Jacques Gernet (; ; 22 December 1921, Algiers, French Algeria – 3 March 2018,

Vannes Vannes (; br, Gwened) is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic Era The name ''Vannes'' comes from the Veneti, a seafaring Celtic people who live ...

) was an eminent French sinologist of the second half of the 20th century. His best-known work is ''The Chinese Civilization'', a 900-page summary of Chinese history and civilization which has been translated into many languages.

Biography

Gernet obtained a degree in classics at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the oldest and most prestigious universi ...

in 1942, then served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

from 1942-1945. In 1947 he received his degree in Chinese from the National School of Oriental Languages, and in 1948 from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE). He then became a member of the

French School of the Far East The French School of the Far East (french: École française d'Extrême-Orient, ), abbreviated EFEO, is an associated college of PSL University dedicated to the study of Asian societies. It was founded in 1900 with headquarters in Hanoi in w ...

, before being a researcher at CNRS and Scholar of the

Yomiuri Shimbun The (lit. ''Reading-selling Newspaper'' or ''Selling by Reading Newspaper'') is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ...

in Japan. He received his Doctor of Letters in 1956. From 1955–1976 Gernet served as director of studies at the EPHE, VIe section, then at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. He taught Chinese language and culture at the Faculty of Arts from the Sorbonne in 1957, first as a lecturer, then as professor from 1959. In 1968 he founded the Unit of teaching and research of languages and civilizations of East Asia (

University of Paris-VII Paris Diderot University, also known as Paris 7 (french: Université Paris Diderot), was a French university located in Paris, France. It was one of the inheritors of the historic University of Paris, which was split into 13 universities in 197 ...

), and was its director until 1973. He entered the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

, where he was chair in social and intellectual history of China (1975–1992). On 8 June 1979 Gernet was elected a member of the

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 ...

. He is also a chevalier of the

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 ...

and commander of the ''Ordre des Palmes académiques''. Gernet died in Vannes on 3 March 2018.

Publications

* 1949 : ''Entretiens du maître de dhyâna Chen-houei du Ho-tsö (668-760)'', Hanoi, EFEO (PEFEO, 31). * 1956 : ''Les Aspects économiques du bouddhisme dans la société chinoise du Ve au Xe siècle'', Saigon, EFEO (PEFEO, 39). † * 1959 : ''La Vie quotidienne en Chine à la veille de l'invasion mongole'', Paris, Hachette. † * 1970 : ''Catalogue des manuscrits chinois de la Bibliothèque nationale, fonds Pelliot de Touen-houang, vol. 1'', Paris, Bibliothèque nationale. With Wu Chi-yü. * 1972 : ''Le Monde chinois'', Paris, A. Colin. † Translated as ''A History of Chinese Civilization,'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995. (2nd ed.)
English translation
* 1982 : ''Chine et christianisme, action et réaction'', Paris, Gallimard. † * 1991 : ''Tang Zhen, Écrits d'un sage encore inconnu'', Paris, Gallimard. * 1994 : ''L'Intelligence de la Chine : le social et le mental'', Paris, Gallimard. * 2005 : ''La Raison des choses: Essai sur la philosophie de Wang Fuzhi (1619–1692)'', Paris, Gallimard. † Translated into English.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gernet, Jacques French sinologists 1921 births 2018 deaths French military personnel of World War II Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres People from Algiers University of Algiers alumni University of Paris faculty Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Collège de France faculty Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature) French people of colonial Algeria