Vietnam in the early 20th century through documents of French scholars

55 photos and dozens of artifacts of great archaeological value, preserved and researched by the French School of the Far East, were displayed and introduced in Hanoi.

With the approval of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Museum of History in collaboration with the French School of the Far East (EFEO) organized the exhibition “Vietnam’s Perspective – Vietnam in the early 20th century through documents of the French School of the Far East”. The opening ceremony of the exhibition took place on the afternoon of December 3, at the National Museum of History and the French Cultural Center in Hanoi.

EFEO's photo archive is rich in material and spread across many countries such as Vietnam, Laos, India, China... Currently, EFEO's collection includes about 30,000 photos of Cambodia, 7,000 of Vietnam, 3,000 of China, 3,000 of Laos and a large number of India. Part of these documents have been digitized.

Images of Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery in Quang Nam province are displayed at the exhibition.

The visual materials used for this exhibition in Hanoi include 55 photos carefully selected from the aforementioned massive archive. The original photos were taken using classical methods such as shooting on silver bromide-coated glass film, negative film on large format, medium format cameras... All photos have been digitized and restored.

The content of the photos displayed here is divided into four main parts: Archaeology, Museum Construction, Life in Vietnam in the early 20th century, and Nam Giao Altar Ceremony.

Images recording the excavation of Ho Dynasty Citadel, included in EFEO's photo archives

Part 1 - "Archaeology" records the archaeological work and restoration of relics by Far Eastern scholars at relics in Vietnam, including important archaeological discoveries of the Champa and Oc Eo cultures. Part 2 - "Building museums" includes photo documentation of the museums that EFEO has built. From its establishment to its departure from Indochina, EFEO has built 8 museums in the region, 5 in Vietnam alone, including the National Museum of History today.

The largest number of photos in the exhibition are those in the third part - "Life in Vietnam in the early 20th century" introducing images of a folk culture. These are agricultural rituals, festivals that ensure the connection between generations, ceremonies to commemorate the village's tutelary gods, ancestor worship, funeral ceremonies or scenes of daily life, old Hanoi streets...

The photo captures the whole view of Hanoi flooded in 1926.

In addition, the images of the fourth part - "Nam Giao Altar Sacrifice Ceremony" also attract attention with documentary images of the Nam Giao Altar Sacrifice Ceremony, performed under the 14th year of Bao Dai's reign (1939). The ceremony was always maintained regularly by the Nguyen Dynasty every year in the spring, then interrupted and reorganized by the Nguyen King every 3 years as a Heaven and Earth Sacrifice Ceremony.

In addition to the above visual materials, the exhibition also displays nearly 50 artifacts from the National History Museum, related to EFEO's archaeological and research activities on Vietnamese history such as: thermos cabinets, artifact cards, artifact classification registers, archaeological analysis samples, artifact containers, archaeological excavation logbooks, cameras, glass films, negative films... These are the working tools of former EFEO scholars, currently preserved in the museum.

At the same time, some typical artifacts belonging to the cultures: Hoa Binh, Bac Son, Dong Son, Sa Huynh, Oc Eo, Champa are also introduced at the Museum. These are relics belonging to famous archaeological cultures, discovered and researched by previous EFEO scholars.

Many typical artifacts of cultures in Vietnam are also on display.

Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong - Director of the National Museum of History said: “There are artifacts that have been underground for thousands, tens of thousands of years, deep in nature, which have been brought back for research and preservation at the former Far Eastern Institute of Archaeology, and now in Vietnam. It can be said that we have basically preserved and saved those values. But we are also very sad when there are artifacts that have been affected by nature and war, so the architectural values ​​of cultures such as Cham, Oc Eo... have been greatly lost, compared to the period that we see in the displayed images”.

Several important relics of Vietnam were also discovered by EFEO scientists in the early 20th century. In 1898, My Son Sanctuary was discovered by a Frenchman. Not long after that, EFEO scientists came to study the architecture, sculptures and steles of this relic complex, clarifying questions about My Son, as well as determining the value of the relic. The names of the temple tower areas here (A10, B5...) were all given by EFEO scholars.

A group of workers at the My Son relic site in Quang Nam province

In 1924, EFEO discovered the Sa Pa Ancient Stone Field in Northern Vietnam. To this day, EFEO continues to research and work with the Vietnamese side to find a way to protect the stone field from destruction by locals and tourists.

In addition, EFEO also laid the foundation for the historical museum system in Vietnam. Due to the need to preserve historical artifacts, in 1926, EFEO established the Louis Finot Museum, later known as the Vietnam History Museum, which is also part of the National History Museum today. Similarly in Da Nang, the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture was sponsored by EFEO and established in 1919, named after scholar Henri Parmentier.

Previously, EFEO’s images and documents about Vietnam in the early 20th century were introduced by EFEO in collaboration with the Association of Museums in Paris (France) in the exhibition “Objective Vietnam” at the Cernuschi Museum, Paris from March 14 to June 9 this year. This exhibition is also part of a series of events to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and France, and the Vietnam Year in France 2014.

According to VOV.VN