January 30

Da Zheng’s Silent Traveler now in Chinese

Da Zheng has just published the Chinese language version of his well-received 2010 book on Chiang Yee.  The Chinese language version is titled Xixing huaji: Jiang Yi zhuan 西行畫記: 蔣彝傳 (The Silent Traveler in the West: A Biography of  Chiang Yee) (Beijing, Commercial Press, 2013).

Chiang Yee (1903-1977 ) was a poet, painter, scholar, and an exile who lived most of his adult life in the West, principally in England and the United States. In his many publications and through his drawings, he captured the flavor of Western life as seen through an Asian sensibility.  Zheng’s new book begins with 16 plates, most in color, that serve as a visual introduction to the elegantly written text which follows. Other sketches and photos in black and white illustrate the text. Chiang’s poetry, translated in the English edition of Da’s book, is available here in the original Chinese version. The book’s publisher, the Commercial Press  (商務印書館) is one of China’s most established publishing houses.

Amazon China link.

Da book Chinese

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July 26

Popular Culture in China’s Republican Period: The story of a family genealogy

A Chinese language research article of Ron Suleski was recently published.  Titled “Popular Culture in China’s Republican Period: The story of a family genealogy,”民國時期的平民文化:一本家譜的故事.  It appeared in the Journal of Hangzhou Normal University杭州師範大學學報, Vol. 34, No. 3 (May 2012), 1-7.

The article is based on a hand-written family history I bought at a market in Shandong Province 山東省 in 2009.  It did not have many pages and seemed to have very little concrete information, but a thorough analysis of the work revealed a surprising amount of information about the Tang 唐family.  For example, though most likely in a rural area, the Tang family wanted to acquire social status, so over the centuries a number of the men took secondary wives, whose names were listed in the genealogy. It also illustrates that female children who died while still only one or two years old were not even given names in the family record, but were simply listed as “female” (女).

An abstract of the article is here.

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December 13

Prof. Bokhari’s recent publications and presentations

Publications

Prof. Bokhari has the following accomplishments to report:

  • A book chapter titled “Between Patron and Piety: Jahan Ara Begum’s Sufi Affiliations and Articulations” in Sufism and Society: Arrangements of the Mystical in the Muslim World, 1200-1800 C.E., ed. John J. Curry and Erik S. Ohlander (London and New York: Routledge, August, 2011).
  • She also published an article titled  “Imperial Transgressions and Spiritual Investitures: Female Agency in Seventeenth Century Mughal India.” Journal of Persianate Studies, Special Issue, (June 2011, Brill ). [Imperial Transgressions and Spiritual Investitures page 1]
  • “The ‘Light’ of the Timuria: Jahan Ara Begum’s Patronage, Piety and Poetry in 17th C. Mughal India.”Marg Art Journal, 60.1 (2008): 52-61. [The “Light” of the Timuria page 1]

Media appearance

Prof. Bokhari has helped to create a documentary film scheduled for broadcast on PBS in 2012. “Islamic Art: Mirror of the Invisible World”  a documentary film exploring themes such as the Word, Space, Ornament, Color, and Water, the film takes audiences on a global journey through Islamic regions to hear the stories behind the masterworks of Islamic art and architecture. (GardnerFilms.com)

Conference Presentation

  • “Chasing Legacy: Jahan Ara Begum’s( 1614-1681) Loci of Memory at Begum Dalani, Ajmer (1638), Chahar Burj, Lahore (1646) and the Mullah Shah Khanaqah, Srinagar, Kashmir (1648).” Trust for Historic Arts and Architecture Pakistan. Lahore, Pakistan, November 11-13, 2011.
  • “Sexual Desire as Mystical Confessions in Jahan Ara Begam’s (1614-1681) Autobiographical Sufi Writings.” Women’s Autobiography in Islamic Societies: Representation and Identity. The American University Sharjah, Dubai, 29-31 October, 2011
  • “Ars Erotica: ‘Visualizing’ the Sensual Sūfi in 16th-18th C. Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal Miniature Paintings, Poetry and Sūfi narratives” Harvard University: Aga Khan Program Fellowship Lecture Series, April 22, 2011.
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