Levy studied French and Sinology, Hindi and Sanskrit at the Sorbonne, and published numerous translations from the Chinese, including La pérégrination vers l'Ouest (Xiyou ji - Journey to the West) and Fleur en fiole d'or (Jin Ping Mei).

In 1959 he went to Kyoto, where he availed himself of the rich collections of Chinese literature at the Japon Jimbun Kagaku Kenkyûsho library.

In 1974 he received his doctorate in stories and spoken language of the seventeenth century.

He received the bronze medal of the CNRS, and was made Commandeur des Palmes académiques in 1988.

Lévy died in Bordeaux with death published in the Le Monde, 4 October 2017[1]