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James A. Benn

@jamesabenn.bsky.social

1.6K followers 2.4K following 660 posts

Medieval Chinese Religions. McMaster Uni. Burning for the Buddha (Hawai'i 2007) pback 2016; Tea in China (Hawai'i, 2015), Chinese trans. 2019. Canadian, obvs.

Videos

Political science 34%

Sociology 34%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Kris Inwood, James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 1d

Has anyone ever attempted to georeference the maps from Tan Qixiang's 譚其驤 Zhongguo lishi ditu ji 中國歷史地圖集?

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 1d

#BOTD: Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 (1879–1942, left-hand side), revolutionary, journalist, publicist, and, together with Li Dazhao 李大釗 (1889–1927, right-hand side), founder of the #Communist Party of #China #中國共產黨 in 1921. #CCP #CPC #ModernChina #ChineseHistory

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 1d

#BOTD: Sun Kuo-tung 孫國棟 (1922–2013), historian of #MedievalChina (Tang-Song 唐宋), medieval Chinese #InstitutionalHistory, aristocracy, and #prosopography. #MedievalHistory

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 1d

DOTD: Yan Gengwang 嚴耕望 (1916–1996), historian of #AncientChina and #MedievalChina. #唐史 #交通史

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 1d

#DOTD: Lin Shu 林紓 (1852–1924). With his team of collaborators, he rendered almost 200 foreign works of literature in Chinese. #ModernChina #ChineseLiterature

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Reposted by James A. Benn

On This Day In @chroniclebot.bsky.social · 1d

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The Hangul alphabet is published in Korea.

Hangul

The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as Chosŏn'gŭl, and in South Korea, it is known as Hangul. The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs used to pronounce them. They are systematically modified to indicate phonetic features. The vowel letters are systematically modified for related sounds, making Hangul a possible featural writing system. It has been described as a syllabic alphabet or alphabetic syllabary as it combines the features of alphabetic and syllabic writing systems, though it is not technically an abugida.

en.wikipedia.org

Reposted by James A. Benn

Ian S. Pumpkins @icpetrie.bsky.social · 1d

JOB: TT Assistant Professor, Comparative Literature, Université de Montréal

Theory, Modern French literature and Spanish-language literatures of Latin America
universityaffairs.ca/search-job/?...

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Reposted by James A. Benn

The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 1d

A few of the seven etchings that comprise Käthe Kollwitz's Peasants’ War series (ca. 1901–1908) about the innate dignity, courage, and strength of the poor. More in our latest post here: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/kollwitz-peasants-war/

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Footnotes in History @footnotesinhistory.bsky.social · 1d

A photograph of a Japanese American couple with a baby. Caption in album: "At Yoshinaka Farm. Moses Lake, Washington. Karen - 8 months old. Taken October 1944."
🗃 #skystorians

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Reposted by James A. Benn

elisa freschi @elisafreschi.bsky.social · 1d

For #students: If you want to apply to UofT #philosophy for grad school, you may want to join this webinar:
philosophy.utoronto.ca/event/applyt...

Applying to Grad School Workshop - Department of Philosophy

Interested in a graduate program in Philosophy at U of T? Have a panel of experts share their advice and insights.

philosophy.utoronto.ca

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Patricia Sauthoff 司徒雛菊 @sauthoff.bsky.social · 1d

I contributed a chapter to this amazing volume that just received a glowing review from @buddhistdoor.bsky.social

Book Review: The Oxford Handbook of Tantric Studies - Buddhistdoor Global

The most ambitious academic engagement in a generation with the tantric expressions of Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and more

www.buddhistdoor.net

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Reposted by James A. Benn

The Digital Orientalist @digitalorientalist.bsky.social · 1d

Like what you see? Share it!

The DO is the only open-access magazine that covers developments and topics in the #DH worlds of Asian, N. African and Middle Eastern fields.

Help us spread the word

a man sitting in a chair with the words tell your friends above him

ALT: a man sitting in a chair with the words tell your friends above him

media.tenor.com

Reposted by James A. Benn

Hilde De Weerdt @hildedw.bsky.social · 1d

Tenure track prof in Contemporary Middle East Studies KU Leuven
Unlike many European universities, Leuven has a tenure track system; university & faculty management are elected. There is a startup fund of 110,000€. Leuven has a sabbatical policy.
www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...

Tenure track professor in Contemporary Middle East Studies (Faculty of Arts, KU Leuven)

The East Asian and Arabic Research Unit of the Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven is seeking a full-time tenure-track professor (ZAP) in contemporary Middle East Studies. The professorship will commence on ...

www.kuleuven.be

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Xueting C. Ni 倪雪婷 (she, ta) @xuetingni.bsky.social · 1d

Whilst I can see why the Barbican are putting this show on for Halloween, but considering its premise, it's odd, because Ghost Month has come and gone. Nevertheless, I'm delighted to see an Underworld inspired by Chinese mythology being brought to London.
www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/202...

Prayers For A Hungry Ghost | Barbican

Shattering, sardonic, funny and tender, this ensemble production combines horror, physical performance, live cinema and Chinese mythology to bring audiences into 'the realm of hungry ghosts'.

www.barbican.org.uk

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History @bcricciinstitute.bsky.social · 1d

Our librarian Mårten Söderblom Saarela will give three online talks for the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, on November 8, 2025, 9:00am-1:30pm Eastern time. The theme of the talks is "The Jesuit Mission to China." For details and registration, see ncta.princeton.edu.

The poster for the event. RSVP at https://ncta.princeton.edu/registration/

A sea monster from Ferdinand Verbiest’s Chinese world map Kunyu quantu (1648). Photograph taken from a reproduction held at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, Boston College.

A diagram showing sunrise and sunset from Adam Schall von Bell’s Chinese treatise Yuanjing shuo (Explanation of the telescope; 1626). Photograph taken from an undated Japanese manuscript copy held at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, Boston College.

A drawing of a European telescope from Adam Schall von Bell’s Chinese treatise Yuanjing shuo (Explanation of the telescope; 1626). Photograph taken from an undated Japanese manuscript copy held at the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History, Boston College.

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 1d

Today's blog is my quarterly global catch-up on everything going on in higher education. The sector has seen better days.

That Was The Quarter That Was, Summer 2025 | HESA

Welcome to TWTQTW for June-September. Things were a little slow in July, but with back to school happening in most … Continued

higheredstrategy.com

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Worn On This Day @wornonthisday.bsky.social · 1d

Worn #onthisday in 1928 by Fred Astaire as best man to jockey Jack Leach at his #wedding to Betty Darling in London. The Telegraph described the bride's gown "of ivory moussline de soie ornamented with pearl and crystal embroideries" and "chiffon-lined train of silver lace." #OTD @gettyimages.com

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Prof. Dr. Michael Hö (Sinologist) 何彌夏 🇹🇼🇪🇺🇭🇰 @medievalchina.bsky.social · 2d

#DOTD: Huang Kan (1886–1935), Chinese classicist, philologist, historical linguist, and self-proclaimed expert in insulting Hu Shi 罵胡適 (1891–1962). His most renowned works include Reading Notes on Literary Mind and the Carving of Dragons 文心雕龍札記.
baike.baidu.com/tashuo/brows...

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James A. Benn @jamesabenn.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations Bryan. Looking forward to this one

Reposted by James A. Benn

Bryan Lowe @bryandaniellowe.bsky.social · 2d

My new book is coming out in August 2026.
uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/how-bu...

How Buddhism Spread in Japan, 650-850

Between the late seventh and early ninth centuries, Japan changed from a land largely without Buddhism to a country where Buddhist ideas, images, and practices were everywhere. The introduction of …

uhpress.hawaii.edu

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James A. Benn @jamesabenn.bsky.social · 2d

Stephen Owen though?

James A. Benn @jamesabenn.bsky.social · 2d

www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/alterin...

Altering an Ancient Chinese Text to Create a "UFO"

It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to examine an “ancient text” for evidence of UFOs, and the recent internet buzz about a medieval Chinese UFO sighting provides a good opportunity....

www.jasoncolavito.com

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Reposted by James A. Benn

XingWu🐉ChineseFolklore @xingwu.bsky.social · 2d

🎨 Twelve Shapes of Water by Ma Yuan of the Southern Song Dynasty captures water not as a single form, but as a living rhythm. Across twelve scenes tied to shifting seasons and distant regions, Ma Yuan paints ripples, currents, and stillness with brushwork as 1/2
#art #painting

He abandoned the traditional fish-scale painting technique and extensively used an improved net-pattern method, employing lines to validate the artistic conception of 'water's ever-changing form' and 'emptiness leaving traces more compelling than visible marks.'

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Hermetic Library @hermetic.com · 2d

Card of the day from the Thoth Deck for October 7

Death

hermetic.com/crowley...

🃏 #tarot #ThothDeck #CardOfTheDay #DailyTarot #divination #cartomancy

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Worn On This Day @wornonthisday.bsky.social · 2d

Worn #onthisday in 1989 by gay activists protesting outside the Pan Pacific Hotel in Anaheim, CA, which was hosting the West Coast Symposium on Homosexuality and Public Policy. Their T-shirts read "Silence=Death" and "OUT: Orange County Visibility League." #OTD 📷 LA Public Library

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Reposted by James A. Benn

Peter Adamson @histphilosophy.bsky.social · 3d

A study has just been published comparing writings by three pairs of twins to see whether they write differently, including me and my art historian brother Glenn. The upshot is that our styles are apparently very dissimilar.

www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YFIRR...

#linguistics #twinstudies #philsky

Do Identical Twins Write Identically? Evidence from Authorship Attribution

This study investigates the writing styles of identical twins to determine if their shared genetics result in identical writing. We used computational authorship analysis techniques on writing samp...

www.tandfonline.com

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Reposted by Robert W. Wallace, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Lesley A. Hall , and 3 more Robert W. Wallace, Jonathan M. Gilligan, Lesley A. Hall, Zen Faulkes, Kathleen Kennedy, James A. Benn

Ada Palmer @adapalmer.bsky.social · 3d

I see pieces like this a lot, often w/ a spin of lamenting cultural degeneration, but reading is a LABOR issue, it’s declined because so many people are working overtime or two jobs & employers expect after hours work. France has Earth’s highest reading rate b/c long lunch breaks & labor protections

After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 3d

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James A. Benn @jamesabenn.bsky.social · 3d

Moon update:

Screenshot of deluxe moon app shows full moon

Reposted by James A. Benn

Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History @bcricciinstitute.bsky.social · 3d

Today we celebrate the birthday of our namesake, Fr. Matteo Ricci 利瑪竇, S.J. (Oct. 6, 1552-May 11, 1610). Happy Birthday, Fr. Ricci!

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Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Kathleen Kennedy, James A. Benn

After Dinner Conversation® @afterdinnerconversation.com · 3d

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