EFEO Taipei Center

[EFEO TAIPEI] [IHP-EFEO International Conference]
From Funan to Lingnan: Material Flow and Regional Connectivity in Southeast Asia

Date: June 3-4, 2026
時間：2026年6月3-4日
Venue: B1 Auditorium, Museum Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taipei
地點：中央研究院歷史語言研究所文物陳列館B1演講廳
organized by WANG Kuan-wen (IHP), Frank MUYARD (EFEO), HUNG Hsiao-chun (ANU)
由王冠文 (IHP)、梅豪方 (EFEO) & 洪曉純 (ANU)主辦
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Conference Website 研討會網站: https://ihp-efeo-funantolingnan.weebly.com
Registration 報名網址 : https://reurl.cc/Q2N5kb
Deadline: Wednesday May 20, 2026
截止日：2026年5月20日星期三
(Limited number of seats 座位有限)

** Please note that the conference will be held in person only.
No livestream, recording, or remote participation will be offered **
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This gathering brings together archaeologists and specialists in archaeological science to explore the movement of materials, technologies, and ideas across the South China Sea and adjacent regions from the late first millennium BCE through the first millennium CE. By focusing on the interconnected trajectories of Funan, Linyi/Champa, Northern Vietnam, and Lingnan, we ask how maritime and overland routes shaped regional interaction, and how different communities and landscapes participated in, and responded to, these multi-scalar processes.

Hosted in Taipei and co-organised by the Research Center for Taiwan and Southeast Asian Archaeology, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica (IHP) and the École française d’Extrême-Orient (EFEO, French School of Asian Studies), the conference also aims to strengthen scholarly exchange and to create space for future collaboration across research communities working on the South China Sea connectivity.

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Organizers | Taiwan and Southeast Asian Archaeology Research Center, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica; EFEO - French School of Asian Studies (École française d'Extrême-Orient).
Co-organizer |"Austronesian Connections: A New Horizon for Interdisciplinary Research" NSTC Academic Development Platform Project
Sponsors | National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), French Bureau in Taipei (BFT)

[EFEO TAIPEI][CEFC-EFEO][Atelier | Workshop]
Journée jeunes chercheurs CEFC-EFEO 2026

Organisée par
le Centre de Taipei de l’École Française d'Extrême-Orient
et l’Antenne de Taipei du Centre d’Études Français sur la Chine Contemporaine

Date: lundi 27 avril 2026

Lieu : Salle de conférence 2, Centre de recherches en humanités et sciences sociales (RCHSS), Academia Sinica

Programme
09:00-09:05- Ouverture & présentation de la journée
Corrado Neri (CEFC) & Frank Muyard (EFEO)

09:05-11:05 ¬– Session 1 : Religions, rituels et institutions morales à Taïwan
Le rayonnement national d’un temple de dieu du sol local : une analyse ethnohistorique des “trois grands temples de Tudi Gong” à Taïwan
Marta Pavone (Institut d'histoire de Taiwan, Academia Sinica)

L'éthique du savon: production monastique et travail des affects à Tzu Chi
Luc Castaneda (EHESS)

Manipuler des marionnettes-divinités exorcistes : premiers fils d’une étude anthropologique des rituels marionnettiques taoïstes dans la société taïwanaise d’aujourd’hui
Léopoldine Klinger (université Paris Nanterre)

11:20–12:40– Session 2 : Fabriques spatiales et régionales sous les Qing
« Séparée par de vastes mers » : la fabrique environnementale de l’impérialisme Qing sur l'île de Taiwan, XVIIe-XIXe siècles
Simon Astrup-Gay (EHESS/EFEO)

Construire un savoir pour le Guangdong périphérique : conscience régionale et identité chinoise dans le projet encyclopédique de Qu Dajun (1630-1696)
Rubén Almendros (Institut de littérature et de philosophie chinoise, Academia Sinica)

13:40–16:20– Session 3 : Anthropologie du terroir et production socio-symbolique
Kastom et Mani : articulation de l’économie de marché à la production du social à Selau, Bougainville, Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée
François-Xavier Faucounau (EHESS)

Une tasse comme une graine plantée : nourrir la culture et les traces dans un monde en transformation
Agathe Lemaitre (Fondation CCK)

Entre standardisation industrielle et cosmologies locales : une étude des chaînes de production, usages et symboliques des carreaux céramiques à Taïwan
Inès Minfray (ENS Paris Saclay/université nationale de Kaohsiung)

L’encre comme objet matériel et matériau de recherche : expérimentations et perspectives
Michèle Leung (EHESS)

16:40–18:00 – Session 4: Savoirs et pouvoirs contemporains
Réinventer les « étudiants » dans les années 1980 à Taïwan : savoirs en démocratisation
Peng Chao-Hsuan (EHESS)

Le discours de vulgarisation scientifique du Parti-Etat chinois : techno-nationalisme culturel et mise en récit historique dans la modernité (2012-2024)
Alexis Franchaud (université Rennes 2)

18 :00-18:20- Discussion générale

Journée animée par
Corrado Neri (CEFC) & Frank Muyard (EFEO)

avec la participation de
Wafa Ghermani (université nationale centrale), Jean-Yves Heurtebise (université nationale Sun Yat-sen), Ann Heylen (université nationale normale de Taiwan), Huang Kuan-ming (Institut de littérature et de philosophie chinoise, Academia Sinica), Paul Jobin (Institut de sociologie, Academia Sinica), Amélie Keyser-Verreault (Institut d’ethnologie, Academia Sinica), Liu Pi-chen (Institut d’ethnologie, Academia Sinica), Beatrice Zani (CNRS) et Elizabeth Zeitoun (Institut de linguistique, Academia Sinica).

et le soutien du Bureau français de Taipei.

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Entrée libre.

Veuillez trouver ci-joint l’affiche et le programme avec les résumés des interventions.

Accès et transports:
https://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/intro/super_pages.php?ID=map1

[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-EFEO Talk 專題演講
Speaker/主講人
Prof. François LACHAUD
Professor, French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)
I.
Topic/講題
What the Bear Knew: Fujito Takeki and the Craft of Presence
Host/主持人
Prof. Eka SUZUKI
Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
鈴木惠可教授（本所助研究員）
Date/日期
December 15 (Wednesday), 15:00
2025年12月15日（週一）下午3:00
Venue/地點
Conference Room 702, Research Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓702會議室
Organizers: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：歷史語言研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心
※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名
Abstract/ 摘要
This presentation examines the evocative artistry of sculptor Fujito Takeki 藤戸竹喜 (1934-2018), who affectionately identified himself as a bear carver. This distinctive self-identification is an insightful lens through which to explore kumabori 熊彫り-the intricate craft of carving wooden bears-within the rich cultural context of Ainu culture in post-Meiji era Hokkaidō. While his work is firmly grounded in venerable Ainu traditions, Fujito's artistic expression resonates with broader narratives of trade, tourism, and ecological awareness, transforming his wooden carvings into subtle yet profoundly moving incarnations of presence.
Rather than situating Fujito's sculptures within the dominant activist narrative in Ainu studies-which often depicts Indigenous material culture as symbols of resistance or remnants of historical oppression-his artistry is better appreciated through the lens of ambiguity rather than clarity, emphasising endurance over resolution. In this intricate context, each carved bear unfolds an alternative narrative that intertwines the lives of humans and animals, the echoes of memory and the complexities of market demand, "ethno-tourism," carving practices, and autochthonous resilience.
What the bear knew was never overtly articulated by Fujito. Nevertheless, his skilled hands reveal a rich, complex story-unfinished, resilient, and deeply rooted in the natural landscape of Hokkaidō.
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II.
Topic/講題
From Folk Belief to Pop Culture: The Making of Yōkai Culture in Modern Japan
Date/日期
December 18 (Thursday), 2025, 14:00
2025年12月18日（週四）下午2:00
Venue/地點
Jixian Hall, National Palace Museum Southern Branch
(No. 888, Gugong Blvd., Taibao City, Chiayi County, Taiwan)
國立故宮博物院南部院區-集賢廳
(嘉義縣太保市故宮大道 888 號)
Organizers: National Palace Museum & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：國立故宮博物院，法國遠東學院臺北中心
※ The talk will be given in French. Registration is not required.
❈此為法文演講，備有中文翻譯，自由入座，無需報名
Abstract/ 摘要
This presentation examines how yōkai—strange beings and occurrences (Ch. yaoguai)—were represented in Edo-period (1603–1868) illustrated bestiaries, collections of curious tales, and works of natural inquiry, and how their meaning changed in later contexts shaped by official cultural agendas. It focuses on the emergence of minzokugaku (folklore studies), a field grounded in the study of local beliefs and practices and influenced by parallel developments in Europe. This new discipline became the crucible in which modern yōkai culture took shape, distinct from earlier efforts to classify or dismiss such phenomena. Within this framework, yōkai came to be seen as part of a specifically Japanese tradition. More recently, the reshaping of “yōkai studies” (yōkaigaku) has reinforced this view and helped position yōkai as a staple of Japanese cultural diplomacy in the West. The presentation concludes by considering how their status has changed over the twenty years between the first major European exhibition—Yôkaï: Bestiaire du fantastique japonais (Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, 2005)—and the current exhibition Yokai: Spirits of Japan at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm (2024–2026).

[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-EFEO Talk 專題演講

Speaker/主講人
Prof. Hubert FORESTIER
Professor, National Museum of Natural History (MNHN), Paris

I.
Topic/講題
Cambodia’s Prehistory as Told by Recent Excavations at Laang Spean Cave

Date/日期
December 3 (Wednesday), 15:00
2025年12月3（週三）下午3:00

Venue/地點
Room 201, Institute of Archaeology, Li-hsing Campus
National Cheng Kung University, Tainan
國立成功大學力行校區考古學研究所R201教室

Organizers: Institute of Archaeology, National Cheng Kung University
& the EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：國立成功大學考古學研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
The Laang Spean cave or ‘bridge cave’ (Battambang Province) is a major prehistoric site for Cambodia and for the prehistory of Southeast Asia. The site was discovered and excavated between 1965 and 1970 by two French archaeologists, Roland and Cécile Mourer (Museum of Natural History (MNHN), Lyon & CNRS-University of Lyon).
After a 45-year hiatus, the Mission Préhistorique Franco Cambodgienne (MPFC) led by Hubert Forestier (MNHN) and Dr. Heng Sophady (URBA-MCFA) reopened excavations in 2009 with the support of the Cambodian Ministry of Culture/Royal University of Fines-Arts, Phnom Penh, the MEAE, the French Embassy of Cambodia, the CNRS and the MNHN.
This talk will place the history of the excavations at Laang Spean cave site in the context of archaeological research in Cambodia, and present the main results recently obtained by the MPFC. The deep stratigraphy (-13 m) reveals four archaeological levels ranging from the Final Upper Palaeolithic (71,000 years ago) to the Hoabinhian (13,000 – 5000 cal BC) and Neolithic (1500 cal. BC) periods.

II.
Topic/講題
Homo Sapiens in Southeast Asia:
The Story of the Emergence of the Hoabinhian Phenomenon

Date/日期
December 4 (Thursday), 2025, 12:30
2025年12月4日（週四）下午12:30

Venue/地點
Room B106, Humanities Building, National Taiwan University
國立臺灣大學人文館B106室

Organizers: Department of Anthropology, National Taiwan University & EFEO Taipei Center.
主辦單位：國立台灣大學人類學系，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
From the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene period in Southeast Asia, inland caves and rock shelters were inhabited by hunter-gatherer groups commonly referred to under the generic term 'Hoabinhian.’ The “Hoabinhian stone culture” was previously recognized, described, and defined by French archaeologist Dr. Madeleine Colani (EFEO) following discoveries made in caves in Hoa Binh province in northern Vietnam in the 1920s-1930s.
During the First Congress of Prehistorians of the Far East in 1932, M. Colani argued for the presence of distinctive archaeological assemblage made on massive pebble tools called ‘Hoabinhian.’ Starting with her first definition, we will look at the development, application and evolution of this technocomplex over almost a century of prehistoric research in Southeast Asia. We will also question how the ‘Hoabinhian,’ within its chronological and cultural context, came to represent the most significant lithic phenomenon of the modern human behavioural during the Later prehistory of Mainland Southeast Asia.

III.
Topic/講題
The Stone and its Shadow: Epistemological Reflections on the Invisible (Unseen) in the Prehistory of Southeast Asia

Date/日期
December 5 (Friday), 2025, 15:00
2025年12月5日（週五）下午3:00

Venue/地點
Room 703, Research Building Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓703會議室

Organizers: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center.
主辦單位：歷史語言研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
Prehistoric archaeology is a science, and as a science it raises epistemological problems and philosophical questions. One of the major problems we have encountered in our studies on the Hoabinhian period in Southeast Asia (40,000-4000 BP), is the question of the objectivity of the representativeness of the lithic implements. The metaphor of “stone and shadow” (Forestier 2020) invites us to reflect on the status and the meaning of the lithic artefact.
The discussion will focus on the ‘stone’s shadow’ which shows what’s missing — the plant, bamboo, or wood — and which makes the stone stand out in the archaeological space.
This talk will begin by recalling the theoretical trajectory inherent in prehistoric archaeology, and will then invite us to reflect on the interpretation of gaps and absences in the Hoabinhian lithic facies. How can we identify and interpret archaeological gaps and lacunae, given that the absence of proof is not proof of absence, especially when we are dealing with a trace and not an object ... ?

[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-AS Investigator Project Grant “Cognition, Perception, and Knowledge Formation through Non-Textual Approaches” & EFEO Talk
中央研究院深耕計畫「非文字途徑的認知、感知與知識型塑」& 法國遠東學院講座

Speaker/主講人
Prof. Véronique DEGROOT
Associate Professor, French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)

Topic/講題
Curating Javanese Antiquities: A Cross-history of the Museum Volkenkunde and the Museum Nasional Indonesia

Host/主持人
Prof. TAI Li-chuan
Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
戴麗娟 教授（本所研究員）

Date/日期
December 10 (Wednesday), 15:00
2025年12月10日（週三）下午3:00

Venue/地點
Conference Room 703, Research Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓703會議室

Organizers: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：歷史語言研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-EFEO Talk 專題演講

Speaker/主講人
Dr. Sébastien Plutniak
Researcher, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Topic/講題
From the Field to the Cloud
Visualisation, Statistical Exploration, and Web Communication of Archaeological Spatial Data: the Open-source and Distributed “archeoViz ecosystem”

Host/主持人
Prof. Scarlett CHIU
Research Fellow & Head, Department of Archaeology, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
邱斯嘉教授 (本所研究員兼考古學門召集人)

Date/日期
November 26 (Wednesday), 2025, 15:00 pm
2025年11月26日(週三)下午3:00

Venue/地點
Conference Room 703, Research Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓703會議室

Organizers: The Department of Archaeology, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：本所考古學門，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
Recent literature highlights several barriers to the availability of field archaeological data: 1) the absence of user-friendly tools, 2) a lack of data management training, 3) limited time to prepare data for publication, and 4) insufficient recognition of data publishing efforts. “archeoViz” aims at addressing these issues, while also accounting for control on data by local communities. It offers a solution as an opensource stand-alone application for visualising and statistically exploring spatialised archaeological data. Users can create “archeoViz” instances –specific use of the application tailored to particular datasets– on any server they like (either institutional or personal) thus avoiding centralised control and data storage. Importantly, “archeoViz” serves as a data editorialising tool, making data publishing a desirable, though not mandatory, endeavor. It encourages the open publication of comprehensive workflows, including datasets, any necessary reprocessing code, and their respective “archeoViz” instances, using third-party services.
Besides, the “archeoViz” application is conceptualised as the building block of a decentralised online network for archaeological data. The “archeoViz Portal” serves as a connective hub linking all the existing instances together (https://analytics.huma-num.fr/archeoviz/home).

Similar to “data papers”, “archeoViz” instances are citable editorial units. To enhance their discoverability, the “archeoViz Portal” is an interactive catalogue of existing instances. The portal allows for searching instances via keywords and map, aligns metadata with standard vocabularies (e.g. Geonames), and integrates with other documentation systems, such as “Openarchaeo”, a semantic web repository for archaeological data. Ultimately, the “archeoViz portal” facilitates data sharing and the visual restitution of archaeological findings, benefiting scientists and the general public alike.

[EFEO TAIPEI][IMH-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IMH-EFEO Lecture Series
“French Historical Research and the Modern Era”
中研院近史所 & 法國遠東學院「法國人文學界反思近現代」系列講座

Speaker/主講人
Prof. Alice BIANCHI
Associate Professor, Paris Cité University/CRCAO

Topic/講題
Wandering Bodies, Fractured Memory: Ye Yinquan 葉因泉 (1903–1969)’s Kangzhan Liumin tu 抗戰流民圖 (1942–1943)

Host/主持人
Prof. LAI Yu-chih, Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
賴毓芝教授（近代史研究所副研究員）

Date/日期
Thursday, October 30, 2025, at 14:30
2025年10月30日（週四）下午2:30

Venue/地點
Conference Room 3, Archive Building, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica
中研院近代史研究所檔案館第三會議室

Organizers: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center主辦單位：中研院近代史研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
This talk explores Kangzhan Liumin tu 抗戰流民圖 (Refugees of the Sino-Japanese War), an album of over one hundred paintings created between 1942 and 1943 by Cantonese artist and cartoonist Ye Yinquan 葉因泉 (1903–1969), during his flight from advancing Japanese troops across Guangdong and Guangxi. Based on sketches made during his displacement, the series offers a stark visual account of civilian suffering—particularly the emaciated, vulnerable figures of refugee children, the xiao liumin 小流民, whose hopelessly exposed bodies appear throughout the album. It also includes depictions of guiqiao 歸僑 (repatriated overseas Chinese) and qiaojuan 僑眷 (their families), often rendered with a touch of irony, reflecting the complex social dynamics of wartime South China. While contemporary commentators described the album variously as “a historical painting of the War of Resistance against Japan” (kangzhan qizhong shihua 抗戰期中史畫) or as a form of visual reportage (baodao hua 報導畫), I argue that such labels only partially capture the complexity of Ye’s visual language—one that blends testimonial urgency with emotional ambiguity, narrative fragmentation, and subtle critique. Combining a deceptively naïve manhua-inspired style with the older Liumin tu 流民圖 tradition —disaster paintings focusing on displacement and famine—Ye moves away from the dominant visual tropes of the Sino-Japanese War, such as propaganda and heroic imagery, to focus instead on the fractured realities of ordinary lives caught between war, hunger, and forced migration. The analysis situates the album within this visual tradition, while also highlighting the innovations that set it apart: its strong regional grounding, its attention to social fragmentation, and its distinctly modern visual idiom.

[ÉDITIONS | PUBLICATIONS ]

We are delighted to announce the publication of the book, Maritime Exchange and Localization across the South China Sea, 500 BC–AD 500, edited by Frank Muyard and Liu Yi-chang, at EFEO Press.

This volume examines the changes that characterized the coastal societies around the South China Sea Basin during the Metal Age (500 BC–AD 500) and their links with the formation of a maritime exchange network in the region. Through case studies, the book documents the continuity, change, and expansion of prehistoric and protohistoric cultures as well as the activity of maritime traders and craftsmen and the impact of sea-crossing techniques and materials. Grounded in archaeological and historical analysis, it studies the use and spread of various types of mortuary containers, ornaments, and vessels, as well as megaliths and metallurgy. The volume questions how local communities engaged with and reacted to growing maritime exchanges by incorporating new knowledge, practices, tools, decorative styles, and artifacts originating from abroad. The book also emphasizes the dual role of indigenous agency and outside stimulus in fostering these exchanges, developing local networks, and establishing interconnected social and cultural systems and polities across the South China Sea, offering new insights on the interplay between regional influence and local evolution in protohistoric times.

https://publications.efeo.fr/en/livres/1030_maritime-exchange-and-localization-across-the-south-china-sea

Table of contents

Frank Muyard & Liu Yi-chang
Introduction. A World in Common: Regional Interactions across the South China Sea

Bérénice Bellina
South China Sea Early Globalization: A Systemic View from the Isthmus of Kra

Aude Favereau
The Sa Huỳnh- and/or Kalanay-related Pottery Style and Chronology in Southern Thailand

Krisztina Hoppál
Comparing Roman and Roman-related Artifacts in Thailand and China: Materials, Contexts, and Networks

Lâm Thị Mỹ Dung
Jar Burial Traditions in Prehistoric Vietnam

Yamagata Mariko
The Kalanay-related Pottery of Hòa Diêm, Thổ Chu, and Óc Eo in Vietnam: Examining Maritime Connections around Funan from the 1st to 3rd Centuries AD

Stephen Chia Ming Soon
Maritime Exchanges and Cultural Changes in Sabah, Malaysia during the Metal Period

Shiung Chung-ching
Earthenware with Incised Geometric Decoration in Metal Age Maluku, Indonesia: Origin, Evolution, and Possible Socio-cultural Meanings

Miyama Emily
Maritime Networks and Earring Production Systems across the South China Sea Region: From 500 BC to AD 200

Chao Chin-yung & Chung Kuo-feng
Megaliths in Eastern Taiwan Reconsidered

Liu Yi-chang
The Localization of Foreign Material Culture: A Case Study of Taiwan Metal Age

Wang Kuan-Wen & Caroline Jackson
Social and Economic Interaction Reflected by Early Metal Age Glass Beads from Selected Sites of Taiwan

Liu Jiun-Yu
A Trade Diaspora Model for the Emergence of Ancient Metallurgy in Taiwan

Frank Muyard
The Integration of Southern China and Northern Vietnam in the Metal Age South China Sea Trade Network

[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-EFEO Talk 專題演講

Speaker/主講人
Dr. Krisztina HOPPÁL
ELTE Roman World and the Far East Research Group,
Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Hungary

Topic/講題
Objects of Mediterranean Origin in Southeast Asia and China

Host/主持人
Prof. LIN Kuei-chen
Associate Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
林圭偵教授（本所副研究員）

Date/日期
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 15:00
2025年10月7日（週二）下午3:00

Venue/地點
Conference Room 703, Research Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓703會議室

Organizers: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：歷史語言研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
Concomitant to the intensification of archaeological research in Southeast Asia and China, the growing number of Mediterranean import objects discovered in these regions has attracted increasing scholarly attention. However, their social and cultural contexts have often been overlooked or misinterpreted. While objects of Mediterranean origin have traditionally been viewed primarily as trade indicators or exotic luxury goods, this presentation argues for a more nuanced approach that situates these artefacts within local and interregional cultural dynamics.
By applying the theoretical framework of Reception Studies, this talk moves beyond traditional interpretations focused solely on trade or chronology. It highlights how these foreign objects were received, adapted, and recontextualized within local societies, reflecting diverse cultural interactions and exchanges. The presentation also addresses the limitations of relying heavily on written sources to understand East–West connections, emphasizing the independent and vital role of material culture in reconstructing ancient networks of exchange. Ultimately, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of cross-cultural processes along ancient trade routes, shedding light on the complex ways Mediterranean elements were integrated and transformed in East Asian contexts.

*Due to unforeseen circumstances, the following two lectures by Professor Lachaud on September 24 & 25, 2025 are cancelled. They will be rescheduled later. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.

*以下二個演講因故延期， 造成不便，深感抱歉，將另行通知日期。

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[EFEO TAIPEI][IHP-EFEO][CONFÉRENCE | LECTURE]
IHP-EFEO Talk 專題演講

Speaker/主講人
Prof. François LACHAUD
Professor, French School of Asian Studies (EFEO)

I.
Topic/講題
What the Bear Knew: Fujito Takeki and the Craft of Presence

Host/主持人
Prof. Eka SUZUKI
Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
鈴木惠可教授（本所助研究員）

Date/日期
September 24 (Wednesday), 15:00
2025年9月24日（週三）下午3:00

Venue/地點
Conference Room 703, Research Building, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica
本所研究大樓703會議室

Organizers: Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：歷史語言研究所，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in English. Registration is not required.
❈此為英文演講，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
This presentation examines the evocative artistry of sculptor Fujito Takeki 藤戸竹喜 (1934-2018), who affectionately identified himself as a bear carver. This distinctive self-identification is an insightful lens through which to explore kumabori 熊彫り-the intricate craft of carving wooden bears-within the rich cultural context of Ainu culture in post-Meiji era Hokkaidō. While his work is firmly grounded in venerable Ainu traditions, Fujito's artistic expression resonates with broader narratives of trade, tourism, and ecological awareness, transforming his wooden carvings into subtle yet profoundly moving incarnations of presence.
Rather than situating Fujito's sculptures within the dominant activist narrative in Ainu studies-which often depicts Indigenous material culture as symbols of resistance or remnants of historical oppression-his artistry is better appreciated through the lens of ambiguity rather than clarity, emphasising endurance over resolution. In this intricate context, each carved bear unfolds an alternative narrative that intertwines the lives of humans and animals, the echoes of memory and the complexities of market demand, "ethno-tourism," carving practices, and autochthonous resilience.
What the bear knew was never overtly articulated by Fujito. Nevertheless, his skilled hands reveal a rich, complex story-unfinished, resilient, and deeply rooted in the natural landscape of Hokkaidō.

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II.
Topic/講題
From Folk Belief to Pop Culture: The Making of Yōkai Culture in Modern Japan

Date/日期
September 25 (Thursday), 2025, 14:00
2025年9月25日（週四）下午2:00

Venue/地點
Jixian Hall, National Palace Museum Southern Branch
(No. 888, Gugong Blvd., Taibao City, Chiayi County, Taiwan)
國立故宮博物院南部院區-集賢廳
(嘉義縣太保市故宮大道 888 號)

Organizers: National Palace Museum & EFEO Taipei Center
主辦單位：國立故宮博物院，法國遠東學院臺北中心

※ The talk will be given in French. Registration is not required.
❈此為法文演講，備有中文翻譯，自由入座，無需報名

Abstract/ 摘要
This presentation examines how yōkai—strange beings and occurrences (Ch. yaoguai)—were represented in Edo-period (1603–1868) illustrated bestiaries, collections of curious tales, and works of natural inquiry, and how their meaning changed in later contexts shaped by official cultural agendas. It focuses on the emergence of minzokugaku (folklore studies), a field grounded in the study of local beliefs and practices and influenced by parallel developments in Europe. This new discipline became the crucible in which modern yōkai culture took shape, distinct from earlier efforts to classify or dismiss such phenomena. Within this framework, yōkai came to be seen as part of a specifically Japanese tradition. More recently, the reshaping of “yōkai studies” (yōkaigaku) has reinforced this view and helped position yōkai as a staple of Japanese cultural diplomacy in the West. The presentation concludes by considering how their status has changed over the twenty years between the first major European exhibition—Yôkaï: Bestiaire du fantastique japonais (Maison de la culture du Japon à Paris, 2005)—and the current exhibition Yokai: Spirits of Japan at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm (2024–2026).