Susan Whitfield
Date: 2022-11-17
East Asia: Master Forgers or Innocent Imitators?
There has been a long tradition of imitation in the calligraphic and painting traditions in East Asia but, it is arguable, the history of forgeries is just as long. And sometimes it seems that the same masters who created some of the finest works of art, were also teasing their audiences – and the market – by creating forgeries. Two thousand years ago a cache of 'ancient manuscripts' found in the wall of Confucius's family home gave rise to an acrimonious debate among scholars over their genuineness which lasted for over a century and defined much of Chinese orthodoxy for the next millennium. The discovery of numerous caches of ancient manuscripts along the Eastern Silk Road in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most notably Dunhuang, has again raised the debate of forgeries among scholars and, despite the scientific advances of the last two millennium, the matter is not yet resolved. This paper will discuss these two examples of forged texts in China and the way scholars have approached them to show the similarities and differences between the East Asian and other traditions of forgeries.
More Info: Paper presented at “Detecting the Text: Fakes, Forgery, Fraud, and Editorial Concerns,” held on 5–6 November 2004 at University College, University of Toronto.
Under the Censor's Eye: Printed Almanacs and Censorship in Ninth-Century China
This paper discuss the official decree of 835 forbidding the private printing and possession of almanacs in light of the ninth-century printed almanacs discovered from the Library cave at Dunhuang.
Publication Date: 1998
Publication Name: The British Library Journal
The Perils of Dichotomous Thinking: Ebb and flow rather than east and west.
In this paper I will argue that we cannot understand Central Asian history if we continue to talk in terms of an encounter between east and west. East and west is the expression of a dichotomous model which is fundamental to much modern historiography of both China and Central Asia. In terms of contemporary Chinese history, it is seen in the ubiquitous use of Han versus non-Han by both Chinese and Western historians and journalists which perpetuates a misleading homogenous model of Chinese or ‘Han’ history. In terms of Central Asia, it is seen in the prevalent discussion of sedentary versus nomad or civilised versus barbarian. The pitfalls of dichotomous thinking are demonstrated by reaction to the discovery of the Shu finds in what is now south-western China and European mummies in what is now western China. Both were hailed as astonishing because they did not fit the dichotomous model. This paper argues that instead of trying to shoehorn such data into an inappropriate dichotomous model, we should reject the model as too limited and find new ones which accommodate and help us better understand and analyze these complex data. This paper will therefore argue that we need a new conceptual approach to world history, especially now that we are starting to realise, belatedly, the importance of Central Asia.
Publication Name: Suzanne Akbari and Amilcare A. Iannucci (eds.), Marco Polo and the Encounter of East and West (Papers from a conference held at University of Toronto Humanities Centre, May 2002), Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008.
Breaking Barriers: Creating a New Historical Narrative
Central Asia has too often be categorized in historiography as a land in between and thus defined by the civilizations on its borders. It has fallen between the dichotomous models offered by many historians: nomads versus sedentary; civilized versus barbarian; east versus west, and historians have struggled to find a coherent historical narrative. As more scholars today become concerned with global history, many Western scholars are seeking an alternative to their Eurocentric viewpoint. However, there is a risk that this will simply be replaced by the Sinocentric narrative, just as misleading, and also failing to give Central Asia its own voice. With its understanding of Buddhism and its historical links with the region, could Indian scholarship offer a new approach or is the Indocentric viewpoint equally misleading?
Was There a Silk Road?
Publication Name: Asian Medicine – Tradition and Modernity 4 (2008): 201–213.
Foreign Travellers to Dunhuang, 1920–1960
Following the publications of Stein, Pelliot and others resulting from their visits to the Dunhuang Mogao caves in the early twentieth century the caves became more widely known and intrepid travellers, some living in China and some coming from abroad, started trying to visit the site. Some took cameras and, despite the difficult conditions, managed to make a photographic record of their visits. This article briefly introduces some of these travellers, their photographs and the recent work done by IDP on making these more accessible to scholars worldwide．
Stein and the 'Buddhist Pausanias'
When Aurel Stein arrived in Lahore in 1888 it was following several decades of archaeological ‘rediscovery’ of Buddhism in the sub-continent, the sites of the historical Buddha, such as his birthplace and first lecture, having been identified in part owing to the writings of a 7th century Chinese monk, Xuanzang. Stein set his archaeological goals further afield, on the ancient Silk Road, also travelled and described by Xuanzang on route to India and, during his first three Central Asian expeditions (1900-1916) consulted Xiyu-ji frequently to locate and identify ancient sites in the Taklamakan. Working in the field only increased his respect for the pilgrim monk. Xiyu-ji has been influential in many fields, including literature and myth – but In this paper Dr Whitfield will consider its influence and importance on Silk Road archaeology.
Stein, Marc Aurel
Publication Date: 2014
Publication Name: Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology
From Plov to Paella
Publication Date: 2005
Publication Name: Index on Censorship
Stein's Silk Road Legacy Revisited
Publication Date: Jun 17, 2009
Publication Name: Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 03068370902871573
A Scholar of 'Wide Attainments and Indefatigable Keenness' (update of Stein and Oldenburg)
An updated paper of 'Stein and Oldenburg' including transcriptions of Stein's letters. Published in St Petersburg, 2016.
Oldenburg was part of a close network of pan-European scholars interested in Asia and exploration. This paper discusses Oldenburg’s correspondence with scholars based in Britain, including Cecil Bendall and F. W. Thomas but concentrating on M. Aurel Stein. It follows on from previous papers, by the author and by Wang Jiqing, adding to the these by considering the Oldenburg correspondence in the archives of the St Petersburg Branch of the Academy of Sciences. It shows that the relationships moved beyond the professional and scholarly and that, although rarely meeting, these scholars became friends. It also points out the high regard in which both Oldenburg and the Russian Academy of Sciences were held and their importance for furthering scholarship and knowledge in this field.
Stein and Oldenburg (see updated version with transcriptions, loaded 1/9/16)
Oldenburg was part of a close network of pan-European scholars interested in Asia and exploration. This paper discusses Oldenburg’s correspondence with scholars based in Britain, including Cecil Bendall and F. W. Thomas but concentrating on M. Aurel Stein. It follows on from previous papers, by the author and by Wang Jiqing, adding to the these by considering the Oldenburg correspondence in the archives of the St Petersburg Branch of the Academy of Sciences. It shows that the relationships moved beyond the professional and scholarly and that, although rarely meeting, these scholars became friends. It also points out the high regard in which both Oldenburg and the Russian Academy of Sciences were held and their importance for furthering scholarship and knowledge in this field.
Publication Name: Popova, Irina (ed.), (papers from a conference in St Petersburg), St Petersburg forthcoming.
Stein and Archaeology on the Eastern Silk Road
Publication Date: 2008
Publication Name: Charlotte Trümpler (ed.), The Great Game: Archaeology and Politics at the Time of Colonialism (1860-1940)
Scholarly Respect in an Age of Political Rivalry
Publication Name: Irina Popova (ed.), Caves of a Thousand Buddhas. Russian Expeditions to Central Asia at the end of XIX - Beginning of XX centuries (Catalogue of an exhibition at the Hermitage to mark the 190th anniversary of the Asiatic Museum, Institute of Oriental Manuscripts). St. Petersburg: 2008.
Stein's Silk Road Legacy Revisited
Publication Date: 2009
Publication Name: Asian Affairs
In praise of the plagiarist
Publication Date: 1999
Publication Name: Index on Censorship
Literary Women: Mary Lamb and Li Qingzhao
If literature teaches anything, it is the universality of human experience. Voices echo each other, despite being separated by centuries in time and thousands of miles in distance. In these cases, national boundaries are meaningless and past and present occupy the same land. There is no better example to illustrate this than the voices of two literary women, Mary Lamb and Li Qingzhao
The International Dunhuang Project: A Challenge for Digitization
Publication Date: 1997
Publication Name: Microform & Imaging Review
The International Dunhuang Project (IDP): Creating a Scholarly Partnership
Publication Date: 1997
Publication Name: Early Medieval China
The Dunhuang Manuscripts: from Cave to Computer
The story of the dispersal of the Dunhuang manuscripts and their subsequent digitisation.
