#HappyBirthday to Sakyamuni! In Buddhism, the Buddha-to-be prince Siddhartha Gautama was born 2500+ years ago, and his birthday is celebrated today in Mahayana Buddhism. Here is a 9th C. illustration from #Dunhuang depicting his birth. idp.bl.uk/collection/391…

This photograph really strips away the barriers of time! Taken 110 years ago by Léon Busy in Hanoi, this autochrome was shot in 1914 whilst Vietnam was still a French colony. It looks disconcertingly modern - her hair, her dress, her very fahsionable iPad stand. It could have

Last day of the China AG (China Work Group) Meeting is almost over and my presentation went really well. Grateful for the feedback and interesting questions I got. Lots of food for thought! Thanks for the picture, Marco Pouget

Treasures of the Institute of Sinology of Munich Does someone know what the characters mean? Are these used to write (what I presume to be) Manchu words next to them?

An extremely fascinating bit of obscure history is that of the Kongsi republics in Western Borneo - Chinese 'company-states' predicated on gold and tin mining that existed on the island between the 1700s-1800s

Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, ca. 1827-1830

As I am going to Munich for a very short trip before heading to Budapest, soon, I wanted to share these photos I took at Universität München‘s Sinology library on my last trip. Nice #calligraphy, but the closer you get, you realize that it is written on paper kitchen towel!

A piercing gaze across the centuries - I've cleaned-up this striking autochrome portrait of a young lady, taken 109 years ago, during the Great War. It's an autochrome study by American photographer Alfred Stieglitz of his 17-year-old daughter Kitty in 1915. It was taken in

OA article in Bamboo & Silk for readers interested in the content of my book but who can't read French. I also analyze some bamboo slips from 胡家草場 that did not make it in the book (doi.org/10.1163/246892…). The issue also contains other great pieces on the 南蠻 and 胡家草場

#EACS2024 has just started but Marco Pouget has already set a high standard for the conference with his YSA presentation on cooperation and competition as seen in Eastern Han Commentaries on the Liji. Fingers crossed for him to bring home the trophy!

Second day of the EACS conference in Tallinn with a panel on the northwestern border regions of the early Chinese empires. Very happy and feeling extremely fortunate to be here with my fellow panelists Milad Abedi, Samira Müller and Andrea Kreuzpointner! Aitäh! Thank you!

The #EACS2024 is over and we’re getting ready to leave Tallinn. Many captivating presentations, many great conversations, many good memories, and great food. Thanks to everyone I met and a special thanks to Lisa Indraccolo and her team for organizing this awesome conference!

Camels 🐪 are wonderful animals and the animal symbol of Beijing - here's a camel caravan passing the Forbidden City in 1957. Photo by Philipp Harrington (1920 – 2009)