The study of Tibetan studies in France originated in the first half of the 19th century, when Remusha first proposed cognate words between Chinese and Tibetan, and the Oriental Institute of Languages in Paris offered Tibetan language courses. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, France actively carried out Tibetan exploration activities and collected a large amount of precious materials. The Chinese academic community has translated and published works by several French scholars, covering multiple fields. At present, multiple review papers have been published in China, but the development of French Tibetology in the first half of the 20th century has not been observed from the perspective of journals. As a professional Sinology journal, 'Bulletin' timely introduces the academic trends of Sinology in France and even Europe, publishes high-level research results, and has a high academic influence. This article takes 1944 as a time point to sort out the papers and book reviews on Tibetan studies published in the "Bulletin" from 1890 to 1944, aiming to summarize the academic characteristics and development trajectory of the early stage of French Tibetan studies.

1、 Compilation of Tibetan Studies Articles Published in the Bulletin from 1890 to 1944

The compilation chapter of Tibetan studies articles published in the "Bulletin" from 1890 to 1944 provides a detailed record of the articles on Tibetan studies in the magazine during that period. Between 1890 and 1944, the "Bulletin" published a total of 113 Tibetan studies articles related to "Tibet", including specialized articles, book reviews, and information reports. The articles mostly focus on the research of scholars such as Sha Wan and Kao Di from 1900 to 1919. These articles are mainly divided into two parts: research on Xizang itself and records of foreigners' exploration and investigation in Xizang and other places. The Bulletin pays special attention to the publication of Tibetan literature research and explorer exploration results, which is consistent with the development trend of French Sinology in the first half of the 20th century. The editor in chief pays special attention to the academic achievements of renowned scholars, such as the book reviews of papers by Laufer, Bacau, Haken, and Lalu. Information articles mainly focus on the first 20 years of publication, reporting on the investigation letters and exploration records of many explorers in Xizang, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places. After 1910, as European exploration teams reduced their exploration activities in China, the number of informative articles decreased significantly. In the first half of the 20th century, research on Tibetan studies in France mainly focused on literature, science and technology, and travelogues. European sinologists actively interpreted Tibetan literature discovered in Dunhuang and Turpan, and compared Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, religious studies, and literary studies with other fields through Chinese literature.

2、 Bulletin publishes a summary of the research achievements of French scholars in Tibetan studies

Between 1890 and 1944, the "Bulletin" published 13 Tibetan studies papers by French scholars, accounting for 34% of the total number of Tibetan studies papers, mainly covering fields such as travelogue, philology, religion, and history. In terms of book reviews, the four editors in chief wrote a total of 39 articles, among which the number of book reviews during the reigns of Shawan and Boxi was significantly higher than that during the reigns of Cody and Sigurd. In the first half of the 20th century, with the increase of Tibetan language materials, the research achievements in Tibetan studies also increased. The articles of French scholars can be divided into travelogues that use explorers to collect materials and articles that use ancient literature for interpretation. There are 9 travel notes, involving the expedition records and letters in Xinjiang, Xizang, Qinghai and other places, but the geographical data, archaeological materials and anthropological materials are not published in detail. The other four articles are Jesuits' manuscripts, articles on the investigation process in Xizang, Tibetan dialect vocabulary, local speech materials and sociological survey records. In terms of book reviews, Shawan and Boxihe pay attention to the study of Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, while Boxihe's book reviews focus more on examining the inscriptions and annotations in the notes. The French academic community focused on tracking the archaeological discoveries in Xizang, Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu, and increased their understanding of Xizang and other places by reorganizing the literature of the Jesuits in China in the 18th and 19th centuries. There are a total of 4 literature interpretation articles by French scholars, mainly using historical comparative linguistics to analyze the transcription of proprietary terms in Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist scriptures. In the first half of the 20th century, the German academic community achieved many important results in Tibetan linguistics research. Laufel published 11 articles in the "Bulletin", and Boxihe generally agreed with his research results, but proposed revision suggestions for certain specific vocabulary. French Tibetan studies often focus on European travel records and the geographical, sociological, and anthropological investigations derived from them. The research methods and development models are consistent with traditional Sinology studies.

3、 The Bulletin and the Study of French Tibetology in the First Half of the 20th Century

The academic characteristics of French Tibetology research in the first half of the 20th century are reflected in three aspects: firstly, French Tibetology research actively carried out basic work, such as organizing and translating the Buddhist scripture "Ganzhuer" and cataloging Tibetan literature. Gaodiye and Lalu respectively cataloged Tibetan literature, while Boxihe emphasized the compilation of Tibetan dictionaries and the organization of Tibetan period documents. Secondly, the research perspective shifts to the comparative study of Chinese and Tibetan. Kong Haogu pioneered the comparative study of Chinese and Tibetan, discussing the characteristics of Tibetan or Chinese ancient phonetics, word formation, and other aspects through the comparative study of phonetics and vocabulary in both languages. In terms of Tibetan phonetics research, the study of Dunhuang Tibetan texts has become a major component of Tibetan studies. In terms of comparative morphology between Chinese and Tibetan, Boxi and pay attention to Wolfenden's "Outline of Tibeto Burman Morphology". In addition, Gao Benhan and Walter Simon incorporated the ancient Tibetan language corpus into the study of Chinese phonetics, establishing a large number of systematic bilingual correspondences in the Sino Tibetan language family. Finally, French scholars actively carried out academic discussions with scholars from other countries, paying attention to the research achievements of foreign scholars, such as articles and book reviews of non French scholars published in Bulletin, and reports on European explorers' investigations in Xizang, Qinghai and other places. Bo Xihe pays special attention to the research work of Asian scholars, focusing on the fields of literature and bibliography. As a communication platform, the "Bulletin" has effectively promoted the development of Tibetan studies. The editor in chief pays attention to the research results of scholars from various countries and writes book reviews to introduce and discuss them. The authors provide timely feedback on the content of the book reviews, enhancing communication among sinologists.

4、 Conclusion

The Bulletin reflects the development trend of French Tibetan studies in the first half of the 20th century, including the collection, publication, and cataloging of Tibetan language materials, as well as the research methods of document based characteristics. The French exploration team collected a large amount of precious literature and materials, and scholars actively carried out document cataloging work, such as the "Catalogue of Tibetan Documents in the National Library of France" and Haken's "Compilation of Tibetan Sanskrit Documents in the 10th Century AD. Scholars such as Boxihe and Shawan utilized the Tibetan period literature in Dunhuang documents to conduct research on religion, history, and philology through the method of interpreting literature, with Buddhist studies playing an important role. Sha Wan, Bo Xi and more focus on the study of the history and geography of the Western Regions. Bo Xihe's mastery of Tibetan is far less than his proficiency in Altaic languages such as Chinese, Turkic Mongolian, and he has not visited Xizang on the spot, so his Tibetan research cannot break through the limitation of the literature position. The "Bulletin" continues to pay attention to the development of Tibetan studies, focusing on sorting out the articles and book reviews in the "Bulletin" to clarify the academic ideas of Tibetan studies in France and provide significant reference for in-depth Tibetan studies in the first half of the 20th century.