The significance of celebrating EFEO in Vietnam

To recount more than a century of research that the French École Française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO) has carried out in Vietnam, it is necessary first to expand the timeline, to place this particular history within the general history of the Institute, or more generally, the history of Oriental Studies in France at the time of its founding. If the field of Vietnamese studies has attracted attention and undergone many changes, it is largely thanks to the development of the EFEO itself. On the contrary, if, right from its inception, the EFEO has shone in the “Far East” region with a desire to thoroughly understand this region, it is thanks to the enthusiasm of the first members of the Institute, who have been present in Hanoi since 1902 and who themselves have created the intellectual and material premises for a long-term existence that allows for scientific investment over a long period of time and on a continental scale throughout Asia. The subsequent researchers who followed were instrumental in exploring and assimilating the rich realities on the ground and forging close relationships with Vietnamese scholars and traditional elites – the inheritors of a local culture and knowledge that had hitherto been unknown in the West. In this regard, the history of EFEO and the history of Vietnamese studies are intertwined, to the point that they tend to be seen as one and inseparable.

Cover of the book "A century of research history at the French School of the Far East". (Photo: Jackie Chan)

Recalling the activities of EFEO in Vietnam, it is necessary to first return to the origins of this agency to recall what was the initial tendency of the Institute as well as what is called its identity today with the presence of the Institute in Asia. This is also a way to better understand the scientific and organizational aspects of the Institute through the research projects carried out as well as through the emergence of new research fields but at the same time according to the historical conditions, often tragic in Asia, and this has promoted changes and caused temporary interruptions.

This publication does not go against the tradition of commemorating an anniversary or a major scientific event. Nor is it the first publication to recount the path that EFEO has taken since its founding. Quality synthesis studies that have marked the history of EFEO have been collected so much that we do not have the ambition to bring anything truly new. We only wish to present to our readers a summary of the period of commemoration of the 20th and 50th anniversaries of the Institute. These two events originally took place in Hanoi and Saigon, and there were a number of special articles published in the Institute's journal or in some journals published by colleagues at that time in Saigon. The centenary of the founding of the EFEO was celebrated in 2001 in Paris with a major conference and with the publication of two special issues of the BEFEO (LXXVII) on research on the threshold of the year 2000. Two special editions were devoted to the missing synthetic assessments. The first,A century of Asian studies. French École française d'Extrême-Orient, 1898-2000introduces the tendencies and works of EFEO. Volume two,Asian researchers,introduced, in the form of a catalogue, the faces and personal journeys of all the scientific members of EFEO, along with a list of all those who have collaborated with EFEO since its establishment. The anniversary of EFEO was also simultaneously celebrated in Vietnam at the initiative of the EFEO Center in Hanoi through an exhibition and the publication of a bilingual publication,Looking back at a century of scientific research, the French School of the Far East in Hanoi 1900-2000 - L'École française d'Extrême-Orient à Hanoi 1900-2000, regards croisés sur un siècle de recherches,with the support of the National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities, now the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, of the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, to recall the origins of this Institute.

Going beyond memories is never in vain, as Catherine Clémentin-Ojha and Pierre-Yves Manguin write in the introduction to the bookA century of Asian studies,EFEO became the object of study as a completely separate section at the turn of the 20th century. Experts in intellectual history or in the sociology of knowledge had a completely new perspective on the activities of the EFEO and on the political and social environment of the time by pointing to the difficult balance between maintaining autonomy and the inherent indifference towards all research activities in the humanities in the special context of the French colonial exploitation of Indochina. In the context of the universal criticism of Orientalism that began in the 1970s and then increased sharply at the end of the 20th century and from then on, EFEO was studied from the outside. But for that reason, it is possible to re-evaluate the context of the Institute's scientific output as well as the obvious rearrangements. These critical perspectives allow us to demonstrate, first of all, the undeniable intellectual contribution of the Institute to “Indochinese studies” – not to mention Southeast Asia and its cultural regions – a contribution that still makes up the reputation of the EFEO today. The recognition of the founding members of the EFEO, of its French and Vietnamese patrons, was immense, shared and unanimous.

Professor Yves Goudineau (Director of the French School of the Far East). (Photo: Jackie Chan)

When reading the next part of the past, we will realize that this book is not intended to celebrate the founding anniversary associated with the history of EFEO in Vietnam, but in fact it concludes a series of events that followed during the “France-Vietnam Year 2013-2014” in which EFEO was an important key agency in the cultural and scientific exchange that took place in France as well as in Vietnam. Here, we would like to mention two exhibitions of different scales but complementary to each other that were organized within the above framework. The first exhibition, titled “EFEO - Documents and Fieldwork in Vietnam”, took place in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2013, then in Da Nang in May 2013 and in Hanoi in December 2014). The second exhibition “Vietnam, the destination – photos of the French École française d’Extrême-Orient” was presented at the Cernuchi Museum (Paris, 3-6/2014) and then in Hanoi (Espace and the National Museum of History, December 2014).

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the history and current scientific work of EFEO in Vietnam. Highlighting recent activities allows us to summarize the past 20 years, since EFEO relocated its center in Hanoi in 1992 and, since 2012, inaugurated its new location in Ho Chi Minh City together with the French Development Agency (AFD).

It should also be emphasized that the push for the publication of this book came from the suggestion of Vietnamese colleagues, who have always shown sincere attachment to EFEO and who have written good pages about the history of the Institute. Since the establishment of the Friends of EFEO in 1934, many Vietnamese have joined the association and contributed to the quarterly publication of the journal “Les cahiers de l'École française d'Ex treme-Orient”. In addition to regular collaborators, among the Friends of EFEO, there are also prominent figures such as Nguyen Van Vinh, Pham Quynh, Tran Trong Kim, Duong Quang Ham or Vo Nguyen Giap. Subsequently, for many decades, these people continued to pursue the work of the Institute and always devoted themselves to it during the difficult times of the struggle for independence. They were also the ones who suggested the re-establishment of the EFEO Office in Hanoi in the early 1990s. Among the recent evidences of the recognition of this common heritage, we note the publication in 2009 of a book entirely devoted to the history of EFEO in Vietnam, namelyFrench Academy of the Far East (1898-1957).

Finally, and very special, the “EFEO and Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam” Conference will take place in Hanoi on December 5-6, 2014, initiated by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi, and by its President, Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh, who did not miss the opportunity to enrich our understanding of a shared history. Since the 100th anniversary of the Institute, many new pages on scientific cooperation have been written. We would like to briefly review these activities. In response to this kindness, this book wishes to contribute its own stone to building a better understanding of the exchanges that have always connected Vietnamese research with EFEO.