Jean-Noël Alexandre Robert (born 30 December 1949 in

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 ...

) is a French orientalist, specialist of the history of Buddhism in Japan and of its Chinese predecessors. His work particularly focus on

Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...

and the philology of Sino-Japanese Buddhist texts. He is the author of the French translation of the Lotus Sūtra, seminal text of

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

大乘 (great vehicle), from the ancient Chinese text. In 2011, he was appointed a professor at 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 ...

to become the holder of the chair ''Philologie de la civilisation japonaise''.

Biography

Graduated in Japanese from the

Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales ( en, National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French university specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. ...

in 1970, Jean-Noël Robert was a resident of the Franco-Japanese House of Tokyo in 1974–1975. From 1975 to 1990, he worked at the CNRS and since 1979, lecturer and director of studies at the fifth section of 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 ...

(EPHE). A doctor ès lettres and

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

(1987), he was appointed director of the Institut des hautes études japonaises des Instituts d’Asie of the Collège de France in 2010. On 11 April 2011, he was appointed professor at the College of France where he became holder of the Chair of ''Philologie de la civilisation japonaise''. Jean-Noël Robert is a member of numerous scientific societies and specialized committees: "Société française des études japonaises de Paris", "commissions des spécialistes" of the

(

Paris Diderot University 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 ...

), "commission scientifique" of the

(Ve section), counsellor of 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 ...

, board of the

École française d'Extrême-Orient 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 ...

. He is also editor of ''Hôbôgirin'', encyclopaedia of Buddhism from the Chinese and Japanese sources, and member of the editorial and scientific committees of the ', the ''

Journal asiatique The ''Journal asiatique'' (full earlier title ''Journal Asiatique ou Recueil de Mémoires, d'Extraits et de Notices relatifs à l'Histoire, à la Philosophie, aux Langues et à la Littérature des Peuples Orientaux'') is a biannual peer-reviewed ac ...

'' and the ' journal. He was elected on 17 March 2006, 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 ...

at the chair of André Caquot. He is chevalier of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's estab ...

and officier of the

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

. Jean-Noël Robert also writes in Latin under the pseudonym Alexander Ricius.Cf. sa conférenc
''Pourquoi écrire en latin au XXIe siècle ?''
with the Association "le Latin dans les Littératures Européennes".

References

Publications

*1986: ''Lectures élémentaires en style sino-japonais'' (kanbun) *1990: ''Doctrines de l’école japonaise Tendai au début du IXe : Gishin et le Hokke-shû gi shû'' (doctorate thesis) *1995: ''Contempler le sanctuaire du cœur : le bouddhisme vu par un bouddhologue français'', (published in Japanese in 1997) *2001: ''Kanbun for the XXIst Century : The Future of Dead Languages'', (in Japanese) *2003: ''Sûtra du Lotus, suivi du Livre des sens innombrables et du Livre de la contemplation de Sage-Universel'' (translation) *2007: ''Quatre courts traités sur la Terrasse Céleste'',

Fayard Fayard (complete name: ''Librairie Arthème Fayard'') is a French Paris-based publishing house established in 1857. Fayard is controlled by Hachette Livre. In 1999, Éditions Pauvert became part of Fayard. Claude Durand was director of Fayard ...

, series "Trésors du bouddhisme", *2008: ''Petite histoire du bouddhisme'', Librio Document *2008: ''La Centurie du Lotus : poèmes de Jien (1155-1225) sur le Sûtra du Lotus''

External links

Jean-Noël Robert
on the site of the (IEA) de Nantes
Site des membres de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert, Jean Noel French Japanologists Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études Academic staff of the Collège de France Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Members of the Société Asiatique Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite 1949 births Living people