Vietnamese Scholars being Staff of the École Française d’Extrême-Orient

Abstract

The French School of the Far East (École française d’Extrême-Orient - EFEO, 1898-1957) was the first agency for Far East cultural and humanity studies, inclusive of three Indochinese countries. Through its 60 years of existence in Vietnam, apart from French scholars proficient in Chinese and Vietnamese, who were formally trained at universities and major scientific institutes in Paris, EFEO also located Vietnamese staff with erudite knowledge and excellent research ability, also known as the first generation of Vietnamese scholars on Vietnamese studies. Although their names were not necessarily included in all EFEO publications as they held modest positions according to the EFEO personnel regulations, many of them have thereafter been highly recognized by both the French and Vietnamese intellectuals. The paper introduces some Vietnamese scholars who worked f or the EFEO during its residence time in Hanoi.