[Rostam sleeping while Rakhsh fights a lion. British Museum 1948,1211,0.23]
Time: Friday October 8, 9:30am–8:30pm; Saturday October 9, 9:00am–6:00pm BST
Online Registration: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/x/china-india-and-iran-scientific-exchange-and-cultural-contact-tickets-181149321497
Abstract: Connected by the Silk Road, the three ancient civilisations, China, India, and Iran engaged in dialogue and exchange from around the beginning of the Common Era for over a millennium. Such intra-Asian contacts entailed scientific and cultural exchange in the fields of astronomy, medicine, language, and religion, as well as various forms of material culture. As new ideas and technological knowledge, embodied often in specific cultural forms, cross cultural and linguistic boundaries, they transform and adapt to the local cultures, creating lasting effects for their recipients. In this interdisciplinary workshop jointly organised by the Needham Research Institute, the Ancient India and Iran Trust, and the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Cambridge University, specialists of the pre-modern cultures in Asia will share their insights on this phenomenon focusing on the first millennium CE, as well as highlights from their latest research. The event will be an occasion for scholars and researchers based in various institutes in U.K. to engage in scholarly exchange and to explore further topics of common interest.
Keynote Speaker: Sam Lieu FBA
Speakers: T.H.Barrett (SOAS, University of London),Thomas Benfey (University of Oxford), Sally K. Church (Needham Research Institute), Seb Falk (University of Cambridge), Flavia Xi Fang (University of Cambridge), Jing Feng (University of Cambridge), Imre Galambos (University of Cambridge), Erica C.D. Hunter (SOAS, University of London), Bill M. Mak (Needham Research Institute), Raymond Mercier, Daniel J. Sheridan (University of Cambridge), Nicholas Sims-Williams (AIIT/ SOAS, University of London), Vincenzo Vergiani (University of Cambridge), Dror Weil (University of Cambridge), Zhan Zhang (University of Oxford)
Please see the program and the poster of this workshop
Program
Day 1: October 8, 2021
| 09:30-09:45 | Welcoming Address Jianjun Mei (Needham Research Institute) |
| 09:45-10:30 | Keynote Lecture Sam Lieu FBA (Robinson College, Cambridge) From Qin to Cathay – Names for China and the Chinese on the Silk Road |
| 10:30-11:00 | Tea Break |
| 11:00-11:30 | Erica C.D. Hunter (SOAS, University of London) Cam. Mm-6-29 and the Transmission of Metallurgical Recipes |
| 11:30-12:00 | Sally K. Church (Needham Research Institute) Interplays and Interactions on the Maritime and Overland Silk Roads in the First Millennium CE |
| 12:00-12:30 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: Jianjun Mei |
| 12:30-14:00 | Buffet Lunch |
| 14:00-14:30 | Tim H. Barrett (SOAS, University of London) The Ultimate Goal of Daoism: An Iranian State of Mind? |
| 14:30-15:00 | Jing Feng (University of Cambridge) Dunhuang Codices under the Cross-cultural Lens |
| 15:00-15:30 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: Imre Galambos |
| 15:30-16:00 | Tea break and optional tour of NRI |
| 16:00-16:30 | Dror Weil (University of Cambridge) Translating Cross-Asian Medical Experience in Tables: The Case of Taqwīm Works |
| 16:30-17:00 | Flavia Xi Fang (University of Cambridge) Travelling Scents: The Transmission of Aromatics and the Reshaping of the Tang Smellscape |
| 17:00-17:30 | Daniel J. Sheridan (University of Cambridge) Books from Afar: Christian Codices and Scripts in Early Medieval China |
| 17:30-18:00 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: Erica C.D. Hunter |
| 19:00-20:30 | Workshop Dinner |
Day 2 : October 9, 2021
| 09:00-09:15 | Welcome Address Nicholas Sims-Williams (Ancient India and Iran Trust) |
| 09:15-09:45 | Vincenzo Vergiani (University of Cambridge) The Introduction of Writing in Achaemenid Gandhāra and the Birth of Pāṇini’s Grammar |
| 09:45-10:15 | Zhan Zhang (University of Oxford) Form, Format, and Formulae of Slave Purchase Contracts in First-millennium Central Asia |
| 10:15-10:45 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: Nicholas Sims-Williams |
| 10:45-11:00 | Tea Break |
| 11:00-11:30 | Imre Galambos (University of Cambridge) The Pothi Book Form In 10th- century Dunhuang |
| 11:30-12:00 | Bill M. Mak (Needham Research Institute, Tsz Shan Monastery Buddhist Art Museum) The Astral Science of the Persian Christians in Tang China and its Chinese Reception |
| 12:00-12:30 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: Tim H. Barrett |
| 12:30-14:00 | Buffet Lunch |
| 14:00-14:30 | Thomas Benfey (University of Oxford) The Sasanian Iranian Reception of India Astral Science: A Reevaluation |
| 14:30-15:00 | Raymond Mercier Āryabhaṭa’s Astronomy and the Underlying Observations |
| 15:00-15:30 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: François de Blois (University College London) |
| 15:30-16:00 | Tea break and tour of AIIT |
| 16:00-16:30 | Nicholas Sims-Williams (SOAS, University of London) Bi Bo (Renmin University, Beijing) Astronomy and Astrology in a Manichaean Text from Turfan |
| 16:30-17:00 | Seb Falk (University of Cambridge) Astronomical Instruments and Ideas: India, Iran and Europe |
| 17:00-17:30 | Discussions and Q&A Discussant: François de Blois |
| 17:30-18:00 | Closing Remarks |
