Asian Worlds Division

This pole brings together the History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asia (Pr Frantz Grenet) and Intellectual History of China (Pr Anne Cheng) chairs, as well as five research libraries and specialized study centers.

The Chair in the History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asia is currently focusing its research on urban development in pre-Islamic Central Asia. The Centre d'études indiennes et centrasiatiques is attached to the perimeter of this chair. It currently houses the richest Indology library in Paris, focusing mainly on classical India and Sanskrit studies. It is managed by two full-time librarians.

The holder of the chair in Intellectual History of China conducts research on Confucius and Confucianism, using new methods of analysis (school of textual criticism) to gain a better understanding of the importance of the Confucius phenomenon in present-day China. The aim is to shed light on the transition from a process of reinvention to one of reconstruction.

The libraries of the Mondes asiatiques (Asian Worlds) section hold substantial holdings, many of which are unique in France, for the benefit of researchers and advanced students working on China, Japan, ancient India and Tibet, as well as ancient and modern Korea.

The holdings are the result of the addition of the libraries of Collège de France professors, books collected by the Orientalist institutes of the Sorbonne before their transfer to the Collège de France in 1972, multiple donations (professors, French and foreign foundations, etc.), transfers (former Centre d'études chinoises de Pékin repatriated to France after 1950), works acquired by the CNRS teams housed there, and massive purchases made with Collège de France annual appropriations since 1973.

The Chinese catalog contains the largest number of titles (over 250 000 volumes), including in particular rare works (shanben, published catalog), the best European collection of local monographs (difangzhi) and a rich collection of collectanea (congshu, published catalog).

The Japanese collection, slightly smaller in volume, also includes numerous collections on religion, literature and anthropology, as do the Korean and Tibetan holdings.

The Indian collection is mainly devoted to literature in Sanskrit and Indo-Aryan languages, history and archaeology. It also has a computerized map and photo library covering the entire sub-continent.

Specialized study centers

Five specialized study centers are part of the Asian Worlds division: the Center for Chinese Studies, the Center for Japanese Studies, the Center for Indian and Central Asian Studies, the Center for Tibetan Studies and the Center for Korean Studies.

Attached with their libraries to the Collège de France in 1972, these centers, some of which date back to the 1920s, oversee the activities of their corresponding libraries, pursue publication programs and maintain relations and exchanges with Far Eastern institutions.

Each center has a scientific council of five to ten members chosen from among specialists in the field, and a director. The director is either a professor at the Collège de France, or a colleague from another institution who has been asked to take on this role. Scientific Councils are made up of active researchers, and must include at least one Collège de France professor. They are appointed for a period of four years and are renewable. Their appointment, like that of the study center director, is approved by the Administrator of the Collège de France.