Oriental Institute, ASCR

The Oriental Institute, ASCR, formally the Oriental Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, is a humanities and social-science research institution based in Prague. Its work covers the broad field historically known as Oriental Studies, encompassing the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, and the ancient Near East. The institute combines historical, philological, religious, cultural, and political research, with particular attention to the ways in which Asian and Middle Eastern societies, intellectual traditions, languages, and belief systems have developed and interacted. The institute was established by an act of the Czechoslovak parliament on 25 January 1922. Its founding purpose was to develop scholarly and economic relations with the countries and cultures of the East. The institution's creation was supported by Czechoslovakia's first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. In 1927, the president appointed the institute's first 34 members, establishing its initial scholarly community. Among the early figures associated with its development were the Assyriologist Bedřich Hrozný, the explorer and Arabist Alois Musil, the Iranist and literary scholar Jan Rypka, and the Indologist Moriz Winternitz. The institute developed an important publication and library infrastructure during its first decade. The first issue of Archiv Orientální appeared in 1929, and the institute's general library opened in 1931. Archiv Orientální became a significant periodical for Oriental and African Studies. The institute also publishes Nový Orient, or New Orient, a Czech-language journal issued three times each year and founded in 1945. Institutionally, the institute was incorporated into the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in 1952. In 1992, shortly before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, it became a constituent institution of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, now generally referred to in English as the Czech Academy of Sciences. This affiliation places the institute within the country's principal public research system rather than within a commercial education or publishing group. Research is organized into three broad departments: Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. Middle Eastern work includes the Arab world, Iran, Israel, Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, and the ancient Near East. South Asian research includes India and neighboring areas, while East Asian research includes China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. The institute also studies the Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia, and related cultural regions. Its subject areas include history, languages, literature, philosophy, religion, politics, and cultural theory. Religious studies form a substantial part of the institute's research profile. Scholars examine Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and religions of the ancient Near East. The institute also investigates the relationship between religious beliefs and modern political or social developments, including Islamic reformism and fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism and communalism, and Buddhist and Islamic dimensions of Southeast Asian politics. Language and literature research includes quantitative linguistics, Chinese phonetics, Hindi lexicography, and Hindi literature. Another specialized area concerns the theoretical and cultural foundations of traditional Chinese medicine, studied through primary Chinese sources. The institute collaborates with Czech universities in teaching and researcher training, and it organizes lectures and other events for the public. It also maintains a branch office in Taiwan through cooperation with the Institute of History and Philology of Academia Sinica. Its overall positioning is that of a specialist, internationally connected public research center that links Czech scholarship with the study of Asian and Middle Eastern societies and intellectual traditions.

The Oriental Institute in Prague was created during the early period of the Czechoslovak Republic, when the country sought to establish scholarly and practical links with Asian and Middle Eastern societies. Act No. 27/1922, adopted by the Czechoslovak parliament on 25 January 1922, defined the institute's purpose as the cultivation and development of scientific and economic relations with the Orient. Its establishment received support from Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. The institute's early institutional structure was formalized in 1927, when the president nominated its first 34 members. The initial scholarly community included specialists whose work helped shape Czech and Central European Oriental Studies, among them Bedřich Hrozný, Alois Musil, Jan Rypka, and Moriz Winternitz. Their fields ranged from the ancient Near East and Arabic-speaking regions to Iran, South Asia, and the languages and literatures of Asia. Publication and library activities became central to the institute's identity. Archiv Orientální published its first issue in 1929 and developed into a major scholarly journal devoted to Oriental and African Studies. The institute's general library opened in 1931, providing a research base for specialists and supporting the accumulation and use of primary and secondary sources. In 1945, the institute began publishing Nový Orient, a Czech-language periodical that continues to represent its public and scholarly communication activities. A major administrative transition occurred in 1952, when the institute was incorporated into the newly formed Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. This strengthened its position as a national research institution while connecting its work to the wider academic infrastructure of the socialist-era state. In 1992, shortly before the separation of the Czech and Slovak parts of Czechoslovakia, the institute became a constituent organization of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, now known as the Czech Academy of Sciences. In its contemporary form, the institute is organized into Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia departments. Its geographic scope includes the Arab world, Iran, Israel, Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Mongolia, the Himalayan region, and the ancient Near East. Research is interdisciplinary, combining historical and philological approaches with the study of religion, philosophy, politics, literature, linguistics, and culture. The institute's religious-studies portfolio covers Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and religions of the ancient Near East. Researchers also examine how religious traditions operate in modern social and political contexts, including Islamic reformism, fundamentalism, Hindu nationalism, communalism, and the Buddhist and Islamic dimensions of Southeast Asian politics. Language research includes quantitative linguistics, Chinese phonetics, and Hindi lexicography, while literary research places particular emphasis on Hindi literature. The institute has also pursued research into the theoretical and cultural foundations of traditional Chinese medicine using primary Chinese sources. Alongside research and publishing, the institute cooperates with Czech universities on teaching and training. It organizes lectures and public events to communicate specialist research beyond the academic community. Its international profile includes a Taiwan branch office maintained through cooperation with Academia Sinica's Institute of History and Philology. The institution therefore functions both as a Czech national research center and as a participant in international scholarship on Asia and the Middle East.

• 1992

  Joined the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  Shortly before the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the institute became a constituent institution of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

• 1952

  Integrated into the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  The institute became part of the newly established Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences.

• 1945

  Nový Orient founded

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  The institute began publishing Nový Orient, a Czech-language journal issued three times annually.

• 1931

  General library opened

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  The institute opened its general library to support research and scholarly access to materials on Asian and Middle Eastern subjects.

• 1929

  Archiv Orientální begins publication

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  The institute issued the first number of Archiv Orientální, which became an important journal in Oriental and African Studies.

• 1927

  First members nominated

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  The first 34 members of the institute were nominated by the president, giving the young institution a formal scholarly community.

• 1922

  Institute established by Czechoslovak legislation

  [1]Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org

  Act No. 27/1922, passed on 25 January, established the Oriental Institute to develop scientific and economic relations with the countries and cultures of the East.

A specialist public research institution within the Czech Academy of Sciences, focused on interdisciplinary study of Asian, Middle Eastern, and related ancient and modern cultures.

• Scholarly journal · 1929

  Archiv Orientální

  Archiv Orientální is the institute's principal scholarly journal and one of its longest-running publication activities. It covers Oriental and African Studies and provides a venue for research on the histories, languages, religions, cultures, and societies of Asia, the Middle East, and related regions.

• Czech-language journal · 1945

  Nový Orient (New Orient)

  Nový Orient is a Czech-language periodical founded in 1945 and published three times a year. It communicates research and analysis concerning Oriental and Asian cultures to Czech-speaking academic and general audiences.

• Academic research

  Research programs

  The institute's research programs are arranged around the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia. They cover history, philology, linguistics, literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural studies, and the study of ancient Near Eastern civilizations.

1. 1Oriental Institute (Prague)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republicorient.cas.cz