Paul Pelliot
Paul Eugne Pelliot was a French sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts among the Dunhuang manuscripts.
Paul Pelliot was born onMay 1878 in Paris, France, and initially intended to pursue a career as a foreign diplomat. Accordingly, he studied English as a secondary school student at La Sorbonne, then studied Mandarin Chinese at the cole des Langues Orientales Vivantes . Pelliot was a gifted student, and completed the schools threeyear Mandarin course in only two years. His rapid progress and accomplishments attracted the attention of douard Chavannes, the chair of Chinese at the Collge de France and a renowned sinologist, who befriended Pelliot and began mentoring him. Chavannes also introduced Pelliot to the Collges Sanskrit chair, Sylvain Lvi. Pelliot began studying under the two men, who encouraged him to pursue a scholarly career instead of a diplomatic one.
Source: Wikipedia