Claude was born on 20 July 1942 in
Chanceaux to Roger and Suzanne Hudelot, both of whom were teachers. He lived in
Burgundy from 1942 to 1951,
French Algeria from 1951 to 1956, and the
French Riviera from 1956 to 1961. He spent his secondary studies in
Bombay in 1961 and 1962. Upon his return to France, he earned a degree in English and visited China for the first time. He took courses in Chinese at the
Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales, earning his degree in 1967 and obtaining a master's degree in contemporary Chinese history in 1969. In 1975, Hudelot became a producer for
France Culture. He produced numerous radio shows, such as "Après-midi de France Culture", "Nuits magnétiques", "L’heure du laitier", and "Poètes : vos papiers". In 1981, he participated in "Trottoirs de Buenos-Aires" and produced "Désirs des arts" from 1982 to 1983, which was also broadcast on . In 1984, Hudelot became director of the
House of Culture of
La Rochelle. There, he developed projects on themes of contemporary dance, plastic arts, photography, and the audiovisual. He was also a partner of the , directed by
Jean-Loup Passek. In 1985, he published the
La Longue Marche vers la Chine moderne collection with
Éditions Gallimard. In 1987, he participated in the 13th
National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and broadcast the event for French audiences on Antenne 2. At the end of 1987, Hudelot was appointed director of the
Rencontres d'Arles. The 1988 program was titled "La danse, la Chine, la pub", and the following year it focused on the last 20 years of the Rencontres (1969–1989). In 1989, he left the festival. In 1990, Hudelot returned to France Culture as a producer, conducting the final radio interview of
John Cage. He then co-directed the program
La Planète Alberk Kahn for
France 3. In 1994, he was appointed cultural attaché at the Embassy of France in Beijing. In 1994, he was appointed director of the Institut Franco-Japonais du Kansa, where he organized exhibitions and events in
Kyoto and
Kansai, such as the works of the photographer
Lucien Clergue. In 1995, he organized the Kyoto International Film Festival, which displayed over 100 films and paid tribute to
Auguste and Louis Lumière,
Jean Renoir,
Ken Loach, and
Nagisa Ōshima. The event was supported by the
Cinémathèque Française. He also co-founded the Académie de musique française de Kyoto. Hudelot returned to France in 1998 and produced multiple radio shows based on his experiences in China and Japan. He once again returned to France Culture in 2000 and produced
Le Bon Plaisir de Zao Wouki à Shanghaï. In 2002, he co-released "Hou Bo, Xu Xiaobing, photographes de Mao" alongside Jean-Michel Vecchiet. In 2002, he was again sent to be a cultural attaché in China, this time at the French consulate in
Shanghai, a position he held until 2007. The final chapter was dedicated to the image of
Mao Zedong in contemporary art. In 2009, he was a guest on
Radio France Internationale for the series "La saga Mao". He then opened various blogs on
Rue89,
Mediapart, and
Le Monde.fr. Claude Hudelot died in
Bali on 15 August 2021 at the age of 79. ==Publications==