Sylvain Lévi
Encyclopedia
Sylvain Lévi was an orientalist
and indologist. Born in Paris
on March 28, 1863, his book Théâtre Indien is an important work on the subject. Lévi also conducted some of the earliest analysis of Tokharian fragments discovered in Western China
.
examination in 1883. He studied under Abel Bergaigne in 1883-1884 in the Sanskrit course at the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes
. Appointed a lecturer at the school of higher studies in Paris (1886), he taught Sanskrit
at the Sorbonne (1889–94) and wrote his doctoral dissertation, Le Théâtre indien (1890; “The Indian Theatre”), which became a standard treatise on the subject. After his appointment as professor at the Collège de France (1894–1935), he toured India and Japan (1897 and 1898) and published La Doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas (1898; “The Doctrine of Sacrifice in the Brāhmaṇas”).
In 1888 he wrote an open letter to the Ligue pour la defense des droits de l'homme in support of captain Dreyfus
. At this time he joined the central committee of the Alliance israelite universelle
in Paris.
Another book resulting from his travels was Le Népal: Étude historique d’un royaume hindou, 3 vol. (1905–08; “Nepal: Historical Study of a Hindu Kingdom”).
Soon before the First World War, in 1913, he travelled to St Petersburg to study Tokharian manuscripts. After the war he took part in missions to Egypt, Syria and Palestine. At the Versailles peace conference in 1919 he represented the Alliance israelite universelle and sat on the commission for the affairs of Palestine.
Subsequent travels to East Asia (1921–23) generated his major work, Hôbôgirin. Dictionnaire du Bouddhisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaises (1929; “Hōbōgirin. Dictionary of Buddhism Based on Chinese and Japanese Sources”), produced in collaboration with the Japanese Buddhist scholar Takakusu Junjirō. In L’Inde et le monde (1926; “India and the World”), he discussed India’s role among nations. In 1929 he was elected president of the Societe asiatique
.
Lévi also worked with the French linguist Antoine Meillet on pioneer studies of the Tocharian languages spoken in Chinese Turkistan
in the 1st millennium AD. He determined the dates of texts in Tocharian B and published Fragments de textes koutchéens (1933; “Fragments of Texts from Kucha”).
He was also an early opponent of the traditionalist
author René Guénon
, citing the latter's uncritical belief in a "Perennial philosophy", that is, a primal truth revealed directly to primitive humanity, based on an extreme reductionist view of Hinduism, which was the subject of Guénon's first book, L'Introduction générale a l'étude des doctrines hindoues, in fact a thesis delivered to Lévi at the Sorbonne, and rejected.
After the accession of Adolf Hitler
to power in 1933, Levi spoke publicly to protest at antisemitic persecutions. The following year he became vice president of the Institut d'etudes japonaises in Paris.
He died on October 30, 1935, at a meeting of the Alliance israelite universelle in Paris.
JA = Journal Asiatique
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
and indologist. Born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on March 28, 1863, his book Théâtre Indien is an important work on the subject. Lévi also conducted some of the earliest analysis of Tokharian fragments discovered in Western China
Western China
Western China , refers to the western part of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces: Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan; one municipality: Chongqing; and three autonomous regions: Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang.-Administrative...
.
Biography
Sylvain Levi passed the agregationAgrégation
In France, the agrégation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agrégés...
examination in 1883. He studied under Abel Bergaigne in 1883-1884 in the Sanskrit course at the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes
École pratique des hautes études
The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
. Appointed a lecturer at the school of higher studies in Paris (1886), he taught Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
at the Sorbonne (1889–94) and wrote his doctoral dissertation, Le Théâtre indien (1890; “The Indian Theatre”), which became a standard treatise on the subject. After his appointment as professor at the Collège de France (1894–1935), he toured India and Japan (1897 and 1898) and published La Doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas (1898; “The Doctrine of Sacrifice in the Brāhmaṇas”).
In 1888 he wrote an open letter to the Ligue pour la defense des droits de l'homme in support of captain Dreyfus
Dreyfus
Dreyfus may refer to:* The Dreyfus affair, a French political scandal* Dreyfus, a 1930 German film on the Dreyfus affair* Louis Dreyfus Group, a company* Dreyfus Corporation, a Mellon Financial Corporation subsidiary...
. At this time he joined the central committee of the Alliance israelite universelle
Alliance Israélite Universelle
The Alliance Israélite Universelle is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world...
in Paris.
Another book resulting from his travels was Le Népal: Étude historique d’un royaume hindou, 3 vol. (1905–08; “Nepal: Historical Study of a Hindu Kingdom”).
Soon before the First World War, in 1913, he travelled to St Petersburg to study Tokharian manuscripts. After the war he took part in missions to Egypt, Syria and Palestine. At the Versailles peace conference in 1919 he represented the Alliance israelite universelle and sat on the commission for the affairs of Palestine.
Subsequent travels to East Asia (1921–23) generated his major work, Hôbôgirin. Dictionnaire du Bouddhisme d’après les sources chinoises et japonaises (1929; “Hōbōgirin. Dictionary of Buddhism Based on Chinese and Japanese Sources”), produced in collaboration with the Japanese Buddhist scholar Takakusu Junjirō. In L’Inde et le monde (1926; “India and the World”), he discussed India’s role among nations. In 1929 he was elected president of the Societe asiatique
Société Asiatique
The Société Asiatique 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 from the Maghreb to the Far East. The society publishes the Journal...
.
Lévi also worked with the French linguist Antoine Meillet on pioneer studies of the Tocharian languages spoken in Chinese Turkistan
History of Xinjiang
The recorded history of Xinjiang dates to the 2nd millennium BC. There have been many empires, primarily Han, Turkic, and Mongolic, that have ruled over the region, including the Yuezhi, Xiongnu Empire, Han Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms of the Jin Dynasty , Tang Dynasty, Uyghur Khaganate, Kara-Khanid...
in the 1st millennium AD. He determined the dates of texts in Tocharian B and published Fragments de textes koutchéens (1933; “Fragments of Texts from Kucha”).
He was also an early opponent of the traditionalist
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
author René Guénon
René Guénon
René Guénon , also known as Shaykh `Abd al-Wahid Yahya was a French author and intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from metaphysics, sacred science and traditional studies to symbolism and initiation.In his writings, he...
, citing the latter's uncritical belief in a "Perennial philosophy", that is, a primal truth revealed directly to primitive humanity, based on an extreme reductionist view of Hinduism, which was the subject of Guénon's first book, L'Introduction générale a l'étude des doctrines hindoues, in fact a thesis delivered to Lévi at the Sorbonne, and rejected.
After the accession of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
to power in 1933, Levi spoke publicly to protest at antisemitic persecutions. The following year he became vice president of the Institut d'etudes japonaises in Paris.
He died on October 30, 1935, at a meeting of the Alliance israelite universelle in Paris.
Works
- Le Théâtre Indien, Deuxième tirage, 1963, Publié à l'occasion du centenaire de la naissance de Sylvain Lévi, Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes, IVe section, 83e Fascicule, Paris, Distributeur exclusif: Librairie Honoré Champion.
- Lévi, S. 1898. La doctrine du sacrifice dans les Brâhmanas, Paris : Ernest Leroux, Bibliothèque de l’École des Hautes Études-Sciences religieuses [= BÉHÉ-SR], vol. 11.
- Lévi, S. 1966. Id., avec une préface de L. Renou, 2e éd., Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, BÉHÉ-SR, vol. 73.
- Lévi, S. 2003. Id., réimpr. de Lévi 1966, avec une postface inédite de Ch. Malamoud, Brepols : Turnhout, BÉHÉ-SR, vol. 118.
- Le Népal: Étude historique d’un royaume hindou, Sylvain Lévi, 3 vol. 1905–08, Paris
- Nepal: Historical study of a Hindu kingdom, Sylvain Levi, Ancient Nepal, 44 installments, 1973–90.
- Asvaghosa, le sutralamkara et ses sources, S. Lévi, JA, 1908, 12, p. 57-193
- Autour d'Asvaghosa, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Oc-Déc. 1929, p. 281-283
- Kanishka et Satavahana, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Jan-Mars 1936, p. 103-107
- Le Bouddhisme et les Grecs, S. Lévi, R.H.R. 23 (1891), p. 37
- L'énigme des 256 nuits d'Asoka, Sylvain Lévi, JA 1948, p. 143-153
- Les études orientales, par Sylvain Lévi, Annales du musée Guimet numéro 36, Hachette 1911, ANU DS1.P32.t36
- Les grands hommes dans l'histoire de l'Inde, par Sylvain Lévi, Annales du musée Guimet numéro 40, Hachette 1913, ANU A DS1.P32.t40
- Les seize Arhats protecteurs de la loi, Sylvain Lévi et Édouard Chavannes, JA 1916, vol. II, p. 204-275
- Le sutra du sage et du fou, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Oc-Déc. 1925, p. 320-326, ANU pBL1411.A82.L4
- L'inde civilisatrice, aperçu historique, S. Lévi, Paris 1938
- L'Inde et le Monde, par Sylvain Lévi, Honoré Champion 1926, ANU G B131.L4
- Madhyantavibhangatika, tr. S. Lévi ?, ANU BQ2965.Y3
- Mahayanasutralamkara, exposé de la doctrine du Grand Véhicule selon le système Yogachara, tr. française Sylvain Lévi, Librairie Honoré Champion, 5 Quai Malaquais, Paris 1911, réimpression Rinsen Book Co. Kyoto 1983 (ISBN 4-653-00951-1) ANU BQ3002.L48.1983.t2
- Maitreya, le consolateur, S. Lévi, Mélanges Linossier, II, pp. 362-3 & pp. 355-402
- Matériaux pour l'étude du système Vijnaptimatra, Sylvain Lévi, Paris Chanmpion 1932
- Nairatmyapariprccha, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Oct-Déc. 1928, p. 209-215
- Notes indiennes, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Janv. Mars 1925, p. 26-35
- Notes sur les manuscrits sanscrits provenant de Bamiyan et de Gilgit, S. Lévi
- Observations sur une langue précanonique du bouddhisme, S. Lévi, JA Nov-Déc. 1912, p. 511
- Sur la récitation primitive des textes bouddhiques, Sylvain Lévi, JA, Mai-Juin 1915, p. 401-407
- Une langue précanonique du bouddhisme, S. Lévi, JA 1912, p. 495-514
- Vijnaptimatratasiddhi, Sylvain Lévi, Paris 1925, ANU AA BL1405.B8
- Vimsika-Vimsatika de Vasubandhu, tr. S. Lévi, Bibliothèque de l'École des Hautes Etudes fascicule 245-1925 et 260-1932 Paris
JA = Journal Asiatique