From November 2 to 4, is held the 2nd international conference of the AlterSEA network on "Engaging research: Collaborations between researchers, activists and citizens", co-organised by Catherine Scheer.

This is a hybrid event, with panels that can be followed from the Maison de l'Asie and others that take place exclusively online. More information on the event.

The XLVI Seoul Colloquium in Korea Studies, organized by the EFEO Center in Seoul, in collaboration with the Royal Asiatic Society, is led by Benjamin Joinau, teacher-researcher at the French language and literature department of Hongik University (Seoul) on the topic: "A Field to Work – The Modalities and the Necessity of Scientific Fieldwork in North Korea".

At 6:00 p.m. (Seoul time), online: register with the EFEO Center to receive the information needed to connect.

Illustration: Pyongyang palimpsest - 2021 © montage by B. Joinau.

EFEO Paris Seminar

Guillaume Dutournier (EFEO) speaks on "'Qu’est-ce que le confucianisme ?' : réflexions sur le discours essentialiste dans la Chine d’hier et d’aujourd’hui".

This seminar is part of the sequence 1: Qu'est-ce que l'Asie ? Aires culturelles, histoire et sciences sociales of the common core of the Master in Asian Studies.

From 9:30 to 11:30. The conference will exceptionally take place in person only, with prior registration required. Grand salon of the Maison de l'Asie, 22 avenue du Président Wilson, 75116 Paris.

Illustration: Left, Taijiquan class under the gaze of Confucius, in a public school (sishu) in Zhangguying, Hunan (© Guillaume Dutournier, in Sébastien Billioud, Varieties of Confucian Experience. Documenting a Grassroots Revival of Tradition, 2018). Right, portrait of Confucius as the Minister of Justice of the State of Lu. Painting on silk, Ming period. Jinan, Shandong Provincial Museum (© Musée national des Arts asiatique - Guimet/Fundació "la Caixa", Confucius. At the Dawn of Chinese Humanism, 2003).

On November 10, the first Seoul Colloquium in Korean Studies in French will be held at Hongik University. It is being organized jointly by the EFEO Centre in Seoul, the Royal Asiatic Society Seoul Branch, and the Seoul branch of the French Association for the Study of Korea.

The seminar will be led by Mathieu Berbiguier, doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles, on the topic "K-pop fans and the repercussions of Hallyu".

Illustration: KPop concert © M. Berbiguier.

As part of the "Kyoto lectures", Olivier Ansart (former professor at the University of Sydney) gives a lecture on the political theory of Japanese Confucian thinker Ogyū Sorai (1666–1728), entitled "Ogyū Sorai (1666-1728): What, and why?".

At 6pm (Japan time) on the Zoom platform. The password for logging in will be posted on the Kyoto Center's blog and the ISEAS website on the 14th.

Christophe Marquet gives a lecture (in Japanese) entitled "Reflections on Inscriptions in Buddhist Paintings of Ōtsu", as part of the East-West Comparative Cultural History on the Transition of Literal Phrases in Popular Images research group (民衆絵画の詞書の変遷についての東西比較文化史) directed by Prof. Hara Kiyoshi (Joshibi University of Art and Design).

From 10am to 12pm, at the Kyoto Centre.

Illustration : The Amitābha Triad, painting by Ōtsu on paper, decorated with five moral poems, circa 18th century, private collection, Japan.

Pablo Ariel Blitstein (EHESS) gives a lecture in Chinese on "A New China in Mexico: 'Preserving the race' in the early 20th century political imagination," organized jointly by the EFEO and the Centre de recherche sur l'histoire culturelle et intellectuelle, Institute of History and Philology (IHP), Academia Sinica.

At 2:30 p.m., Room 703, Research Building, IHP, Academia Sinica, Taipei.

Pablo Ariel Blitstein (EHESS) gives a lecture in the conference cycle French Historical Research and the Modern Era organized by the EFEO and the Institute of Modern History of the Academia Sinica. His talk (in Chinese) is entitled "China, the Americas, and the vicissitudes of liberal ideas on the two sides of the Pacific (late 19th-early 20th century)."

At 2.30 pm, Conference Room 1, Archive Building, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei.

In November the EFEO will sign, through the Bangkok Centre, an MOU with the Office of the Royal Society of Thailand (Ratchabandit Sapha, formerly known in France, before its reorganization, as the Royal Thai Institute).

This agreement will serve as a basis for medium-term scientific cooperation between the two institutions, including in particular an exchange of sources and publications, the organisation of colloquia, exhibitions or study days, and the hosting of scientific personnel between the two institutions. In the short term, the EFEO will collaborate in the creation of a documentation and information base in Bangkok concerning the Office of the Royal Society and its history since its creation.

Illustration: From left to right, Dr. Santi Pakdeekham, Acting Secretary General of the Office of the Royal Society of Thailand, and Grégory Kourilsky, Head of the EFEO Centre in Bangkok.

On November 5 the final workshop of the ANR-funded project BROGLASEA (Bronze and Glass as Cultural Catalysts and Tracers in Early Southeast Asia, c. 1000 BC to c. AD 500) will be held at the EFEO Centre. AD 500) funded by the ANR. This workshop will be organized by Thomas Pryce (CNRS UMR 7065) and Pi Venunan (Silpakorn University).

As the 22nd CONGRESS OF THE INDO-PACIFIC PREHISTORY ASSOCIATION (IPPA22) is being held in Chiang Mai from November 6 to 12, 2022, the EFEO Centre in Chiang Mai will be hosting a number of scientific events.

On the evening of November 8, the New Zealand Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Jonathan Kings, the CNRS, the EFEO, and River Books Publishing are hosting a reception in honor of Charles F.W. Higham, Professor Emeritus of Archaeology. Professor Higham, of the University of Otago in New Zealand, began his archaeological career in Southeast Asia in 1969 with studies in northeast Thailand and excavations at Non Dua and Non Nong Chik. In a career spanning more than fifty years, Professor Higham has transformed the understanding of the prehistory of Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Illustration: Charles Higham (with Armand Desbat and Christophe Pottier) on his excavation of Ban Non Jak in 2016 (©Christophe Pottier).

On November 13 the EFEO Centre will host a round table organized by the National Geographic Society in collaboration with the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association (IPPA). The discussion will focus on paleoanthropological research in South and Southeast Asia.

Upcoming events:

- November 4: "The Third Indochina War and the Making of Present-Day Southeast Asia" by Vũ Minh Hoàng

Contact : Olivier Tessier

The J. Gonda Foundation has invited Dominic Goodall to give the 29th Gonda Lecture on Friday 18 November from 4 to 5.30 pm at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW Trippenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal 29, 1011 JV Amsterdam). He will address the theme 'Kālidāsa's Kingship among the Khmers'.

On November 29, Frank Muyard (EFEO) will give a lecture entitled "Analysis of the November 2022 municipal and regional elections in Taiwan and their political impact", organized jointly by the EFEO and the Taipei branch of the French Centre for Research on Contemporary China (CEFC) at the RCHSS, Academia Sinica.

Phakhanxay Sikhansay (Director General of Lao Heritage), Viengkèo Souksavatdy, Christine Hawixbrock, Brice Vincent and David Bazin carried out a mission to Savannakhet from 17 to 21 October in order to carry out an exhaustive inventory of the various items that make up the "Treasure" of Nong Hua Thong.

From October 22 to November 15 Christine Hawixbrock will be carrying out a post-excavation mission at the EFEO Centre in Vientiane to study the archaeological material unearthed on the site of Vat Sang'O 5 (Vat Phu) during the excavation campaign that took place from February 28 to May 1.

From November 1 to 11, Maric Beaufeist (heritage architect) and Vissa Chanthaphasouk (architect and doctoral student) are conducting an expert assessment mission for the various restoration projects of the CHAMPA project: Savannakhet museum and Vat Taleo Kao (Savannakhet province), the "Library" of Vat Meuang Kang (Champassak) and the temple of Houay Sa Houa 2.

Nicolas Nauleau (archaeologist associated with the EFEO), accompanied by Raneth Hong (ceramologist at the EFEO Centre in Siem Reap) and Armand Desbat (director of research emeritus at the CNRS) will be carrying out post-excavation operations at the Houay Sa Houa 2 site from November 9 to 18, and will be supervising a training course on the study of ceramics at Champassak. Nicolas Nauleau and David Bazin will conduct a reconnaissance of the Nong Hua Tong site (the "Treasure" site) in order to plan excavation operations there in early 2023.

Christian Fischer (Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA) will provide training in Champassak from November 14 to 22 in the conservation of collections (analysis, documentation, organization and needs of a workshop), as well as an evaluation of the collections of the Vat Phou Museum for the establishment of a conservation and management action plan.

Christophe Pottier and Michel Lorrillard will take part from November  12 to 16 in Vientiane and Savannakhet in discussions with the CHAMPA project supervision mission by the new national and regional AFD project managers.

On November 23, Élisabeth Chabanol is participating in the organisation of a study day entitled L’archéologie en Corée. Histoire, institutions et sites at the Department of Korean Studies of the University of Bordeaux Montaigne, intended for teacher-researchers and students.

The topics of the papers are:
- "Archaeology in South Korea" by Bae Kidong (former director of the National Museum of Korea, Icomos, Seoul);
- Archaeology in the colonial period" by Arnaud Nanta (CNRS);
- Underwater archaeology in South Korea" Damien Péladan (Bordeaux Montaigne);
- Archaeology in North Korea, history and international cooperation" Élisabeth Chabanol.

Illustration: Royal tombs and enclosures, Nûngsan-ri_2015 © Cultural Heritage Administration.

On November 10, Arlo Griffiths will give a lecture at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in the Georg Bühler Lectures series. His lecture will be on the topic: 'Looking forward to a digital database of South and Southeast Asian Epigraphy'.

Illustration: Rāṣṭrakūṭa-Inschrift in Kuknur, im heutigen Bundesstaat Karnataka © Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0/ Dineshkannambadi.

Arlo Griffiths will go on a 10-day mission, from November 15 to 25, to the province of East Java to prospect and document inscriptions from the Airlangga reign. His team will consist of the following members: Titi Surti Nastiti (BRIN), Hedwi Prihatmoko (BRIN), Lisda Meyanti (BRIN), Adeline Levivier (EFEO), Eko Bastiawan (EFEO). This mission also takes place in the framework of the ERC DHARMA project.

Illustration: Kusambyan inscription, photo by Eko Bastiawan.

On November 8, François Lachaud will present a paper entitled "Surgis du passé: le retour des morts dans le Japon moderne et contemporain" at the Cycle 3 Les religions et la mort de l'Institut d'étude des religions et de laïcité.

Illustration: Ghost under a weeping willow [colours on silk, anonymous, detail (ca. 1830), private collection.

On November 8, François Lachaud will host the opening lecture given by Shuko Koyama, curator at the Edo-Tokyo Museum, "Vivre avec les animaux à Edo-Tokyo aux XVIIIe et XIXe siècle", for the exhibition Un bestiaire japonais, which is being held from November 9, 2022 to January 21, 2023, at the Maison de la culture du Japon in Paris.

Pierre-Yves Manguin will give a lecture on November 4 at the 1st Summer Course on Austronesian Today of the Department of Maritime History of the Diponegoro University of Semarang (Indonesia), on the theme: "Ancient Austronesian shipping technology and its contemporary legacy".

From October 24 to November 30, Dominique Soutif will lead excavation campaigns at the Prei Prasat and Krol Romeas sites in Angkor (Cambodia). This work is part of the Yaśodharāśrama archaeological missions (MAEE, ERC Dharma; coll. Chea Socheat, APSARA, Julia Estève, ITK/ISIC, Bangkok and Edward Swenson, University of Toronto) and Krol Romeas (coll. Chea Socheat, APSARA).

Illustrations: Overall view of the interior of the Krol Romeas enclosure and a detail of the wall.

From November 3 to 7, he will participate in the Second International Symposium on the Hydraulic City, organised in Tokyo by Professor Yoshiaki Ishizawa (Sophia University), director of the Sophia Asia Center for Research and Human Development.

From October 22 to November 1, Nicolas Fiévé went in Cambodia. He met with the Cambodian authorities in charge of Culture, Research, and Heritage, with the EFEO's main scientific partners in Cambodia, and with the directors and staff of the Centres.

Illustration: His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni and Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO. Credits: Royal Palace of Cambodia.

He met with His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, who received him in a royal audience. The Director expressed the gratitude and appreciation of the EFEO to His Majesty the King for his constant support. His Majesty the King warmly thanked the EFEO for its efforts to promote Cambodian heritage.

Illustration: From left to right, His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, Mr. Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO, Mr. Jacques Pellet, French Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Pierre Vincent, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action, Mr. Valentin Rodriguez, Deputy Director of the French Institute in Cambodia. Credits: Royal Palace of Cambodia.

He also met with the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Ms Phoeurng Sackona, as well as with the directors of the National Museum of Cambodia, Mr Chhay Visoth, and the APSARA National Authority, Mr Hang Peou, in charge of protecting Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In addition to research, teaching and training (such as epigraphy, archaeology, philology, history, etc.) are major areas of historical and future cooperation between the two countries, in which the EFEO plays an essential role. Nicolas Fiévé discussed these topics during talks with the rector, Mr. Heng Sophady, and the vice-rector, Mrs. Men Chandevy, of the Royal University of Fine Arts (URBA).

During his visit to Phnom Penh, Nicolas Fiévé also visited the Fonds pour l'Édition des Manuscrits du Cambodge (FEMC) at the Vatt Uṇṇālom, run since the 1990s by Olivier de Bernon, whose mission is to locate, inventory, microfilm-digitise and ensure the conservation of ancient manuscripts in Cambodia.

Illustration: Surrounded by FEMC staff, Nicolas Fiévé consults the volumes of the Provisional Inventory of Cambodian Manuscripts.

The Director then signed a framework agreement with Pierre Vincent, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action and Director of the French Institute of Cambodia.

Illustration: From left to right, Brice Vincent, head of the EFEO Centre in Siem Reap, Pierre Vincent, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action, and Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO. Credits French Institute of Cambodia.

It marks the desire of our two institutions to strengthen their cooperation and their patronage of the arts and heritage.

Illustration: From left to right, Bertrand Porte, head of the EFEO Centre in Phnom Penh, Pierre Vincent, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Action, Jacques Pellet, French Ambassador to Cambodia, Nicolas Fiévé, Director of the EFEO, Brice Vincent, head of the EFEO Centre in Siem Reap, and Valentin Rodriguez, Deputy Director of the French Institute in Cambodia. Credits French Institute of Cambodia.

The library is opened Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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.

The EFEO Paris library just published online the inventory of archives of Baphuon restoration project!

Illustration: Baphuon restoration programme, restored elevation (BAP/B/269).

You can discover documents resulting from activities of architect Pascal Royère (1965-2014), during this project led by EFEO in Cambodia, from 1995 to 2011.

Illustration: Inspection of the Baphuon site by Pascal Royère and his colleagues (BAP/D/A).

These archives include administrative records, minutes, reports, plans, photograph albums and negatives.
The inventory is available on our dedicated website as well as on Calames.

Illustration: Restoration of the Baphuon (BAP/D/A).

The photographic exhibition Louis Finot et le Yunnan is installed on the first floor of the EFEO to the end of December 2022. Some fifty photographs present the trip that Louis Finot (director of the EFEO and then acting director on several occasions between 1898 and 1930) probably undertaken in the 1920s to Yunnan fou (now Kunming). These photographs are a selection of those presented by Alain Arrault in the photographic album Mémoires de Chine (EFO/Magellan, 2022).

The writing of Mémoires de Chine also allowed Alain Arrault, with the help of Vianney Le Goaziou, to provide information on the 850 stereoscopic glass plates of the Louis Finot collection taken in China. These pictures have just been put online on the photo library website.

Illustration: Street cobbler, Kunming, China, between 1910 and 1930, Fonds Louis Finot (EFEO_FINL02841).

You can access the replay of the documentary "Angkor et les mystères de l'empire khmer" broadcast on France 5 in the Science grand format programme, in which Damian Evans and Christophe Pottier are among the speakers. This documentary looks at lidar technology, a laser remote sensing system, and how its application to Angkor has led to new discoveries.

The latest issue of Pattrika, the Bulletin of the French Research Institutes in India No. 56 (October 2022) is online.

The bilingual (French/English) database "Connoisseurs, Collectors and Dealers of Asian Art in France, 1700-1939" created by the Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) has been put on line.

The EFEO has contributed to it by writing notes on Jean-Yves Claeys, Louis Finot, Édouard Huber, Henri Marchal, Henri Maspero, Paul Mus and Henri Parmentier. They were written by Lucie Labbé and Christophe Marquet.

You can watch the round table that took place on 12 October presenting the database on the INHA's YouTube channel.

Registration is opened for the MASA 2022 : Fabriquer, exploiter, diffuser, archiver et réutiliser des données archéologiques, to be held in Tours from November 30 to December 2, 2022, until November 15.

Registration is free but required.

Through feedback (management of excavations, post-excavations, publications), papers will take into account all or part of the dimensions proposed in the title and the relationships between them: making, using, disseminating, archiving, reusing. They will focus in particular, but not exhaustively, on the issues that constitute for archaeological research :
- the archiving of digitized and digitally native media ;
- the reconfiguration of obsolete information systems;
- the reuse of data for archaeological research and beyond;
- corpus-publication relations.