Publisher's Synopsis
On April 1st, 1822, the Societe Asiatique destined to federate and promote French research on the Asian world, held its first meeting. Two hundred years later, this book looks back at its history through the men that steered it and the scientific minds that shaped it. It also considers the development of its rich collection, as well as the relationship built with English and German Asian societies. This book also emphasizes the role the Societe Asiatique and its journal, the Journal Asiatique, played in bringing to light different subject areas (Historical linguistics, Assyriology, Semitic, Indian and Chinese studies) as well as scientific discoveries on oriental societies. Indeed, the Societe Asiatique remained, for a long time, the locus for showing and publishing previously unknown documents, whose use allowed for a steep increase in our knowledge of Asia. It is still today a privileged place of learning, where scholars come to present their latest discoveries. The Societe Asiatique is an organisation concerned with promoting knowledge of the Orient, adapting to recent developments and new fields of scientific research, as evidenced by the latest contributions to this book.
