Category: Silk Road (丝路)

Newly Published: Memoir of Fan Jinshi, Pioneering Buddhist Grotto Archaeologist

The story of Fan Jinshi (樊锦诗), female graduate of New China's first four-year program in archaeology, who went on to spend 50-plus years in the desert overseeing the study, restoration and preservation of Buddhist cave-temples in Gansu Province, is now available in English --- via my translation --- as Daughter of Dunhuang: Memoir of a Mogao … Continue reading Newly Published: Memoir of Fan Jinshi, Pioneering Buddhist Grotto Archaeologist →

Excerpt from “Mapping Civilizations Across Eurasia”

By H K Chang Translated by Bruce Humes in collaboration with the author Now available for purchase online   Miniature Painting Guide: My Name Is Red In the summer of 2003, I accidentally came into possession of an English translation of Benim Adım Kırmızı (My Name is Red), a novel by the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk. … Continue reading Excerpt from “Mapping Civilizations Across Eurasia” →

“Civilizations of the Silk Road” (translated excerpt): Princess Xijun’s Exile to the Western Regions

  Mysteries of the Western Regions Pioneering Zhang Qian & Han Dynasty Explorers (Excerpted from H.K. Chang’s Civilizations of the Silk Road) Translated from 丝路文明 15 讲  byBruce Humes  in collaboration with the author  In 119 BCE, Zhang Qian (张骞) was entrusted with a second mission to the Western Regions (西域), mainly to the Kingdom of Wusun (烏孫) in the … Continue reading “Civilizations of the Silk Road” (translated excerpt): Princess Xijun’s Exile to the Western Regions →

Published: My Translation of “Civilizations on the Silk Road”

My translation of Professor H.K. Chang’s  <丝路文明: 15 讲>  (Civilizations on the Silk Road) has been published by the UK's Routledge. Table of Contents: 1. "Civilization": Origins, Diversity & Continuity  2. Alexander’s Eastern Campaigns, Hellenism & Gandharan Art  3. Mysteries of the Western Regions: Pioneering Zhang Qian & Han Dynasty Explorers  4. Buddhism’s Genesis: To the West … Continue reading Published: My Translation of “Civilizations on the Silk Road” →

Silk Road Literary Festival 2022: Relegated to the Web

Global Voices reports: "As part of efforts to encourage tourism, [Uzbek president] Mirziyoyev has promoted various cultural festivals in partnership with international artists and litterateurs. In 2021, to promote Uzbek culture abroad he revived the Soviet-era Tashkent International Film Festival under a new name, The Pearl of the Silk Road. The Mirziyoyev-approved Silk Road Literary Festival, an event intent on … Continue reading Silk Road Literary Festival 2022: Relegated to the Web →

Archaeologist Fan Jinshi’s Memoir: Ancient Buddhist Cave-temples in the Desert, Red Guards & the Spirit of Peking U

Cultural Revolution:  The Mogao Grottoes Miraculously Emerge Unscathed (Excerpted from 我心归处是敦煌 (Daughter of Dunhuang) by Fan Jinshi as told to Gu Chunfang) Translated by Bruce Humes     Many people have asked me if the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang were damaged during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). At the time, the Destroy the Four Olds, Cultivate the Four News campaign … Continue reading Archaeologist Fan Jinshi’s Memoir: Ancient Buddhist Cave-temples in the Desert, Red Guards & the Spirit of Peking U →

One Belt, One Road: China’s Soft Power Campaign Quietly Inches its Way to Middle East and North Africa

A children's literature exhibition and copyright exchange for countries along the Silk Road were two of the major focuses of the just-ended Beijing Int’l Book Fair, reports the Global Times (Book Fair): Children's book publishers from 15 Arab countries and 18 domestic publishers signed deals that will see the best of children's literature from China … Continue reading One Belt, One Road: China’s Soft Power Campaign Quietly Inches its Way to Middle East and North Africa →

One Belt, One Road: China Has the $, but Does it Have the Cross-cultural Expertise?

China's ambitious "One Belt, One Road" campaign (一带一路, OBOR) is a development strategy and framework that seeks to foster connectivity and cooperation between China and the countries along the ancient Silk Road that passed through Central Asia, West Asia, the Middle East and Europe. It also includes the lesser-known Maritime Silk Road. This global initiative … Continue reading One Belt, One Road: China Has the $, but Does it Have the Cross-cultural Expertise? →

Silk Road Economic Belt: Translators to Get their Slice of the Pie

Representatives of five of China’s northwestern provinces met June 15 in Xining to discuss how to benefit from the “Silk Road Fragrant Books Project” (丝路书香工程). This is a global publishing initiative, given the stamp of approval by China’s Ministry of Propaganda, which is designed to stimulate the translation and publication of great literary, historical and … Continue reading Silk Road Economic Belt: Translators to Get their Slice of the Pie →

Unveiled: List of “2014 China Classics” to Benefit from Translation/Publication Subsidy

(Published: Jun 27, 2014) In yet another move that emphasizes how much $$ China is spending to take its literature global, the 2014 list of finalists for the “China Classics International Publication Project”  (经典中国国际出版工程) has just been announced. It comprises 256 titles that will be translated into 27 languages, according to an article on China … Continue reading Unveiled: List of “2014 China Classics” to Benefit from Translation/Publication Subsidy →