Introducing the work Luc Van Tien through color illustrations.

Professor Pham Quang Minh - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, giving the opening speech (Photo: KL)

Attending the ceremony were: Professor Phan Huy Le, Honorary President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association; Professor - Doctor Pham Quang Minh - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities; Professor Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature; along with representatives from the French Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and a large number of faculty members and students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Pham Quang Minh, Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, expressed his honor to welcome Professor Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature, who, during his visit to Vietnam, attended the launch ceremony of the work Luc Van Tien.

Professor Pham Quang Minh, PhD, stated that in 2011, during a visit to the French Institute Library, Professor Phan Huy Le, a historian from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, was introduced to some valuable documents, including a manuscript with incredibly fresh, distinctive, and delicate illustrations, despite having been created more than 100 years ago. Professor Phan Huy Le was extremely surprised to discover that this was the famous Vietnamese work, Luc Van Tien, which had been kept in this library for over a century without anyone knowing about it.

This illustrated manuscript of the Tale of Luc Van Tien originated from the idea of ​​a French naval artillery captain named Eugène Gibert in the late 19th century, while he was in Vietnam. Fascinated by the famous literary work of the poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu, he organized the creation of a handwritten manuscript of this renowned epic poem in both Nom script and French, with illustrations by a Vietnamese man named Le Duc Trach, between 1895 and 1897. Upon returning to France in 1899, Gibert donated this work to the French Institute Library, where it has been preserved to this day. After a period of collaborative research by French and Vietnamese scholars, the French School of Far Eastern Studies (EFEO) decided to publish this manuscript as a two-volume book, divided into three parts: part one (volume one) is the illustrated epic poem, part two (volume two) contains Gibert's commentary, and part three is the printed version of the epic poem. This is one of the first Vietnamese literary works of the 19th century to be published in three languages: Vietnamese, English, and French; thereby contributing to its widespread dissemination to readers around the world, helping them to better understand the significance of this work.

Professor Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature, highly appreciated Professor Phan Huy Le's contribution in discovering the value of the work Luc Van Tien, which is displayed at the French Academy Library.

 Professor Michel Zink, Permanent Secretary of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature, giving a speech (Photo: KL)

Reviewing the formation and development of the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature, Professor Michel Zink stated that, with a tradition of research in linguistic history, philology, and archaeology, the Academy has consistently gathered source materials from various countries, including Eastern countries, among them Vietnam. It can be said that the work "Luc Van Tien" is one of the famous and representative works of Vietnamese literature displayed at the French Academy Library. The publication of "Luc Van Tien" in French has contributed to helping French readers better understand the meaning and develop a greater affection for Vietnamese literature.

Sharing his memories of visiting France in 2011 and discovering a handwritten manuscript of the Luc Van Tien epic in color, Professor Phan Huy Le said that the manuscript, titled "The History of Luc Van Tien," was illustrated by Le Duc Trach and presented to the Institute on May 26, 1889, by French naval artillery captain Eugène Gibert, who had worked in Hue (Vietnam). The manuscript contains verses of Luc Van Tien in Sino-Vietnamese script, surrounded by illustrations of Vietnamese folk art, clearly reflecting the content of each poem. The manuscript is very colorful. “Recognizing this as a valuable work, I requested permission to study it and wished to collaborate with the French Institute of Far Eastern Studies to publish it. In 2016, with the Institute's approval, the work was published in two volumes: the original in Han Nom script and a Vietnamese translation into French and English, including notes from researchers,” said Professor Phan Huy Le.

On this occasion, Vietnamese and French speakers also shared and exchanged with delegates and students about the long-standing origins, discovery process, and special historical, cultural, and linguistic value of the Luc Van Tien work.

Khanh Lan