Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (born 7 February 1837 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, died 11 September 1902, Buyat-Beayeau,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) was a French colonial administrator, diplomat and scholar. In Vietnamese royal records, he was referred as ''Hoắc Đạo Sinh'' (霍道生). Philastre graduated from the French

naval academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pro ...

in 1857 and took service on the ''Avalanche'', arriving in

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; vi, Đàng Trong (17th century - 18th century, Việt Nam (1802-1831), Đại Nam (1831-1862), Nam Kỳ (1862-1945); km, កូសាំងស៊ីន, Kosăngsin; french: Cochinchine; ) is a historical exony ...

in 1861. In 1863, Philastre was appointed inspector of native affairs in a village in the

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

river delta and two years later he obtained the position of director of native legal affairs. In 1868, he became ill and was forced to return to France. During the Franco-Prussian War and the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

, Philastre defended

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

in his capacity as commander of an artillery regiment. In 1873, Philastre returned to the French colonial service in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. Philastre played in important role in mediating between the French colonial authorities in Annam and the royal court in

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

. In 1874, Philastre negotiated the

Second Treaty of Saigon The Treaty of Saigon was signed on 15 March 1874 by the Third French Republic and the Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam. Vietnam made economic and territorial concessions to France, while France waived a previous war indemnity and promised military prote ...

with the Annamese court. He also served in

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. He left Indochina in 1889. Philastre authored a number of works on Chinese and Vietnamese studies, most important of which are the first French translation of the Yijing and a complete translation of the Emperor Gia Long's Code, which was based on the Qing Code.

Works

*''Le Yi king, ou, Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou,'' traduit pour la première fois du chinois en français par P.-L.-F. Philastre. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1885-1893. *''Le code annamite: nouvelle traduction complète.'' 2 vols, Études sur le droit annamite et chinois. Paris: E. Leroux, 1909.

References

*"Philastre, Paul-Louis-Félix." (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica.'' Retrieved July 6, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.search.eb.com/eb/article-9001128 *Dupuis, Jean. ''Le Tong-kïn et l’intervention française''. Paris, A. Challamel, 1898. * McAleavy, Henry. "Dien in China and Vietnam." ''The Journal of Asian Studies,'' Vol. 17, No. 3. (May, 1958), pp. 403-415. *Osborne, Milton E. ''The French Presence in Cochinchina and Cambodia: Rule and Response (1859-1905).'' Bangkok: White Lotus Press, c1997. *Ta van Tai. "Vietnam's Code of the Lê Dynasty (1428-1788)." ''The American Journal of Comparative Law,'' Vol. 30, No. 3. (Summer, 1982), pp. 523-554.

External links

Le Code Annamite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philastre 1837 births 1902 deaths 19th-century French diplomats French orientalists