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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250501T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250501T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20241004T111931Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250318T113016Z
UID:21006-1746111600-1746115200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Publications Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/publications-committee-6/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250430T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250430T210000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20250314T124859Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250416T100736Z
UID:21536-1746037800-1746046800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Linda Jaivin: Bombard the Headquarters! From Mao to Musk
DESCRIPTION:This event is free and open to all and no registration is required. \nTo watch online over zoom email Matty (mb@royalasiaticsociety.org) \n  \nAbout the book:\nIn 1966\, with the words ‘Bombard the Headquarters!’ Mao Zedong unleashed the full\, violent force of a movement that he called the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By the time he died ten years later\, millions had perished\, China’s cultural heritage was in ruins\, its economic state was perilous\, its institutions of government were damaged and its society was bitterly divided. \nLinda Jaivin’s previous (and twelfth) book\, The Shortest History of China\, was named the No. 1 book on China for 2021 by fivebooks.com and has been published in about twenty-four editions worldwide. In this fascinating account\, Linda Jaivin focuses on the eventful start of the Cultural Revolution. She sheds light on the ideological quarrels that underpinned it and profiles the personalities involved. \nDiscussion of the Cultural Revolution is heavily censored in the People’s Republic\, and many young Chinese people know almost nothing about it. Even so\, it continues to cast a shadow over life in China. Current president Xi Jinping’s assumption of a third term in 2022\, his elimination of rival factions from the leadership and attempts to build a personality cult around himself discomfit many within and outside of the Chinese Communist Party. Bombard the Headquarters! helps us to understand why. \n  \n‘A beautifully concise account that makes sense of a hugely complex event in modern Chinese history. Linda Jaivin puts her formidable\, deep experience both of Chinese history and language to excellent use\, conveying in 100 pages what most would struggle to achieve in a thousand.’ \n—Kerry Brown\, Professor of Chinese Studies and Director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College\, London \n‘Excellent . . . a powerful account of a truly extraordinary period in recent Chinese history\, surefooted and perceptive\, enlivened by a wealth of vignettes and anecdotes which bring to life the dramatic and frequently horrific events that have played a seminal role in forming Chinese society as it exists today.’ \n—Philip Short\, author of Mao: A Life
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/linda-jaivin-bombard-the-headquarters-from-mao-to-musk/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20250319T144053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250319T144053Z
UID:21550-1745519400-1745526600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Nil Palabıyık - Silent Teachers: Turkish Books and Oriental Learning in Early Modern Europe (Joint event with the LHF)
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-nil-palabiyik-silent-teachers-turkish-books-and-oriental-learning-in-early-modern-europe-joint-event-with-the-lhf/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T173000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20241004T112023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T112023Z
UID:21008-1745512200-1745515800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/council-meeting-12/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T143000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250424T153000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20241004T111844Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111844Z
UID:21004-1745505000-1745508600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Library Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/library-committee-9/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250417T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250417T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20250319T143858Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250319T143858Z
UID:21546-1744914600-1744921800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Stephen Martin: Was the VOC funding Mozart?
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/stephen-martin-was-the-voc-funding-mozart/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250416T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250416T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20250319T143515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250319T143515Z
UID:21542-1744828200-1744835400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Lubaaba Al-Azami - Travellers in the Golden Realm:  How Mughal India Connected England to the World
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-lubaaba-al-azami-travellers-in-the-golden-realm-how-mughal-india-connected-england-to-the-world/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204645
CREATED:20250225T152142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250310T103840Z
UID:21472-1744309800-1744315200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:RAS Collections Evening 2025
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/ras-collections-evening-2025/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T173000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111758Z
UID:21002-1744302600-1744306200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Monograph Series Editorial Board
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/monograph-series-editorial-board-6/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T153000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250410T163000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111702Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111702Z
UID:21000-1744299000-1744302600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Journal Editorial Board
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/journal-editorial-board-6/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250328T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250328T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20250324T152120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250324T155434Z
UID:21636-1743186600-1743193800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Madras Literary Society Zoom Presentation
DESCRIPTION:  \nThe RAS is delighted to announce a Zoom call with the Madras Literary Society on its history and collections on Friday\, 28th March at 11.30 am with \nMs. Jaya Mahbubani – Chairperson\, \nMs. Thirupurasundari Sevvel\, Secretary \nMr. Prabhu Vishwanathan \n  \n \nThe Madras Literary Society began as a small library in 1812 and in 1830 it became associated with the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.  The library was initially located inside the Fort St George and moved to its current location in 1905. It was founded by Sir John Henry Newbolt\, Chief Justice of Madras with Benjamin Guy Babington as the founder secretary. It houses more than 55\,000 books. The oldest book in the impressive catalogue is a 1619 copy of Aristotle’s Opera Omnia.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/madras-literary-society-zoom-presentation/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250327T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250327T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20240724T122844Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250227T141417Z
UID:20689-1743100200-1743107400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Christopher Bahl (Book launch) - Mobile Manuscripts: Arabic Learning across the Early Modern Western Indian Ocean
DESCRIPTION:  \nIn this essential new work\, Christopher D. Bahl departs from the established historiography on trade\, shipping\, and pilgrimage to argue for the emergence of Arabic learning as a crucial form of transoceanic mobility from the ûfteenth to the seventeenth centuries. From Egypt to the Hijaz\, Yemen and further on to Gujarat and the Deccan\, networks of manuscript circulation created shared social and cultural spaces across the early modern western Indian Ocean\, in which South Asia was a key node of connection. Largely unstudied Arabic manuscripts from collections in eight different archives offer a new source base to explore the region as a hub of Arabic scholarly culture\, while marginalia and notes provide an empirical treasure trove for the study of social spaces and cultural practices. This is the ûrst book to trace these truly transoceanic encounters between scholars\, sultans\, scribes\, readers\, and librarians. \n  \nChristopher D. Bahl is Assistant Professor in South Asian History at Durham University.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-christopher-bahl-mobile-manuscripts/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20240724T123224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250227T141259Z
UID:20691-1742495400-1742502600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Professor Doris Behrens-Abouseif: Men’s fashions in Medieval Cairo
DESCRIPTION:While dress code in medieval societies was largely defined by religious\, political\, and social rules\, personal preferences could still play a significant role in shaping dress culture. Focused on Mamluk Cairo\, this lecture documents the involvement of sultans and emirs in the design of uniforms and ceremonial outfits to convey their political image\, while at the same in pursue of a refined lifestyle\, individuals of the elite created fashions and designs that were named to them.  Commoners created fashions as well\, but they remained mostly nameless. Combined with social and economic developments over more than two and a half centuries\, such initiatives led eventually to significant transformations in the dress culture of medieval Cairo. \n  \nDoris Behrens-Abouseif (Research Professor at SOAS) is the former Nasser D Khalili professor at SOAS. She is an art and culture historian with numerous publications on Islamic architecture and culture\, urbanism\, aesthetics\, the decorative arts\, mainly in Egypt and Syria\, from the early period to the 19th century.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/professor-doris-behrens-abouseif-mens-fashions/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111611Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111611Z
UID:20998-1742490000-1742493600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Finance & Investments Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/finance-investments-committee-11/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250320T170000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111518Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111518Z
UID:20996-1742486400-1742490000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Events & House Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/events-house-committee-7/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250313T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250313T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20250130T170903Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250130T170903Z
UID:21382-1741890600-1741897800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Nick White - The decolonisation of Malaysia and Singapore: a maritime perspective (Lecture in honour of Prof Tony Stockwell)
DESCRIPTION:In the late-1960s\, Malaysia and Singapore established their own national\, ocean-going shipping lines. This outcome was unexpected by the leading British shipowners serving Southeast Asia. P&O\, Blue Funnel and Ben Line had hoped to form a locally registered consortium to protect their own interests and satisfy national aspirations. Honouring the work of Tony Stockwell on the decolonisation of Malaya/Malaysia\, this lecture discusses how the best laid imperial plans – in this case\, commercial rather than official – were scuppered by the twists and turns of local politics at the end of empire. Not least\, that involved the creation of Malaysia in 1963 and the separation of Singapore two years later\, but also reflected a growing economic nationalism in Kuala Lumpur. Following the Stockwell method\, moreover\, the story of Malaysia’s and Singapore’s bid for maritime independence demonstrates how the close reading of British archives\, combined with the memoirs of key local actors\, can substitute for the absence of the local record. \n  \nNick White is Professor of Imperial & Commonwealth History at Liverpool John Moores University and Co-Director of Liverpool’s Centre for Port & Maritime History. Between 1986 and 1989\, Nick read for an undergraduate degree in History at Royal Holloway\, University of London where he was taught imperial history by Tony Stockwell. With Charles Harvey\, Tony subsequently served as supervisor for Nick’s PhD on business-government relations during the end-of-empire epoch in Malaya. In honouring Tony’s work\, this lecture combines Nick’s research interests in the decolonisation of Southeast Asia and ocean-going shipping.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-nick-white-the-decolonisation-of-malaysia-and-singapore-a-maritime-perspective-lecture-in-honour-of-prof-tony-stockwell/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250306T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250306T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T100414Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T100439Z
UID:20971-1741285800-1741293000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Anabel Loyd: The Dervish Bowl (Book Launch)
DESCRIPTION:The Dervish Bowl\n\n\n\nThe Many Lives of Arminius Vambéry\n\n  \n \n  \n\n\n‘A compelling portrait of one of the 19th century’s most characteristic heroes’\nAsian Review of Books \n‘Arminius Vambéry was one of the shadier characters to travel the fabled Silk Roads through Persia to Central Asia. His mostly forgotten story is vividly told in Anabel Loyd’s lively and entertaining biography.’\nAnthony Sattin\, author of Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World \n‘There have been many hagiographies written about Arminius Vambery – mainly by Arminius himself – so it’s refreshing to read of his life in unvarnished detail. Anabel Loyd captures the different facets and flaws of this complex traveller\, who seemed to fit everywhere and nowhere.’\nChris Aslan\, author of Unravelling the Silk Road: Travels and Textiles in Central Asia \n‘Anabel Loyd’s biography of Arminius Vambéry is a fascinating book and a masterly study. It is both a mine of so far unknown information as well as a thrilling read which will benefit both the scholar and the general reader.’\nChristoph Baumer\, author of The History of Central Asia in Four Volumes \nWho was Arminius Vambéry? A poverty-stricken\, Jewish autodidact; a linguist; traveller\, and writer; or a sometime Zionist\, inspiration for Dracula’s nemesis\, and British secret agent? \nVambéry wrote his own story many times over. And it was these often highly embroidered accounts of journeys through Persia and Central Asia that saw him acclaimed in Victorian England as an intrepid explorer and daring adventurer. Against the backdrop of the ‘Great Game’\, in which Russia and Britain jostled for territory\, influence\, and control of the borders and gateways to India and its wealth\, Vambréy played the roles of hero and double-dealer\, of fascinated witness and Imperial charlatan. \nThe Dervish Bowl is the story of these competing narratives\, a compelling investigation of the ever-changing persona Vambréy created for himself\, and of the man who emerges from his private correspondence and the accounts of both his friends and his enemies\, many of whom were themselves major players in the geopolitical adventures of the volatile nineteenth-century – a time when Britain’s ambitions for her empire were at their height\, yet nothing and no one was quite as they seemed. \nANABEL LOYD has been a regular columnist for the Indian Telegraph for many years. She has lived and worked in India and has a particular interest in the Indian history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. \nRead Anabel’s blog piece\, ‘No Change for Turkmenistan’ on the RSAA blog here.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/anabel-loyd-the-dervish-bowl-book-launch/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Book Launch
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250304T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250304T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20250130T130856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250130T130856Z
UID:21379-1741113000-1741120200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Charlotte Horlyck: The Emergence of the Korean Art Collector and the Korean Art Market
DESCRIPTION:  \nArticulating the shifting interests in Korean art and offering new ways of conceiving the biases that initiated and impacted its collecting\, this book traces the rise of the modern Korean art market from its formative period in the 1870s through to its peak and subsequent decline in the 1930s. \nThe discussion centres on the collecting of Koryŏ celadon ceramics as they formed the focal point of commercial exchanges of Korean artefacts and explores how their acquisition and ownership formed part of the complex power relationship that played out between the Koreans\, Japanese\, Americans\, and Europeans. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources\, the volume analyses collectors’ acquisition practices\, arguing that their fascination with ceramics from the Koryŏ kingdom (918–1392) was shaped not only by the aesthetic appeal of the objects but also by biased perceptions of the Korean peninsula\, its history\, and people. \nThe book will be of interest to scholars working in art history\, social history\, cultural history\, Korean studies\, collection studies\, museum studies\, Korean history\, and Asian studies.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/charlotte-horlyck-the-emergence-of-the-korean-art-collector-and-the-korean-art-market/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250227T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250227T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20250114T101238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250114T101238Z
UID:21322-1740681000-1740688200@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Andrew Laurie: "Gleaming-breasted residents of streams that don't freeze in winter": the Dippers of the Mongolian Altai
DESCRIPTION:  \nAndrew Laurie grew up in Shropshire\, spent a lot of his childhood watching animals\, and studied biology at the University of Cambridge\, doing research on hippos in Tanzania\, starfish in Sudan\, and rhinos in Nepal\, India and south-east Asia.   After a seven year research fellowship studying Marine Iguanas in the Galapagos Islands he worked on wildlife conservation projects\, including government planning and policy development\, mainly in China\, Mongolia\, Tanzania and Sri Lanka\, with shorter assignments in Vietnam\, the UK\, India\, Laos\, Cape Verde\, and the Cook Islands.   He is concerned about the rapid loss of wild species and their habitats around the world\, and is keen to help in establishing better behaviour patterns in humans\, through both governmental policy and implementation\, and actions taken by the general public and non-governmental organizations to protect the natural environment on which we all depend. \nAndrew once worked as an advisor to the Mongolian government on biodiversity conservation – and lived there on and off for several years.  In his spare time he followed up on a childhood fascination with Dippers after seeing  them gathering in winter on the outflow of a spring where the water flowed for up to a kilometre  before freezing.   On summer field trips he kept his eyes open for nests\, because none of the local ornithologists actually knew where they bred\, but he didn’t find any. \nSeveral years later\, in 2017\, following up on a clue sent to him by Prof. Gombobaatar of the National University of Mongolia\,  Andrew returned to Mongolia\, and soon found Dippers nesting.  He has been back several times since then to observe and film at different stages of the breeding season.  Although his four films focus on Dippers\, they also reflect in general on wildlife conservation in Mongolia\, and they were shown on Mongolian television in a series called  “Anyone can be an ecologist” – a title that  he tried not to take personally.   The idea behind the series was to encourage “citizen science”\, and the premise that you don’t have to have a huge research grant\, a Toyota Land Cruiser and a satellite tracking device \, or to concentrate on large charismatic endangered species\, in order to make useful contributions to science\, or conservation. \nThere are five species of Dippers in the world.   The White-throated Dipper ranges from Europe to Mongolia\, India and China\, but there are various subspecies that look quite different.    In the Altai there is further variation  within the local subspecies – some have lighter coloured heads and bellies than others. \nAndrew  is biologist\, cameraman\, director and editor\, and works with a small field crew in Mongolia –  non-specialists who are very enthusiastic\, and full of ideas and possible explanations for their observations.   Interesting differences in behaviour between the European and Altai Dippers have emerged.   For example\, in the Altai the males routinely feed the females on and off the nest during incubation whereas this has only very rarely been observed in Europe.  In 2022 Andrew and his team saw really extraordinary behaviour that has still not been explained: the parents stood on the backs of their chicks after they had left the nest\, and pecked at them repeatedly.  And one female cleared out the nest lining immediately after the last chick had left.  Clearing the nest is common in Europe but not at the intensity and single-mindedness observed and within just minutes of the last chick leaving. \nThe team talked with local people\, mainly livestock herders\, learning from them on the one hand\, and and showing  them things on the other.  Although familiar with seeing Dippers flying around none of the local people they talked with had seen a nest or sat and watched Dippers doing things like feeding their young or clearing out the lining from their nests. \nThe presence of a healthy population of Dippers is a good indicator that the water is unpolluted – or at least not badly polluted.  Threats to the Altai Dippers include overstocking of livestock\, mining\, and melting glaciers – a complex mix.  Eventually tourism might add to them. \nPride in local species could contribute to conservation action by residents – although the demands of everyday life in that difficult environment make it hard for many to find time to participate.  And climate change overshadows everything – many herders are already moving out of the Altai as they see no long term future there.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/andrew-laurie-gleaming-breasted-residents-of-streams-that-dont-freeze-in-winter-the-dippers-of-the-mongolian-altai/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20240731T091341Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250115T102310Z
UID:20720-1739471400-1739478600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Kiri Paramore - A Global History of Confucianism: The Cambridge History of Confucianism Volume I (prehistory– 1400 ce)
DESCRIPTION:  \nThis talk will introduce The Cambridge History of Confucianism\, Volume I (pre-history-1400)\, the editing of which Prof Paramore is currently completing with publication expected in early 2026. \nConfucianism has been a major force in the cultural history of China\, Japan\, Korea and Vietnam for thousands of years\, affecting the art\, literature\, science and politics of all these countries. Confucianism was not only a major ideological and cultural determiner in East Asian premodernity\, but also played a crucial role in East Asia’s transition to modernity\, mediating the importation of scientific and medical thought and the re-creation of major political ideologies of modernity like liberalism. Beyond Asia\, Confucianism was also a major topic of intellectual discussion in early modern Europe – a foil for the political theories of thinkers from Voltaire to Montesquieu. This Cambridge History will introduce Confucianism through the entire long durée history of the tradition\, beginning with its pre-historic Chinese roots\, and extending through the entire history of imperial Chinese and broader Asian history into the contemporary period. \nKiri Paramore is Professor of Asian Studies in the National University of Ireland\, University College Cork\, where he directs the Irish Institute of Chinese Studies and the Irish Institute of Japanese Studies. He is the author of Japanese Confucianism: A Cultural History (Cambridge University Press\, 2016)\, (a CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award winner\, 2016)\, Ideology and Christianity in Japan (Routledge\, 2009)\, and Religion and Orientalism in Asian Studies (Bloomsbury\, 2016). His articles have appeared in Modern Intellectual History\, the Journal of Asian Studies\, the Journal of Early Modern History\, Comparative Studies in Society and History\, the Journal of Japanese Studies\, and the Proceedings of the British Academy\, etc. He currently serves as chief editor of the Cambridge History of Confucianism\, and as one of the authors of the Cambridge History of Democracy\, and the New Cambridge History of Japan. \nTo join online please email Matty at mb@royalasiaticsociety.org
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-kiri-paramore/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T173000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111427Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111427Z
UID:20994-1739464200-1739467800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/council-meeting-11/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250213T160000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111345Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111345Z
UID:20992-1739458800-1739462400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Library Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/library-committee-8/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250206T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250206T200000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20250116T121417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250116T121417Z
UID:21330-1738866600-1738872000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Silk Roads at the British Museum and British Library: Objects in Focus
DESCRIPTION:  \nFrom September 2024 to February 2025\, the Silk Roads get a spotlight in London\, with two concurrent exhibitions on this topic at the British Museum and the British Library. The British Museum exhibition Silk Roads takes audiences on a journey across Asia\, Africa and Europe\, exploring the movement of people\, objects and ideas in the period 500 to 1000 CE. The British Library exhibition A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang transports visitors to the vibrant town of Dunhuang—a hub of trade\, culture\, and religion in present-day Northwest China—highlighting the experiences of those who lived\, passed through\, or left their mark there. In this event\, curators of the two exhibitions will introduce the thinking behind their respective shows\, and share insights into a few of the highlight objects on display. \n  \nImages (clockwise from top left): \nOctagonal cup with musicians and a dancer\, c. 830s. Found in the Belitung shipwreck. Probably made in Yangzhou\, China. Tang Shipwreck Collection\, Asian Civilisations Museum\, Singapore. \nString of cloves\, c. 400–600. Originating from Maluku Islands\, present-day Indonesia\, found at Qaw el-Kebir\, Egypt. British Museum. \nBilingual vertical scroll linked to the Khotanese envoy Ca Kima-Sana. \nGold and garnet sword-scabbard button\, early 600s. Found in the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial\, Suffolk\, UK. British Museum.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/silk-roads-at-the-british-museum-and-british-library-objects-in-focus/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250116T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250116T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241003T133306Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250107T155123Z
UID:20954-1737052200-1737059400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:POSTPONED -Sanjeev Kumar - The Age of the Guptas: The Evolution of Art and Iconography during the 4th-6th Century CE
DESCRIPTION:Please note that this event has been postponed. We will let you know when a new date has been scheduled. \n 
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/sanjeev-kumar-the-age-of-the-guptas-the-evolution-of-art-and-iconography-during-the-4th-6th-century-ce/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250109T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250109T180000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111258Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111258Z
UID:20990-1736442000-1736445600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Finance & Investments Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/finance-investments-committee-10/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250109T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250109T170000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111221Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111221Z
UID:20988-1736438400-1736442000@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Events & House Committee
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/events-house-committee-6/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241212T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241212T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241003T133811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241125T105213Z
UID:20956-1734028200-1734035400@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Prof Prem Poddar - China in India: from Shangri-La to Kalimpong
DESCRIPTION:The talk will go though some of the pivotal moments in my book just released from Cambridge University Press. Through the India-China Border: Kalimpong in the Himalayas mobilizes rarely used documentary material from British\, Chinese and Indian archives to shed new light on our understanding of the ‘Tibet Question’ in China-India relations. Focused on the Himalayan border town of Kalimpong from the 1920s to 1962\, it unearths a history of espionage and political intrigue that challenges the way that remote peripheries are seen from the ‘centres’ of nations. The use of postcolonial and transcultural theory demonstrates how a multidisciplinary framework augments our reading of imperial histories\, postwar politics and frontier cultures. Kalimpong emerges from this analysis as a key node in Himalayan history and in the mid-century fashioning of India-China relations.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/prof-prem-poddar-china-in-india-from-shangri-la-to-kalimpong/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241205T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241205T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20240724T114726Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241105T140421Z
UID:20687-1733423400-1733430600@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Dr Tom Young: British Art and the East India Company\, c.1813–58
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/dr-tom-young-title-tba/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241205T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241205T173000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20241004T111139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241004T111139Z
UID:20986-1733416200-1733419800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/council-meeting-10/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Council Room\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Council meetings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20241128T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20241128T203000
DTSTAMP:20260417T204646
CREATED:20240724T114549Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241105T122148Z
UID:20685-1732818600-1732825800@royalasiaticsociety.org
SUMMARY:Mansi Rao: Dining tables on streets and carpets on floors - A study of vernacular furniture in north-west India
DESCRIPTION:  \nThe South Asia Collection Museum in Norwich\,UK has over 250 vernacular furniture items and related objects from north-west India. When it came to representing these objects\, available research was scarce. Emerging from this museological need of contextualising the collection\, a collaborative project\, ‘Vernacular Furniture of North-West India’ was conducted with the Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre (DICRC)\, CEPT University\, India. The project was carried out in three phases between 2015 and 2021 with the aim to identify\, map\, document and study vernacular furniture that has traditionally been\, and continues to be an inherent part of day-to-day life in an Indian household. The project is the first of its kind. It not only provides extensive documentation of diverse furniture types that are used in the region\, but also challenges inherited narratives about what furniture is in an Indian context. It makes an important contribution to museological discourses and highlights the need for this important form of material culture to be regarded in the same light as other forms of cultural heritage such as architecture and textiles. \n  \nThe talk draws on the knowledge gained through fieldwork experiences. It presents a variety of vernacular furniture and everyday objects and includes the voices of the people who continue to make and use such furniture and for whom such items are an integral part of their everyday life. \n  \n  \nMansi S Rao \nCollection Curator \nThe South Asia Collection\, Norwich\, UK \n  \nMansi S Rao is the Collection Curator at The South Asia Collection and the SADACC Trust\, Norwich\, UK. Her professional work has mainly included projects relating to craft practices that are living traditions in South Asia\, predominantly in India and Sri Lanka. Her curatorial practice and research are focused on bridging gaps that exist in the study of craft objects and their socio-cultural bearing within source communities. \n  \nIn her previous role as a Senior Research Associate at the Design Innovation and Craft Resource Centre (DICRC)\, CEPT University\, India\, an important project she worked on as a Principal Researcher was the Vernacular Furniture of North-West India project. Her talk today is based on this project. Having first graduated as an architect\, Mansi has previous experience of spatial design\, heritage listing and documentation projects with INTACH\, and architectural conservation projects. Mansi is also an advisor for the Ena de Silva Foundation in Sri Lanka to develop projects and methods for archiving and researching Ena’s textile and other craft works. She has an MA in Museums\, Heritage and Material Culture Studies from SOAS\, University of London. She was awarded the Chevening Scholarship (2017–18) and the Charles Wallace India Trust and Simon Digby Charitable Trust Scholarship (2017–18) to study and conduct research in the UK.
URL:https://royalasiaticsociety.org/event/mansi-rao-title-tba/
LOCATION:Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre\, 14 Stephenson Way\, London\, NW1 2HD\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:RAS Lecture series 2024-25
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR