Research Center on East Asian Civilizations (CRCAO)

Supervising Institutions

The CRCAO operates under the supervision of the following four institutions:

• The CNRS
• The École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)
• The Collège de France
• The University of Paris

The Center is hosted by the Collège de France, which supports its research activities and hosts many of its events.

It is located at the Institute of Civilizations of the Collège de France, 52 rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris.

The collections assembled by the Center are housed within the collections of the Institute of Civilizations at the Collège de France.

Research Programs

The CRCAO’s research covers a wide range of disciplines and all periods, from the earliest times to the present day. A significant portion of its programs focuses on the study of religions, history, archaeology, the arts, architecture and urban planning, literature, and thought from the classical, modern, and contemporary periods. The Center also places particular emphasis on primary sources (manuscripts, inscriptions, editions, and iconographic and archaeological documents).

The CRCAO’s research programs are organized around five areas of focus:

• Axis I - People, Objects, Knowledge: Local Environments and Global Perspectives
• Area II - Historiography, Representations, Identities
• Area III - Textual, linguistic, and literary practices
• Area IV - Dunhuang and Central Asia: Religious Circles and Institutions
• Area V - Lexicons, Digital Corpora, Databases

Publications

The Journal of Tibetan Studies is an annual journal published by the Center since 2002; it is available online and can be downloaded free of charge.

The journal Études Mongoles & Sibériennes, Centrasiatiques & Tibétaines (EMSCAT ) is produced in partnership with the CRCAO as part of the Center for Mongolian and Siberian Studies at the École pratique des hautes études.

The Center collaborates with the Publications of the Institute of Japanese Higher Studies and the Institute of Chinese Higher Studies, the Chinese Library of Belles Lettres, as well as the “Hautes études orientales, Extrême-Orient” series of the École pratique des hautes études (Librairie Droz).

Databases

The CRCAO has developed or contributed to the development of several databases.

• DicAT (open access): Dictionary of Traditional Agriculture: French-English-Chinese-Japanese
• Ofuda (open access): Ofuda, the Bernard Frank Collection
• EnamelFC (restricted access until the end of the project): Global Enamels: A Symmetrical History of Material and Technological Exchanges Between France and China (mid-17^th to late 18^th century)
• Collections of Chinese Stamps in Europe

The Center’s mission is to develop several new databases over the next few years, in connection with its various research programs.