Anne Cheng

Presentation

Born in Paris in 1955 to Chinese parents, Anne Cheng was educated in the French state school system, focusing on classics and European language and literature, until she entered the Ecole Normale Supérieure, where she opted to devote herself exclusively to Chinese studies. For almost thirty years she has been involved in teaching and research on the intellectual history of China and Confucianism in particular, initially at the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research), then at INALCO (National Institute for Oriental Languages and Civilizations), before her appointment to the Institut universitaire de France and her recent election to the Collège de France.

She has written a French translation of the Analects of Confucius (Entretiens de Confucius, Seuil, « Points-Sagesses », 1981), a history of Confucianism in the early Imperial Era and a history of Chinese thought (Histoire de la pensée chinoise, Seuil, 1997, reprinted in paperback by « Points-Essais » in 2002), which has already been translated into several languages. She has also edited several joint publications, including the recently published La pensée en Chine aujourd’hui (Gallimard, 2007).

Research thematics

• Intellectual History of China