An automobile guidebook for tourists in Indochina from 1930

By Holger Warnk (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt)

In 2018 the Library of Southeast Asian Studies at Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University acquired the library of Prof. Wilfried Lulei, former Professor of Vietnamese Studies at Humboldt University in Berlin.[1] Among the more than 1,500 books, journals, maps and other materials was a small book by Georges Norès published in 1930, entitled Itinéraires automobiles en Indochine. This booklet is the third and final volume of a travel guide, being one of the first to introduce tourists to the possibilities of travelling in French Indochina by car.

Illustration 1: Title page

The travelling of Westerners to Southeast Asia has had a long tradition. They came to the region as traders, merchants, colonial administrators, missionaries, military commanders or soldiers, among others, and since the late 19th century more and more also as travellers. Those who were able to visit with no other intention than being tourists were mostly well-off Europeans and Americans such as the British ‘Bengal civilian’ Charles Walter Kinloch (1853) or the well-known German authors Hermann Hesse in 1907 or Max Dauthendey in 1905 and again in 1914 (Hesse 1980; Dauthendey 1924). With the establishment of the European colonies in Southeast Asia, after 1900 the growing tourism became an increasingly important factor of economic progress, including in Indochina where the first local tourist offices were set up on initiative of individuals and hotel owners in 1913 and 1916 (Demay 2014: 76).

While the first touristic activities were directed chiefly to Europeans who were already living in the colony for a while, the extension to those arriving from overseas became more and more lucrative after World War I. Subsequently, the necessary tourism infrastructure was expanded in French Indochina as well as in other parts of Southeast Asia, in particular on the island of Bali. The enlargement of ports, the construction and improvement of roads including bridges and ferries, the extension of the railway system and the introduction of bus services, the identification and opening up of antique, picturesque or “authentic” tourist sites, the establishment of suitable accommodation in the major towns and cities and at scenic spots both at the coast and at hill stations went hand in hand with the introduction of tourist information centres alongside the printing of guide books, brochures and maps, the availability of a good medical infrastructure, and all these measures were further enhanced after the 1920s in Indochina (Bui 2021: 43).

Besides seaside resorts and spas especially hill stations turned out to become popular destinations for tourists due to their comfortable climate and the picturesque landscapes they were located in. Such hill stations were not only typical for the French colonies in Southest Asia: in Ceylon (Nuwara Eliya) and British Malaya (Cameron Highlands) such stations were also set up for relaxation and physical recovery, as well as in the Netherlands East Indies (e.g. around Bandung or Malang) and in the Philippines (Baguio).[2] In French Indochina the hill stations and roads to reach them were developed in close relation, directly or indirectly, with military needs: they were introduced as camps and garrisons for establishing the colonial administration, roads and paths for transportation of troops and supply, and later as sanatoriums for military personnel (Demay 2014: 50; Bui 2021: 47). During World War I began the “demedicalization” (Demay 2014: 78) of the hill stations, resulting in their transformation into tourist accommodation where the former medical equipment became less important. As the presence of automobiles increased after the War, it was only a matter of time that these places received the proper infrastructure so they could be reached easily by car. The tourist guides of Georges Norès are obvious proof of this transformation.

Illustration 2: Part of tour description from Ta-Pha to Vientiane and Tourakom

Georges Lucien Constantin Norès (1869–1947) was born in Besanҫon and served in the French Navy from 1889 to 1899.[3] In 1900 he became Inspecteur de 3ème classe des colonies and subsequently made a successful career as colonial administrator in French Indochina. Already in 1902 he was promoted to Inspecteur de 2ème classe des colonies and again in 1905 to Inspecteur de 1ère classe des colonies. In 1912 he was made officer of the French Legion of Honour and became commander of the Legion of Honour in 1922. During his military career Norès served in Madagascar 1895–1896, and during World War I at the Western Front in 1915 – 1916. He became Directeur du Contrôle financier de l‘Indochine in 1922, and towards the end of his service in 1930 Inspecteur général de 1ère classe des colonies. Norès was then posted to Hanoi in Tonkin. With an experience of many years in French Indochina Norès was an expert connoisseur of Laos, Cambodia and in particular Vietnam which enabled him to gather the necessary information for his guide books.

Illustration 3: Part of tour map from Vientiane to Luang Prabang

Each of the three volumes consists of about 100 pages plus a considerable number of maps of the suggested automobile tours. As Norès explained in the introduction, his guide was  solely tailored to the specific needs of its users (Ponsavady 2018: 104). Besides some short general information on land, people and administration of Annam and Laos he introduces 10 tours suited for travel by car, covering  a distance of 70 to 200 kilometers each. After 1900 the French colonial government greatly expanded the infrastructure in Indochina including the planned construction of a north-south highway from Hanoi to Saigon – which, however, was finished only in the late 1930s. But already in the 1920s the ancient Cambodian ruines of Angkor could be reached from Saigon within 18 hours (Bui 2021: 80). Norès gives the necessary information in a most condensed format. Each suggested automobile tour is described with information on locations of sights and what can be seen whilst traveling by car (see  illustration 2): besides short descriptions of sidetrips to picturesque spots Norès also refers to matters of everyday significance like gas stations, mechanics, hospitals, telephone and telegraph offices or lodging. The written text is accompanied by several maps which also show the topographical profile of the roads, which is highly important considering the standards of automobile technology in the late 1920s (see illustration 3). Furthermore, they indicate the location of towns and villages, picturesque landscapes, temples and archaeological sites, but also ferries, railway crossings and stations, waterways or mountain passes. Supplementary maps of the most noteworthy cities and towns (see illustration 4) and an alphabetical index of the featured sites for practical use conclude each of his booklets.

Illustration 4: Plan of Huế and surroundings

The role of the École Franҫaise d’Extrême-Orient as a colonial institution in the promotion of tourism should not be underestimated.[4] The access and development of archeological sites and places of antiquity for tourists and other visitors had already been in the focus of EFEO since the end of World War I. The ruins of Angkor, Cham temples in Vietnam and other archaeological sites were identified by EFEO in the order of their potential as tourist spots, and reported to the French tourist offices in Indochina (Bui 2021: 45; Demay 2014: 106). Consequently, Norès‘ booklets were published by EFEO which secured an excellent print quality for this purpose, a reasonably good binding of the booklets, and a great circulation within and outside the colony.[5]

“Tourism was employed as an effective tool to promote the positive image of the colony”, Bui Thi He stated correctly in her recent MA thesis (2021: 48). These early 1930s automobile itineraries are a vivid proof of this assumption as they intend to show the progress of French colonialism and the perceived superiority of Western civilisation. This does not come as a surprise: their author-compiler Georges Norès had been a colonial administrator with many years experience. In short, these booklets tried to present the achievements of European suzerainty in Indochina to wealthy – and almost exclusively – European audiences who were able to afford an expensive trip to and within Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (Bui 2021: 49).

Bibliography:

Bui Thi He (2021): Tourism and Colonization: Establishment of French Indochina Tourism in the Early 20th Century. MA thesis, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.

Clémentin-Ojha, Catherine and Pierre-Yves Manguin (2007): A Century in Asia: The History of the École Franҫaise d’Extrême-Orient 1898–2006. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet.

Dauthendey, Max (1924): Letzte Reise: Aus Tagebüchern, Briefen und Aufzeichnungen. München: Langen.

Demay, Aline (2014): Tourism and Colonization in Indochina (1898–1939). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars’ Publishing.

École navale (2022) <http://ecole.nav.traditions.free.fr/officiers_nores_georges.htm&gt; [accessed on 24 July 2023].

Les entreprises coloniales françaises (2014): Pluie rouge: titulaires de la Légion d’Honneur ayant exercé une activité civile en Indochine. <https://www.entreprises-coloniales.fr/inde-indochine/Legion_honneur_1886-1944-IC.pdf&gt; [accessed on 24 July 2023].

Hesse, Hermann (1980): Aus Indien: Aufzeichnungen, Tagebücher, Gedichte, Betrachtungen und Erzählungen. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.

Kinloch, Charles Walter (1853): De Zieke Reiziger; or Rambles in Java and the Straits in 1852 by a Bengal Civilian. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co.

Norès, Georges (1930): Itinéraires automobiles en Indochine: guide du touriste. Volume 3: Annam, Laos. Hanoi: Imprimerie d’Extrême-Orient.

Ponsavady, Stéphanie (2018): Cultural and Literary Representations of the Automobile in French Indochina: a Colonial Roadshow. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

---

[1]    For a more detailed account of this collection there will be an article in the forthcoming issue of the Newsletter of the South East Asia Library Group.

[2]    Actually, German author Max Dauthendey passed away from Malaria in 1918 in a hill sanatorium in the Malang region in East Java (Dauthendey 1924).

[3]    For biographical information on Georges Norès see École navale (2022) and Les entreprises coloniales françaises (2014).

[4]    On the role of EFEO as colonial institution see Clémentin-Ohja & Manguin (2007: 33–38).

[5]    EFEO already had their own printing press in Indochina in 1901 (Clémentin-Ohja & Manguin 2007: 212).

Online access to historical newspapers from Southeast Asia

In the decades of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, much of Southeast Asia was under Western colonial dominance. Most of the region was divided among the British, French, Dutch, Spanish, and American powers, supplanted by a brief period of Japanese influence following the outbreak of World War II in Europe and the Pacific. The post-war era witnessed a series of revolutions as local leaders looked to regain independence from colonial powers. Decolonisation efforts and movements spread throughout the region, leaving the newly independent states in charge of their own political, economic, and social pathways for the first time in decades.

The Southeast Asian Newspapers, an Open Access collection supported by the Center for Research Libraries and its member institutions, chronicles the changes that took place throughout the region during this period, and the challenges of early statehood. Covering several countries from the region, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and featuring multiple languages such as Dutch, English, French, Javanese, Khmer, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese, the Southeast Asian Newspapers collection incorporates a wealth of coverage and perspectives on major regional and global events of the late nineteenth and twetieth centuries.

To date, altogether 129 newspaper titles with a total of 67,762 issues dating from between 1839 to 1976 have been included: 57 from the Philippines, 37 from Vietnam, 24 from Indonesia, 5 from Thailand, 3 from Malaysia, 1 from Cambodia and 1 from Myanmar. Among the earliest printed newspapers in the collection are Tranh đ̂áu, a newspaper in Vietnamese language published in Saigon (33 issues from between 1839 to 1938, with gaps), and Nangsư̄ čhotmāihēt (หนังสือจดหมายเหตุ – Bangkok Recorder), a Thai newspaper published in Bangkok (11 issues from 1844 to 1845).

The online collection provides free access to the fully digitised issues of the newspapers (altogether 463,246 pages). Search functions by newspaper title, free word search, date and map help locate information easily. One additional feature is “On this date in history”, which presents randomly selected articles from various newspapers published in different countries on the date in history of the visit of this collection.

(This post contains information from the website of the Southeast Asian Newspapers collection)

Southeast Asia in historical photographs: Vietnam

The National Overseas Archives in Aix-en-Provence (ANOM) have opened up to the public an ever growing online database called Base Ulysse, thereby making a variety of digitised materials from the Archives and their library available for research. Begun in 2002, this database currently makes available well over 45,000 individual photographs, albums, postcards, posters, drawings and maps.

These materials document on one side the history of the French colonial empire in general, but on the other side they are a rich source for the study of the cultures, traditions and everyday life in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in historical perspective. The materials mainly originate from public records (state secretariats and departments that managed French colonial territories from the seventeenth century until the mid-twentieth century, general government offices, etc.) and private archives, but also from donations, purchases, and bequests.

The digital collection contains over 3000 photographs from Vietnam which include 1935 images related to Tonkin, 886 images related to Cochin-China, 615 images related to Annam, and 463 images categorized under Vietnam. Most of these images are photographs from the first half of the twentieth century, but the oldest images date back to the 1880s. Interestingly, they do not only document the French colonial influence in Vietnam, but also Vietnamese traditions, ceremonies and everyday life. In addition, the cultures of ethnic minorities and religious communities in Vietnam are depicted in these photographs. The Cao Dai religion, Buddhism and Islam and their rituals are well presented in this collection, as well as the cultural traditions of the Thai ethnic groups in north Vietnam, the Cham in south Vietnam and the Chinese in Saigon, Hanoi and other large cities. Some of the images document how these photographs were taken by French colonial officers and photographers.

Some examples that illustrate the wide range of topics covered by the collection of photographs from Vietnam are presented below. All images were sourced from the Base Ulysse.

Street view in Hanoi, Tonkin, c.1897-8

Studio photograph of a Vietnamese woman in traditional costume, Tonkin, c.1884-5

A group of Vietnamese dancers, Tonkin, c.1892-96

Traditional Vietnamese orchestra, Tonkin, c.1884-5

Buddhist nun and novice, Tonkin, c.1919-26

Land surveyors with traditional measuring instruments, Tonkin, c.1884-5

Studio photograph of two young Chinese men, Hanoi, Tonkin, 1884-5

Members of the Thai ethnic group, Tonkin, c.1895-9

Ceremony at the royal palace, Hue, Annam, c.1919-26

Studio photograph of a Mandarin, Annam, c.1884-5

Colonial photographer taking pictures of ethnic minority men at work, Annam, c.1919-26

Maritime fishery near Cau Gio, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Cham fishermen in the Mekong Delta, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Traditional art school at Lai Thieu, Cochin-China, c.1919-26

Theatre stage at the pagoda in Hoc Mon, Saigon, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Khmer Buddhist temple Soctrang at Beng Angsa, Cochin-China, c.1930-54

Buddhist monks and novices on alms round, Cochin-China, c.1921-35

Mosque at Threa with teachers and students, Cochin-China, c.1930-54

 

 

Cham manuscripts online

The British Library’s Endangered Archives Programme aims to contribute to the preservation of archival material that is in danger of destruction, neglect or physical deterioration world-wide. This is achieved principally through the award of grants in an annual competition. Last year, an award was granted to the Northern Illinois University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, for a pilot project dedicated to the preservation of Cham manuscripts.
The Cham are an important ethnic minority in Vietnam. Descendants of the Champa kingdom that lasted from the 2nd to the 17th century AD, the Cham are the largest group of Hindu and Muslim people living in Vietnam.
The Cham’s writing system is mainly based on Sanskrit, with the majority of Cham manuscripts still in existence written in the akhar thrar script. Writings were previously inscribed on palm-leaves, but in more recent times they are recorded on paper. Cham manuscripts contain rich information about Cham customs, religious practice, literature and daily activities of Cham people. Many are records of officials and families in the communities. Manuscripts still in existence are mainly from 50 to 150 years old.
Cham manuscripts unfortunately have not been well preserved. Some have been collected by local governmental institutions and many more still exist in Cham communities. Cham manuscripts privately held by families in the communities are also disappearing. Many manuscripts are simply ruined over time by the hot and humid climate. Most young Cham people today are not able to read Cham scripts and thus pay little attention to the preservation of manuscripts in their families. Furthermore, some Cham people believe that it is bad luck to keep ‘deserted books’ (Akhar bhaw) in the home and hence, books not cared for or read frequently will eventually be discarded in rivers.
Three digitised Cham manuscripts from this project are now available online on the library’s Endangered Archives homepage.

(Information provided by Hao Phan / Endangered Archives homepage)

Exhibition “From the Red River to the Mekong”

An exciting art exhibition with the title “From the Red River to the Mekong: Visions of Vietnam” is currently on display at the Musée Cernuschi in Paris. The exhibition presents works by graduates of the Hanoi School of Fine Arts, which was established in 1924, and associated art schools in Thu Dau Mot, Bien Hoa, and Gia Dinh. These schools gave a boost to local artistic output, bringing innovations in terms of both content and style. Moving testimony to a fusion of two civilisations, the works on show in this exhibition bring back a distant era as they take us on a journey through a captivating country. More detailed information can be found on the museum’s homepage http://www.cernuschi.paris.fr/en/exhibitions/red-river-mekong-visions-vietnam .