Founded in 1974 by Rolf Alfred Stein (1911-1999), Tibetologist and Sinologist, Professor at the Collège de France from 1965 to 1981, the Centre d'études tibétaines (formerly the Institut d'études tibétaines) is part of the Pôle Mondes asiatiques of the Institut des civilisations du Collège de France. Its aim was twofold : to support the development of research in Tibetology, and to respond to the movement to publish and republish Tibetan texts following the exile of numerous scholars and spiritual masters from 1959 onwards.
The Centre d'études tibétaines houses a research library, the Bibliothèque d'études tibétaines, as well as scientific activities focusing on the development of collections and publications. It maintains close links with researchers and teacher-researchers at all French academic institutions specializing in Tibetan studies, and in particular with those at the Centre de recherche sur les civilisations de l'Asie orientale (CRCAO, UMR 8155), also housed at the Collège de France.
At present, scientific activities focus mainly on developing the collections of the Tibetan-language news paper Tibet Mirror or Melong, which was published in Kalimpong (India) from 1925 to 1963, and of which the Tibetan Studies Library has a substantial collection. As part of a partnership with the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA, Dharamsala, India),all issues of Tibet Mirror held by the LTWA or a French library (collections of the Bibliothèque d'études tibétaines of the Collège de France, the Société Asiatique and the Musée Guimet) have been scanned and presented in a database, available on Salamandre, the digital heritage library and archive catalog of the Collège de France. The current project focuses mainly on the Melong illustrations, comprising drawings, maps and photographs. For each illustration, an edition of the accompanying caption and an Abstract of the article it illustrates are proposed. These illustrations are indexed and made accessible via a series of keywords.
From 2017 to 2018, the Centre d'études tibétaines was the sponsor of a PSL project focusing on the decoration of the tomb of the Manchu emperor Qianlong (18th century). This funding enabled the completion of 2D reconstructions and the creation of a 3D model of this unique edifice, in which the walls and vaults of the six burial chambers are entirely covered with inscriptions in Tibetan and Lantsa, as well as Buddhist representations. The results of this research can be seen online and were published by the Center for Tibetan Studies in 2018.
The activities of the Centre d'études tibétaines have also focused on showcasing eight prints from the Hambis collection of the Centre d'études chinoises (formerly IHEC). These prints, accompanied by quadrilingual inscriptions (Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian and Manchu), are based on the eight steles of the octagonal Seven Buddhas Pavilion in Beijing, which Emperor Qianlong commissioned after the Panchen Lama presented him with a series of Tibetan paintings depicting the seven Buddhas of the past. A 2D rendering of one of these prints now adorns the reading room of the Asia Pole library.
Management of the Centre d'études tibétaines :Alice Travers
Scientific Council (2023-2026) : Laurianne Bruneau, Charles Ramble, Marta Sernesi, Alice Travers, Françoise Wang-Toutain
Previous directors of the Centre d'études tibétaines : Rolf Alfred Stein (1974-1981), Anne-Marie Blondeau (1981-1996), Anne Chayet (1996-2009), Françoise Robin (2009-2015), Françoise Wang-Toutain (2015-2022)
