EFEO Newsletter

Newsletter

February 2025

Content

Research news
- Agenda
- Centres
- Researchers
- Projects
- Lectures
- Publications
- Researchers' publications
- Research Services

Staff and service news
- Director
- Staff
- Library
- Photo Library

Of particular note
- The EFEO leaves X and arrives on Bluesky
- Playlist "Savoirs GREI"
- Péninsule 88/89 (2024)

News from the ResEFE

Research news

Agenda

Wednesday 12 February - Kyoto

As part of the "Kyoto lectures", Lucia Dolce (SOAS) will give a lecture on "How to Perform Innate Awakening. The Consecration Rituals of Medieval Tantric Lineages".

The event is organised by the EFEO, ISEAS and the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.

At 6pm (Japan) or 10 am (France), on site and online on the Zoom platform. Login details are posted on the Kyoto Center's blog.

Wednesday 19 February - Taipei

Pierre-Emmanuel Roux (Université Paris Cité, on secondment to the EFEO) will give a lecture (in Chinese) entitled "Smugglers and the Spread of Catholicism across the Qing-Chosŏn Border in the Mid-19th Century: The Cases of Korean Priests Kim Taegŏn and Ch'oe Yangŏp."

Lecture organized jointly by the EFEO and the Center for Research on Customs, Religion, and Daily Life of the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica.

At 3 p.m., Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica.

Kiyosu castle keep (Aichi prefecture), rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1989 (© D. Womscheid, October 2023)

Thursday 27 February - Seoul

The LXIII Seoul Colloquium in Korea Studies, organized by the EFEO Center in Seoul, will be led by Delphine Womscheid (architect and researcher at the Institut français de recherche sur le Japon, Maison franco-japonaise de Tokyo (UMIFRE 19, MEAE-CNRS)) on the topic "Rebuilding Japan's military heritage: an architectural and social history."

At 6:00 p.m. (South Korea), Grand Conference Room (#310), Asiatic Research Institute, Korea University: register with the EFEO Center.

Illustration: Kiyosu castle keep (Aichi prefecture), rebuilt in reinforced concrete in 1989 (© D. Womscheid, October 2023).

Centres

Chiang Mai

On February 5th and 7th, the Chiang Mai Centre will be hosting some fifteen European Union diplomats for a series of talks and meetings to discuss current political issues, organised by the EU delegation in Bangkok.

From February 2nd to 13th, Phongsathorn Buakhampan (research assistant at the Centre) is taking part in a study trip to Isan on the culture of Isan Dhamma scriptures, in collaboration with the Ancient Documents Study Centre.

From February 15th to 20th, Phongsathorn Buakhampan is leading a field mission for the research project on the inscriptions and archaeology of the Fang river basin, in collaboration with Apiradee Techasiriwan (Creative Lanna Center, Chiang Mai University), Wiwan Saengchan (Buranawipat Limited Partnership) and Phra Athikarn Chalongwut Chittawutto (Venerable of Vat Som Suk).

Illustration: Vat Som Suk, Fang District.

From February 24th to March 1st the Chiang Mai Center will be hosting, for the second consecutive year, the Winter School in Buddhist Textual Scholarship.

Led by Gregory Kourilsky (EFEO), Costantino Moretti (EFEO), Marta Sernesi (EPHE-PSL) and Vincent Tournier (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), this intensive teaching programme aims to provide the twenty students selected with the methodological foundations needed to carry out research in philology, codicology and epigraphy in the field of Buddhist studies.

Pondicherry

2nd Tamilex Conference:
Reflections on words and their meanings

Workshop: February 10-12 (text encoding and manuscript transcription)
Lecture: February 13-14 (in person at the EFEO, Pondicherry, and online)

As part of the Tamilex project Establishment of an electronic corpus of classical Tamil literature and the corresponding historical lexicon, informed by emic exegetical and lexicographical sources (2023-2046), a project of the CSMC (Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures) Hamburg funded by the German Academy, the EFEO (École française d'Extrême-Orient) and the IFP (Institut français de Pondichéry) will be organizing the 2nd Tamilex conference in Pondicherry. The event will begin with a three-day workshop focusing on intensive training in text encoding and manuscript transcription. Participants will have the opportunity to visit the IFP's manuscript collection and attend demonstrations on manuscript preservation, maintenance and proper handling.

The conference will take place on February 13 and 14, both in person at the EFEO in Pondicherry and online. Researchers from all over the world will come together to share their research, either in person or remotely. The inaugural address will be given by Y. Subbarayalu and G. Vijayavenugopal, and will highlight their pioneering work in creating a comprehensive dictionary of Tamil epigraphy.

The two-day programme includes the following lectures:
On February, 13:
• Y. Subbarayalu & G. Vijayavenugopal – Keynote presentation on epigraphic Tamil
• Jean-Luc Chevillard – On the source material and organizational principles of the "Divākaram - Piṅkalam - Sūṭāmaṇi dictionary table"
• Suganya Anandakichenin – The Making of a Tamil Manipravalam Dictionary
• S. Saravanan – Introduction and Semantic Evolution of Selected Words in the Kalittokai in Caṅkam Literature
• Roland Ferenczi – From sheep to bird: The semantic history of the word varuṭai
• Renato Dávalos & Vigneshwaran Muralidaran – Measuring the Minute: An Examination of the Fractional System in Tamil Epigraphy
• Charles Li – The poetics of doors, in Old Tamil and beyond
• T. Rajeswari – Unripe fruit hidden behind the leaves

On February, 14:
• Eva Wliden – On the Use of iṉi (‘now’) with the So-called Past Tense
• Anna Smirn itskaya – The polysemy of the verb kēḷ ‘to hear’, ‘to ask’ in the Naṟṟiṇai and in Modern Tamil
• V. Ramprashanth – Sonorant Gemination in Old Tamil and other Dravidian languages
• Nikolay Gordiychuk – Semantically vague noun modifiers in Old Tamil: can they be classified as intensifiers?
• Iona Macgregor & Neela Bhaskar – Does ‘epic’ Tamil exist?
• K. Nachimuthu – Words, Grammar, Meaning and Implicature in the Tirukkuṟaḷ In light of Parimēlaḻakar’s Commentary
• Leo Rishi Nelson-Jones – What we talk about when we talk about mukkaṭ kūṭṭam
• Indra Manuel – Verbs related to worship in first millennium Tamil

This event serves as a platform for reflection to assess Tamilex's achievements over the last two years and to identify future objectives within the project and beyond.

Image of Sarasvatī becoming a river to destroy the sacrifice Brahmā is conducting at Kanchipuram, maṇḍapa of the Varadraja Perumal temple (Viṣṇu), India.

Workshop on the legends of the town of Kanchipuram

As part of the "Hindu Temple Legends in South India" project run by the Heidelberg Academy in collaboration with the EFEO and funded by the German Academies, a workshop will be held from February 17th to 19th, during the visit of part of the German team, namely Ute Huesken, Jonas Buchholz and Aneesh Raghavan. These included discussions and reading sessions with the Pondicherry project team (Paras Mehta, T. Rajarethinam, M. Vigneswaran, S. Vishnupriya, S.A.S. Sarma and Dominic Goodall).

Illustration: Image of Sarasvatī becoming a river to destroy the sacrifice Brahmā is conducting at Kanchipuram, maṇḍapa of the Varadraja Perumal temple (Viṣṇu), India.

Site visit to the DiPiKA project in Thrissur

Eva Wilden (CSMC, University of Hamburg and PI of the DiPiKA project), accompanied by Jean-Luc Chevillard and several other participants from the Tamilex conference, will be visiting the Vadakke Madham Brahmaswam in Thrissur for a guided site visit of the DiPiKA project from the 16th to the 18th of February 2025.

DiPiKA is a collaboration between the Vadakke Madham Brahmaswam (Vedic Research Centre) in Thrissur, the École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO, Paris and Pondicherry), the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library (HMML, Collegeville, Minnesota) and the CSMC. This project, funded by Arcadia for a period of five years, aims to preserve the rich and highly endangered written heritage of Kerala.

The project involves identifying and digitising palm-leaf and paper manuscripts held in private collections across the state. The digitised collections will be integrated into a digital repository, creating an online archive of Kerala's manuscripts, accessible free of charge to researchers and private owners. This initiative will also support local efforts to safeguard historic written artefacts in the region.

Activities

On February 1st and 2nd, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will present a paper on traditional Sanskrit grammar entitled "Samānakartr̥kayordhātvarthayoḥ pūrvakāle (pā.sū.3 .4.21) iti pāṇinisūtrārthavicāraḥ" at the Chatusshastrasabhā, Kanchikamakotipeetham in Vijayavada.

On February 12th and 13th, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will also present "Kr̥tātyaye'nuśayavān dr̥ṣṭasmr̥tibhyāṁ yathetamanevaṁ ca Iti (Bra. ū.3 2.8) Brahmasūtrārthavicāraḥ" at the Raghavanarayasastri Smarka-Advaita-Sadas event in Gunturu (AP).

From February 22nd to 25th, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will present "Ubhayaprāptau karmaṇi (pā.sū. 2.3.66) iti pāṇini sūtrārthavicāraḥ" at the Sri Vijayendrasarasvatisvaminam Janmadinotsava-Sabha in Sankarmatham-Kanchipuram.

On February 27th and 28th, S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma will be invited to be an examiner for the Vyākaraṇasāstraparīkṣā, organised by Brahmasri Ramasubrahmanya-Shastrigal in Kanchipuram (T.N).

Annette Schmiedchen (IAAW, Humboldt University, Berlin) and Amandine Wattelier-Bricout (Centre d'Études Sud-Asiatiques et Himalayennes CESAH [UMR 8077] ; CNRS, Aubervilliers) will be coming to South India in February 2025 as part of the DHARMA project (The Domestication of ‘Hindu’ Asceticism and the Religious Making of South and Southeast Asia; ERC N°809994) to continue their studies of the history and epigraphy of India from the 6th to the 13th century.

Florinda De Simini (Università ‘L'Orientale’, Naples) will be coming to Pondicherry to discuss publications prepared as part of the Śivadharma project (ERC N°803624), for which she is the PI.

Public presentation in the library of S. Ramapriya

First doctoral defence at the Pondicherry Centre

A historic moment for the Pondicherry Centre, Ms S. Ramapriya will receive her provisional doctoral diploma in February, marking an important milestone. She conducted her doctoral research at the Pondicherry Centre (under an affiliation with the University of Pondicherry) under the supervision of R. Sathyanaryanan. His thesis, entitled The Saṅgrahavedāntanāmastotra and its commentary Saṅgrahavedāntarakṣā of Śrīmannārāyaṇamuni - A Critical Edition and Study, was submitted last year, and its defence took place on the 24th of January 2025 in the Library Hall at the Pondicherry Centre. This is the first PhD completed under this affiliation. Two other students, H. Venkataraman and Sushmita Das, have also submitted their theses and their defences are scheduled in the coming months. These developments testify to the recognition of our institution and its involvement in higher education in India.

Siem Reap

Mélanie Theillet, an intern from the École du Louvre, has been with the Centre for three months since January 15th, working on documentation, archiving, conservation and research.

As part of the MAFKATA and LANGAU archaeological missions, the Centre is hosting Laura Docquier (doctoral student in archaeology) until February 22nd.

Since January 22nd, and for a period of one month, plinth workers Emmanuel Bougenaux and Laurent Laly have joined Benoît Lafay and Éric Bourdonneau to continue the restoration and plinth work on the Dancing Shiva statue from Koh Ker.

Seoul

From February 10th until July 2025, the Seoul Centre will be welcoming Oriane Durand-Poussin, a student at the École nationale des chartes-PSL, as part of her end-of-studies internship, followed by an Erasmus stay. In particular, she will be helping to manage the Centre's collections of books, periodicals and documents.

Vientiane

Catherine Raymond, art historian and former director of the Center of Burmese Studies (Northern Illinois University), will be taking part in the project to enhance the collections of the Ho Phra Kaeo in Vientiane from February 3rd to 14th. Her expertise will initially focus on analysing and providing information on the main items to be displayed as part of the museum's new layout.

Researchers

Olivier de Bernon

Olivier de Bernon is in Cambodia until March 1st to take part in the ceremonies for the inauguration by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni of the renovated premises of the former Fund for the Publication of Manuscripts of Cambodia (FEMC) at Vatt Uṇṇālom, which becomes the Institute for Research and Conservation of Cambodian Manuscripts (វិទ្យាស្ថានស្រាវជ្រាវនិងអភិរក្សសាស្ត្រាសលឹករឹតខ្មែរ).

Élisabeth Chabanol

On Wednesday 26th February, Élisabeth Chabanol will be taking part in a round table discussion entitled "The dynamics of change in Japanese and Korean cities, between renovation and reconstruction", organised by the Club for Reflection and Research on Korea at Hongik University, Seoul.

Illustration: City of Pyongyang, 8 September 2019 (© É. Chabanol).

Frédéric Girard

Frédéric Girard is taking part in the international Italian-French-Japanese symposium on The art of tea, homilies and historical portraits, organised by Professor Kuranaka Shinobu, (Daitō University, Tōkyō), to be held on February 24th at the Maison de l'Asie and on the 25th and the 26th at Inalco.

Illustration: Yūgaotei 夕顔亭 teahouse in Kenrokuen garden, Kanazawa.

Arlo Griffiths

On February 7th, Arlo Griffiths will be speaking on "Assembling and Editing an Epigraphic Corpus: Early Inscriptions of Āndhradeśa" at the Multiple ways of reading Texts and Tablets (Inscriptions) conference organised by the History Department of the Central University of Hyderabad, in India.

From February 16 to 17, he will be taking part in the Economic Transformation Strategy International Seminar (JETSIS) 2025, to be held in Jambi. His paper is entitled "Maritime links between Sumatra and Buddhist monasteries in India in the light of two inscribed strips of copper from Muara Jambi."

Benoît Jacquet

On February 1st, Benoît Jacquet will give a lecture entitled "The carpenter and the architect: a history of wood construction in Japan" at the University of Hawaii School of Architecture in Mānoa, as part of Kevin Nute's Asia Pacifique Architecture seminar.

Illustration: Kuan tea pavilion (chashitsu) (2003), architect Fujimori Terunobu, Tokushōji monastery, Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto. Photo © Benoît Jacquet, 6 June 2024.

Kuan tea pavilion (chashitsu) (2003), architect Fujimori Terunobu, Tokushōji monastery, Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto. Photo © Benoît Jacquet, 6 June 2024.

François Lachaud

François Lachaud gives a paper on "La Sorcière et les mangeurs de serpents" at the study days Réinventions croisées des yôkai 妖怪/ yaoguai 妖怪 / yogoe 妖怪 요괴 en Asie orientale de 1900 à aujourd’hui : art et illustration au-delà des stéréotypes graphiques et narratifs organised by Mary Picone (EHESS), Marie Laureillard (Université Paris Nanterre), Vincent Durand-Dastès (Inalco), Michael Lucken (Inalco) on the 7th and 8th of February, at Inalco (2, rue de Lille, 75007 Paris).

Illustration: Cross-reinventions of yôkai/ yaoguai/ yogoe (© Marie Laureillard).

Christophe Marquet

Christophe Marquet will be giving a talk on "Japonisme et art du dessin à travers les Albums-Reiber (1878)" at the colloquium Japonisme et imprimé en France, co-organised by the Faculté des Lettres de Sorbonne Université and The University of Tokyo, on February 21st and 22nd, at the Maison franco-japonaise and the University of Tokyo (Komaba campus).

Illustration: Le premier volume des Albums-Reiber. Bibliothèque portative des arts du dessin, 1876-1878 (© C. Marquet).

Costantino Moretti

Costantino Moretti has been invited to Stanford University from February 11th to the 14th to give a lecture on "Mix-ups and Touch-ups in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Manuscripts."

Christophe Pottier

Christophe Pottier is travelling to Angkor from February 9th to 15th to carry out a new campaign of sedimentological sampling, as part of the environmental DNA research with members of the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre in Copenhagen, part of the Franco-Khmer Archaeological Mission on the Development of the Angkorian Territory (MAFKATA).

Illustration: Samples taken in 2023 in the northern basin of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Projects

CHAMPA project

Christine Hawixbrock, Director of the French Archaeological Mission in Southern Laos, will be in Laos from February 5th to April 15th to carry out a second excavation campaign at the pre-Angkorian site of Vat Sang'O 3 on the outskirts of the ancient city of Vat Phu (Champassak province, Southern Laos) as part of her mission and the CHAMPA EFEO/AFD project.

Illustration: Vat Sang'O 3 archaeological site (27 March 2024) (© CHAMPA project).

Tongbang Phengsavath, colour retouching on a Shiva bull on display at the Vat Phou Museum - (Siva bull: Ban Vat Luang Kao (inv. VLK I 369) (© CHAMPA project).

Bertrand Porte is continuing his mission in Laos until February 6th, working on the inventory of collections in preparation for the extension of the storeroom and the refurbishment of the Vat Phou museum as part of the CHAMPA project. He is also supervising the restoration of objects (cleaning, reassembly, consolidation).

Illustration: Tongbang Phengsavath, colour retouching on a Shiva bull on display at the Vat Phou Museum - (Siva bull: Ban Vat Luang Kao (inv. VLK I 369) (© CHAMPA project).

Vissa Chanthaphasouk, Vilasak Phongsawat and Sybounheuang Phimmaseng taking the GCP (Groud Control Point) for the photogrammetry of the Vat Phou site (© CHAMPA project).

Vissa Chanthaphasouk (architect and EFEO doctoral student) continues the photogrammetric survey of the temple of Vat Phou with the help of the LIDAR team.

Illustration: Vissa Chanthaphasouk, Vilasak Phongsawat and Sybounheuang Phimmaseng taking the GCP (Groud Control Point) for the photogrammetry of the Vat Phou site (© CHAMPA project).

Vissa Chanthaphasouk is also assisting Maric Beaufeist with the supervision of the Vat Meuang Kang and Houay Sa Houa 2 worksites.

Illustration: Design and installation of explanatory panels on the palisade of the Vat Muang Kang restoration site (© CHAMPA Project).

Nicolas Nauleau (archaeologist and EFEO doctoral student) is in Champasak from February 17th for a fortnight of study and prospecting, mainly on the enclosures of the ancient town of Champasak.

The LIDAR team led by David Bazin is continuing to integrate field data from recent and pre-2000 surveys into the GIS. It is also continuing fieldwork in the areas of urban concentration recently mapped by Adam Wijker (archaeologist and EFEO doctoral student - Archaeoscape.ai).

As part of the conservation work planned this year at Huay Sa Houa 2 by the CHAMPA project, a Laotian engineer from the Vat Phou division, Bounsouang Senphaseuth, and two Laotian technicians, Vansouk Keophan and Kommalien Sivilay, will be taking part in a training course on the conservation and restoration of ancient bricks. The training will be provided by the Wat Chaiwatthanaram Conservation Project of the World Monuments Fund in Ayutthaya, Thailand, from February 10th to April 6th.

Brice Vincent is supervising the radiographic analysis mission of the Savannakhet treasure, from February 2nd to 7th, with the participation of David Bourgarit (archaeometalurgist-C2RMF), Elsa Lambert (radiologist-C2RMF), Dominique Robcis (conservation scientist-C2RMF), as well as four members of the Thai welding institute, in collaboration with a representative of the Vientiane heritage department, Souliphane Bouraphane, and members of the DICT of Savannakhet province.

ChEDiL project

On February 6th Michela Bussotti will be taking part in the seminar Histoire des sciences, histoire du texte, organised by Karine Chemla and Edgard Lejeune (SPHERE), on "Les formes multiples des dictionnaires manuscrits sino-européens avant 1813."

Michela Bussotti and Shueh-Ying Liao will be taking part in the BnF DataLab welcome day for research projects in residence, which takes place on February 11th at the BnF, François Mitterrand site, for a presentation of the ManjuGisunTranscript project.

Lectures

Alain Arrault and Michela Bussotti
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire culturelle de la Chine impériale tardive : textes techniques et prescriptions du quotidien

Véronique Degroot
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Introduction à l'histoire de l'art et à l'archéologie de l'Indonésie occidentale: protohistoire et période hindo-bouddhique

Hugo David
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Implicite, ambiguïté, polysémie. Introduction à la philosophie linguistique de Bhartṛhari

Andrew Hardy
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire de la colonisation du Vietnam : approches micro-biographiques ?

Benoît Jacquet
- Master 1 seminar, Japanese Architecture, Kyoto Consortium for Japanese Studies, Columbia University (NY) / université Dōshisha (Kyoto)

- Master 2 seminar, Introduction au Projet de fin d’études (PFE), at the École nationale supérieure d’architecture de Paris-La Villette

Fabienne Jagou
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Nationalisme tibétain et mongol à partir du début du XXe siècle

François Lachaud
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Vies de Ryōkan : bouddhisme, poésie et érémitisme dans le Japon d'Edo

Martin Nogueira Ramos
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Sources et histoire du christianisme japonais (XVIe-XVIIe siècles)

- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Histoire religieuse et intellectuelle du Japon (1600-1900) : Atelier de lecture de textes

Christophe Pottier
- Master's seminar at Sorbonne University, Actualités et pratiques de l'archéologie en Extrême-Orient

Catherine Scheer
- EHESS seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Faire de la recherche sur le terrain : contraintes, contournements, engagements en Asie du Sud-Est

Vanina Bouté (EHESS/CASE) will give a presentation entitled "Croiser histoire et anthropologie dans la recherche sur le terrain. Exemples à partir des marges de l’Asie du Sud-Est continentale"

Saathak Singh
- EPHE seminar in the framework of the Master's degree in Asian Studies, Architecture de l'Inde médiévale, c. 400-1400 : problématiques et perspectives d'étude

Publications

BEFEO 110 (2024)

Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient 110 (2024), EFEO, 436 pages.

Summary :

In Memoriam

Bruno Dagens (1935-2023), by Vincent Lefèvre & Christophe Pottier

Articles

- Csaba Dezső & Harunaga Isaacson, "The namaskārapaddhati of the Sūktimuktāvalī. Studies on the Sūktimuktāvalī I: Verses of Obeisance"
- Chloé Chollet, "Des ermites aux pieds du dieu : nouvelles données archéologiques et épigraphiques au Phnom Preah Netr Preah"
- Claudine Ang, "The Problem of Authorial Attribution: A Study of the Nôm Poems of Hà Tiên"
- Annabel Teh Gallop, "Royal Malay Edicts from Aceh: Sarakata from the 17th to 19th Centuries"
- Damien Chaussende, "Édifier dans la vérité. La fonction de l’histoire dans la Chine classique selon Liu Zhiji (661-721)"

Notes et chroniques

- Inventaire des indications de direction cardinale du Cambodge ancien
(Sébastien Clouet, Julia Esteve, Christophe Pottier, Dominique Soutif & Brice Vincent)
- Le juste prix. Note sur le système monétaire en Chine et au Vietnam
(François Thierry)
- Montesquieu et la Chine : un débat qui n’est pas clos (introduction au texte de Xu Minglong par Isabelle Landry-Deron)
- À propos de Montesquieu et de la paternité des "Quelques Remarques sur la Chine que j’ay tirées des conversations que j’ay eües avec Mr. Ouanges" (Xu Minglong)
- Nécrologie de Xu Minglong (Wu Min 吳旻 & Han Qi 韓琦)

Lecture critique

Une perception tierce de l’histoire du Koguryŏ disputée entre Chine et Corée (Yannick Bruneton)

All EFEO publications are available on the publications website.

Publications website

Researchers' publications

S.L.P. Anjaneya Sarma, "Gurukṛtam upakāraṁ kiṁcid atra smarāmi", in Preetikusumanjali – Dr. R. Krishna-murti SastriNam Asityabda (80 years) purti Commemorative Volume, edited by Dr. Lalita Sarma R., 2025, pages 49-60.

Titi Surti Nastiti, Churmatin Nasoichah, Andri Restiyadi, Hedwi Prihatmoko, Arlo Griffiths, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan, Adeline Levivier & Tyassanti Kusumo Dewanti, Survei Prasasti Zaman Hindu-Buddha, di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta dan Provinsi Jawa Tengah, tahun 2023, Jakarta, KPG (Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia), Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional (BRIN), Organisasi Riset Arkeologi, Bahasa dan Sastra, EFEO.

Research Services

Recipients of allocation on mission

- Ulysse Barthel is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "Les religions dans l’empire des Kuṣāṇas (début du Ier siècle – milieu du IIIe siècle de notre ère) : divinités, sanctuaires, cultes"

- Vissa Chanthaphasouk is based at the Ventiane centre for a study on "Le Vat Phou au Laos : de l'archéologie d'un temple à l'architecture d'un site"

- Léo Mugneret la Gravière is based at the Hong Kong centre for a study on "(Re)construire une diaspora : l’État-Parti chinois et la communauté hakka de Polynésie française"

- Solène Nicolazo de Barmon is based at the Pondicherry centre for a study on "Les monuments excavés brahmaniques du pays Andhra, du IVe au IXe s. de notre ère"

- Akarsh Raghunath is based at the Jakarta and Bangkok centes for a study on the "Mapping Synchronism in the Visual Arts of Tamiḻakam and Śrīvijaya (7th—12th century CE) - with special reference to Buddhism"

- Wenjing Yu is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "Travailler avec les savoirs vernaculaires face au changement climatique : enquête dans une ONG chinoise du Yunnan"

- Ye Yuan is based at the Beijing centre for a study on "La (re)production de l'espace religieux avec les dieux territoriaux, dans le centre du Hunan XVIIIe-XXe siècles"

Staff and service news

Director

Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO, will be visiting Cambodia from February 11th to 27th. He will be attending the inauguration by His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni of the renovated premises, after 8 months of work, that house the Institute for the Study and Conservation of Cambodian Manuscripts, formerly the FEMC, which Olivier de Bernon has directed since 1990. Nicolas Fiévé will meet H. E. Mrs Phoeurng Sakona, Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, and Mr. Jacques Pellet, French Ambassador to Cambodia, before visiting the EFEO Center in Siem Reap and the Koh Ker site for talks with the EFEO's official partners.

Library

Katia Juhel, Director of Libraries, will give feedback on the water damage that occurred at the EFEO as part of a PSL workshop on emergency plans on the morning of February 6th. The workshop will be open to library and museum staff from PSL institutions.

The EFEO Paris library

The EFEO library in Paris is open at its usual times from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.

Please make your book reservation requests via the catalogue and your archive consultation requests via the request form on the website page, bottom left.

Consult the catalogues and digital tools :
- Catalogue of books and periodicals
- Catalogue of Archives and Manuscripts
- Digital heritage library

Check the EFEO's Facebook page and Twitter account regularly for any updates on the terms and conditions of the public reception service.

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The curator Henri Marchal and the draughtsman from the Angkor Conservation Department (Kraham Phichay?) on the Banteay Srei Damdek worksite in June 1952 (EFEO_CAM01679).

Illustration: The curator Henri Marchal and the draughtsman from the Angkor Conservation Department (Kraham Phichay?) on the Banteay Srei Damdek worksite in June 1952 (EFEO_CAM01679).

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Of particular note

The EFEO leaves X and arrives on Bluesky

The École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) is ceasing its activity on the X network (formerly Twitter). This decision is due to the editorial evolution of the platform which, by breaking with the European code of good practice against online disinformation, has become incompatible with the values of a French public institution of higher education and research. Like several universities and higher education establishments, the EFEO has therefore decided to cease having an active account on the X network, a decision put into practice on the 20th of January 2025.

You can continue to follow us on Bluesky (@efeo-paris.bsky.social) and on our other social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

The EFEO leaves X and arrives on Bluesky

Discover the playlist "Savoirs GREI : l'actualité des études indiennes de la Sorbonne Nouvelle" featuring portraits of four members of the Groupe de Recherches en Études Indiennes (GREI).

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Péninsule 88/89 (2024)

Issue 88/89 (2024) of the journal Péninsule. Études interdisciplinaires sur l'Asie du Sud-Est has just been published.

This double issue, entitled Ce que porte le sol asien : Paul Mus et la fabrique de l'ethnologie, looks at the relationship between the Orientalist and his work and the ethnology of the inter-war period, as well as anthropology and the social sciences in the post-war period.

Réseau des Écoles françaises à l'Étranger

Fourth newsletter

The fourth newsletter dedicated to digital humanities and open science in the EFE network is now online. This newsletter brings together information about initiatives specific to the French Schools Abroad in this field, as well as scientific events, online resources, calls for projects, publications and training courses likely to be of interest to our community.

This newsletter is distributed via the hn-efe@listes.huma-num.fr mailing list, to which you can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.

You can also submit information relating to digital humanities and open science via this list: it will be included in the next newsletter or distributed immediately, depending on the urgency of the matter.

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