At least gold glitters. Long before the first paper banknotes fluttered through the financial houses of Europe, the bustling markets of 11th century China birthed an unprecedented financial “innovation”: the use of paper currency. In the 1020s, burdened by the shortage of bronze coins and a rapidly expanding economy, merchants in the southwestern province of…
Western theoretical frameworks are often ill-suited for China studies, according to Chinese academics who called instead for research that was grounded in the country’s specific context. The case for a tailored approach, bolstered by field research to correct biases and enable deeper understanding, was made at this week’s World Conference on China Studies in Shanghai,…
An exhibition featuring more than 100 works of art such as jewellery, weaponry and fragments of architectural history from the Mughal court – a Muslim dynasty encompassing most of present-day South Asia – opened in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is the first stop on the travelling show’s itinerary and the…