"Monsieur Eugene Gilbert, Artillery major in the Navy, donates to the Academy a manuscript, illuminated by hand, of the popular Annamese poem whose hero is a student by the name of Luc Van Tien. This poem was translated into French par M. Abel des Michels, and it was by reading that translation that Major Gilbert was inspired with the idea of commissioning the artistic book which he begs the Academy to accept. The visual representation of the subjects mentioned, in their customary aspect, and of the characters, in their traditional or appropriate dress and attributions, cannot but provide a felicious complement to the translator's commentary. The text was transcribed and illustrated by a learned Annamese of the court of Hue". (From Foreword of the Publication)