author whose specialities were oriental studies and India. He taught Sanskrit and Indian religions at the École pratique des hautes études in ...

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

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

(1907) ; * The north of

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...

(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 Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

(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 () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

in 1947, and entered the

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 Mag ...

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 the Silk Road regions, and for his acquisition of many important Tibetan Empire-era manuscripts and ...

, 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 ; ''MNAAG''; ) is a Parisian art museum with one of the largest collections of Asian art outside of Asia that includes items from Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Tibet, India, and Nepal, among other countries. Found ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 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 Academic staff of the University of Paris Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études French ethnologists Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Société Asiatique