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Series Major figures of the past, Alexandra David-Neel. Ticket

Alexandra David-Neel, 1868-1969

Lamp of Wisdom

feminist and libertarian Theosophist (1) and Freemason (2) .

That opera singer to become a writer or journalist himself, it is conceivable, but in the early twentieth th century, it was marginalized by being Orientalist-Tibetologist finally become explorer (it said "digger" at that time) and is the first Western woman to clandestinely sent to Lhasa, "that really comes out of the ordinary! Centenary of his disappearance, she had just renewed his passport ...

Who is she?

Louise Eugénie Alexandrine Marie David was born October 24, 1868 (Saint-Mandé), under the Second Empire, the union of a Protestant school teacher, Louis David, and over fifty Brussels a young, devout Catholic. The couple bears no real consensus, lives like two strangers and Mrs. David feels no affection for the little Nini who grew up in a sad and mean, even full of wickedness. The boarding school will be an issue for her.

To avoid making the reading, we deliberately occultons declination below the voluminous literary output of Alexandra David-Neel, preferring to engage in future, a comprehensive bibliography which aims to:

• 1874 : Boarding school in a Calvinist, in Ixelles, Belgium.
• 1876: Converted (?) Of Protestantism, a boarder at the convent of Blois -Fleuri.

During these years, his religious studies the lead very quickly to mysticism and discovers - already - in the course of his readings of Eastern philosophy. By his own admission, she submits to practices Carmelites who tempers the body (she sleeps on a bed of boards) and open mind ...

• 1883: Fugue from Ostend, the east direction: it will still, at age 15, to the edge of Lake Maggiore, Italy!
• 1886: Enrolled at the Royal Conservatory of Music Brussels.
• -: share in Brussels ... and bike tour of Spain!
• 1888: Presentation to the Court Belgium.
• 1889: First prize for singing French theater.
• -: Trip to London, met Mrs.. Morgane the Company Gnosis Supreme and conducts research Orientalists. Contacting (date unknown) to the Theosophical Society of Madame Blavatsky.
• 1890: Back in Paris, enrolled at the Sorbonne, where she took classes at the Ecole des Hautes Studies on Eastern civilizations. The friend of his father, Elisha reclusive him opens the doors of the Guimet Museum , decisive meeting! It adheres to Buddhism.
• 1891: First trip: Ceylon, India! She sees the heights of the Himalayas?
• 1892: June 7, at Adyar, it adheres to the Theosophical Society.
• 1893: Meeting with Annie Besant.
• 1895: begins and continues under the name of Alexandra Myrial a career as an opera singer in Hanoi in Indochina, where she performed a repertoire Tier: Traviata, Lakmé, Carmen, Thais, etc..

• 1897: Back in Paris, lives with pianist Jean-Haustont.
• 1899: November, three months of commitment to Opera Athens.
• 1900: July, Opera Tunis. Alexandra made the acquaintance of Philip Neel St-Sauveur, Engineer-in-Chief of Tunisian Railways. .
• 1902: Takes direction Casino Tunis and puts an end to his singing career.
• 1904 : August 4, married Philip Neel (3) . For years, she is continuing her activities Orientalist publish in the Mercure de France at The Fronde , to the daily Soir of Brussels and the 'Dawn .
• -: the 11 or 7 days after her marriage, goes only to visit the Alps!
• -: 16, Alexandra is in Paris while Philippe off again in Tunis, only ...
• -: December 21, his father died. Back in Tunis.

A pause to take stock: the couple will not be happier in love than his childhood, but the differences are large, impressive: Philippe Neel accepts a separation De facto, remains a loyal friend and will somehow be the steward of support base of long (up to 14 years ...) escapades of his singular wife. And it follows that this last point is particularly important, therefore, a correspondence which begins this August 11, 1904 and which ends at the death of Philip occurred in 1941! Complicity in real friendship.

• 1905: Gives a talk at Congress of the Free Thought in Paris.
• 1907 to 1910: Many trips (Paris, Belgium, Tunis, London, Switzerland, Rome) and intense literary activity.
• 1911: Departure from Tunis to Colombo on August 9, a second life will arise. Visit to the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, another encounter with Annie Besant.
• 1912: Meeting April 15, the XIII th Dalai Lama visit North Bengal
• . -: First "tour" on the northern slopes of the Himalayas and Nepal, and Christmas in Kathmandu.
• 1913: Expedition to Sikkin, Bhutan.
• 1914: North Sikkin. First meeting with Aphur Yongden then aged 15 years.

• -: October, at the border of Tibet, she moved into a cave and lived a life of asceticism and meditation. She studies and applies the Tsam the Toumo.

• 1915 : Installs Dewa to Teng-where she will live 20 months as a hermit and follow the teachings of Lachema Gomchen
• 1916: First shipment of prohibited land company Yongden, Shigatzé it reached July 16.
• -: September, returning to Calcutta, Rangoon visit.
• 1917: Visit Malaysia , Haiphong, Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kobe, and then became head of Japan, Kyoto, Tokyo, Nara.
• -: October, arriving in China, moved provisionally in Beijing.
• 1918: Meeting with Gourong Lama Tsang and his company and that of Yongden, visit the monastery of Schao-Lin-Sse. June 25 happens to Sining, July visit the monastery of Kumbum.
• 1919-1920 : Kumbum monastic and literary activity.
• 1921: January 5, after leaving the monastery for more than two years of residence. It's epic journey to Lhasa alone deserves an article documented.
• 1922 : Passage of hard collars and Poumo Dze, in August, to rarrive Kanchow halted and prolonged.
• 1923: Start in January, direction Lanchow Chengtu it reaches June 18, exhausted. She hits the road July 14 to the south-west, crossed the Mekong River.
• 1924: February, beyond the Brahmaputra, Lhasa!

• 1925: Back in France, arrived at Le Havre on May 10 It's a heroine, a celebrity! Cycles receptions, conferences, and ... the Legion of Honor .
• 1926 and subsequent moves with his adopted son, Yongden in Toulon to Mazots, is devoted entirely to the work of writing.
• 1928: Buying a smallholding in Digne, she named Santem -Dzong (Fortress of meditation) where it installs its Buddhist oratory.
• 1931 to 1936: Travels in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium. Tempted a time by the Cruise yellow organized by André Citroën, and then she gives back to North Africa for some time.
• 1937: Takes the Transsiberian , visiting Warsaw, Moscow, Manchuria. The Japanese invaded China , Alexandra and Yongden arrive at the monastery of Pou Satinga.
• 1938: Leak before the Japanese arrived, back up Ichang by river, continue through Chengtu then Tatsienlou. It will stay there 5 years!
• 1941: February 8, death of Philip Neel.
• 1945: July 27, along with Yongden, flight to Yunnan (this is their baptism of the area!). The Japanese surrendered on August 15.
• -: September 23, flight to Calcutta, settled there.
• 1946: Back in France, where it lands on 1 st July, back to Worthy October 10. It's the end of the second period, the busy retirement awaits.

This third time is devoted entirely to writing (see bibliography).

• 1955: Premature death in 56 years Yongden November 7.
• 1959: Arrival of the devoted Mary Magdalene Peyronnet, come to some days, it will remain until the end (still manages House Museum Worthy ).
• 1961: Ties of Commander in the Order of the Legion of Honor.
• 1969: September 8, she breathed his last, it was 101 years old and had just renew his passport!

His character was not easy, self-centered Similarly, but his thinking with its shares listed forever Alexandra David-Neel in the pantheon of "those exceptional people and authentic that it is rare."

His ashes, mixed with those of Yongden, summers have piously spread upon the waters of the Ganges by the faithful Mary Magdalene Peyronnet.

(1) : Theosophy of HP Blavatsky.

(2) : Selo n-Valabrègue Landraux Jackie, his biographer, which unfortunately does not give sources. Nor Jean Chalon, who writes: "She runs, she gallops [...] among the Rosicrucians as among the Freemasons." I fear confusion with the 18th degree Masonic Scottish Rite International. In this Order, it will reach even the 33rd.

In fact, Alexandra itself confirms his membership in Freemasonry (briefly) in the first volume of his Journal of Travels on page 167 of the edition Plon, 1975.

(3) : Neel (NEL) and non-Neel (Nile) in English as written and spoken too often.

Biographical Sources:

- Chalon, Jean, The Shining fate of Alexandra David-Neel, Paris, Librairie Academic Perrin 1985.

- David-Neel, Alexandra, Journal of Travel, 2 vols, Paris, Plon, 1975/1976.

- MARCHAND, Joelle-Desiree, Alexandra David-Neel, Paris, Arthaud, 1997.

Features:

- Official site, http://www.alexandra-david-neel.org/index_stat.htm

- Video: DVD Alexandra David-Neel, "the woman with soles of wind", Fondation Alexandra David-Neel.
- Last interview: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xd6f5o_alexandra-david-neel_webcam
- http://www.ubest1.com/index.php?video_user=25436

Bibliography: (according Wilkipedia)
Note: the titles and names of publishers are those of the current editions. For a more formal bibliography, even scholarly, reference is made to the official website said

below.

§ ; 1898 : For Life - reflections on all the facts (Editions "night red)

§ 1909 : Feminism rational (Éditions "night red)

§ 1921 : Buddhism Buddha ( Publishing the Rock)

§ ; 1927 : a Parisian trip to Lhasa (Plon)

§ 1929 : Mystics and Magicians in Tibet (Plon)

§ ; 1930 : Initiations lamaic ; (Pygmalion)

§ 1931 : Life

superhuman Gesar of Ling: The Iliad of Tibetans

(Editions du Rocher) - with collaboration Lama Yongden § 1933 : In the land of brigands gentlemen (Plon)

§ ; 1935 : Lama at five wisdoms (Plon)

§ ; 1938 : magic of love and black magic (Plon)

§ 1939 : Buddhism: its doctrines and methods (Editions du Rocher)

§ ; 1940 : Under storm clouds (Plon)

§ 1949 : At the heart of the Himalayas ;: Nepal (Pygmalion)

§ 1951 : Astavakra Gita - reissued (date unknown) into a single volume "

Astavakra Gita - Avadhuta Gita

, poems Vedantic Sanskrit "by Editions du Rocher § 1951 : The Secret Teachings of Tibetan Buddhist (Pygmalion)

§ 1951 ;: India yesterday, today, tomorrow

§ 1951: India where I lived (Plon)

§ ; 1952 : Tibetan Texts unpublished (Pygmalion)

§ 1953 : Old Tibet against China new

(Plon) § 1954 : The Power

of nothingness, a novel Yongden Lama, translated and annotated by AD-N. (Plon) § ; Grammar of the Tibetan language spoken

§ 1958 : Avadhuta Gita - reissued (date unknown) into a single volume "

Astavakra Gita - Gita Avadhuta

, Vedantic Sanskrit poems" to Publishing the Rock § 1958 : Knowledge

transcendent

(Pygmalion) § ; 1961 : Immortality and Reincarnation (Editions du Rocher)

§ ; 1964 : Forty centuries of expansion Chinese (Plon)

§ ; 1970 : In China - universal love and Individualism full (Plon) - posthumous edition

§ 1972 : Spells mystery (Plon) - posthumous edition

§ ; 1975 : Living in Tibet cuisine, traditions and images (Publisher Robert Morel, Apt) - posthumous edition

§ 1999: Greater Tibet and vast China (Plon), 1139 p. (

ISBN 2-259-19169-X ) (includes several of his books, the first of 1921, the last in 1946) - posthumous edition § 2000 : Correspondence with her husband, 1904-1941 edition (Plon), posthumous edition, containing both previously published volumes:

§ 1975 : Travel Journal: Letters to her husband, August 11, 1904 to December 27, 1917. Vol. 1 (Ed. Mary Magdalene Peyronnet)

§ 1976 : Travel Journal: Letters to her husband, 14 January 1918 to 31 December 1940. Vol. 2 (Ed. Mary Magdalene Peyronnet)

Illustration: the multitude of reproductions (repeated in one or several versions) published on the internet make ridiculous and pretentious a reference whatsoever.