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It is with sadness that I report Professor John DeFrancis, whose lifelong study of China and Chinese influenced several generations of scholars, passed away in Hawaii on January 2. His remarkable life story and commitment to research and teaching are celebrated in a memorial website which is, of course, blocked in China. Taking some necessary liberties, I’ve appended an essay from that site below. Continue reading John DeFrancis, linguist and scholar, 1911-2009 Today is my first day back at work and it promises to be a busy one, but January 8th is such a juicy day in Chinese history I couldn’t leave it alone. In 141 A.D. Han Wudi, an emperor much beloved by territorial chauvanists and future generations of Confucian beareaucrats, ascended the throne. During his 69 years [...] Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to get annoyed at conversations which devolve into endless queries as to my mental capacity. This happens quite a bit in China: Person on plane: “I’m from Sichuan. DO. YOU. KNOW. SI-CHUAN?” Me: “Yes, I do. I’m from New Hampshire. Do. you. know. New. Hampshire?’* Person on plane: [blank stare] Now I’m willing [...] Grisly discovery from Xinjiang: Six more or less preserved corpses from the days of the Qing Empire. The bodies were dated based on their clothing and long (over four feet) queues which were still intact and visible. The article identifies the corpses as officials, but it’s a little hard to tell from the accompanying (rather grisly) photograph. There [...] |
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