Talks
The Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography
Paul Seaward on "The History of the Rebellion" by Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon
China Research Seminar: Prof Tim Barrett on 'The Japanese Myth of the Battle of the Wen River and Its Implications for the History of Printing'
Wed 17 February 2016
Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Faculty of
The Japanese Myth of the Battle of the Wen River and Its Implications for the History of Printing
Prof. Timothy H Barrett (SOAS)
In 955 the king of Wuyue in China dispatched five hundred miniature pagodas to Japan, each containing a printed text. The Japanese monk and former student in China who was asked to explain the significance of this gift provided an explanation in terms of a Chinese historical background that has long been recognised as complete nonsense. Even so a closer reading of this account reveals an important motif that can help to explain not only this instance of printing but also at least one earlier one besides.
Cost: Free entry
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