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Bicentennial exhibition of the Société asiatique (1822-2022). Library rarities

Illustration caption (top of page) : Fuxi, mythical patriarch of Chinese medicine. Herbarium known as Herbier Lasteyrie (cl Georges Chatelain).

Bicentenary of the Asiatic Society 1822-2022. Library rarities.

Exhibition organized at the Collège de France from November 29 2022 to February 24 2023, free admission Monday to Friday, 10 h to 18 h (the exhibition is closed on weekends and public holidays).

Founded in 1822, the Société asiatique is one of France's oldest associations. Born of the enthusiasm aroused by the first conquests of scientific Orientalism : deciphering scripts, resurrecting monuments and comparing languages, this learned society spanned the ^19th and ^20th centuries, in close liaison with the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres and the Collège de France.

The library built up by the Société asiatique in the early years of its existence has been enriched over the years by bequests and donations. Today, it boasts over 100 000 printed volumes and over 1 900 periodicals. On the occasion of this bicentenary, 90 of the rarest works are presented to the public. They cover all fields of Orientalism, and are divided into major themes : history of the Asiatic Society, religious studies, geography and travelers, linguistics, and history. The exhibition concludes with a final section devoted to 20 precious Asian documents, some of them illustrated.All in all, a testament to the Society's universal interest.

In addition to 2 essays on the history of the Société asiatique, the catalog includes biographies of 23 of France's most important orientalists.

Among the documents presented are interesting travel accounts from the ^seventeenth and ^eighteenth centuries, the first dictionaries of rare languages such as Manchu and Cam, translations of Catholic devotional books into Armenian and Mongolian, and early manuscripts and prints in Sanskrit, Cam, Chinese, Lolo script and Japanese. The 2 most valuable works are undoubtedly a Chinese-Manchu ennoblement edict (1735) and an illustrated Chinese herbarium for medicinal use, a faithful copy dated to the ^18th century of a ^16th century work, presented to the Society at its first meeting, on April¹ 1822.