16th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia (ICHSEA)

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I was on the road, once again, on the third week of semester. The timing was not ideal but it was beyond my control. I was invited to the 16th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia (ICHSEA) by Prof. Catherine Jami to present a paper in her panel, titled “Translating East Asian Sources: Historical Studies and Research Practice”. My paper was titled “Sino-Indian Astronomical Texts in Translation – Authorial Intention vs. Readers’ Interpretation”. It focused mainly in two translingual East Asian astronomical texts: the Nine Seizers Canon (Jiuzhi li 九執曆) and the Treatise on Lunar Mansions and Planets (Xiuyao jing 宿曜經). Writing this paper was not too stressful as I published two book chapters precisely on these two texts in a Brill volume edited by Dagmar Schäfer et al. This was the first time I participated in an international conference with funding not from a university, namely, as Director of Chinese Research Center of the ISF Academy. There are some ISF ties here as well, since Prof. Catherine Jami is the wife of Prof. Christopher Cullen, who was the former Director of the NRI. Because of various publishing projects, it made sense for me to meet the academic couple. Furthermore, this was the first time I would be interacting with international scholars since the pandemic had passed. Frankly, speaking the conference was not as seamlessly organised as I would have expected from one organised by our German colleagues. But it was a good occasion to see so many scholars nonetheless, especially the large number of Chinese scholars, including those from USTC. Prof. Shi Yunli, who represented not only USTC, but also as the chairman of the International Society for the History of East Asian Science, and his team of almost 10 scholars. Some highlight of the conference included Taiwanese scholar Chu Pingyi’s 祝平一keynote speech and the special Chinese collection of Prof. Alfred Forke at the University of Frankfurt am Main. Unfortunately, I was the only scholar from Hong Kong, with another being a Chinese PhD student who was pursuing a degree in Hong Kong. My German trip was a hasty one. I managed nonetheless a side trip to Berlin to see the fantastic Humboldt Forum, and the visit to the Städel Museum in Frankfurt was delightful.

Visit to Humboldt Forum with Dr. Corinna Wessels-Mevissen

Special collection of Prof. Alfred Forke at the University of Frankfurt am Main

Bencao Collection of Prof. Alfred Forke at the University of Frankfurt am Main

My presentation at the ICHSEA