iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

It is my pleasure to announce that Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and Museum für Asiatische Kunst are collaborating on a project to research scroll III 520 (Turfan Collection), a unique 8th or 9th century piece that depicts the zodiac signs. www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/research/pro...

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Reposted by Jeffrey Kotyk

Cambridge Digital Library @camdiglib.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Blow me down with a shooting star! 💫 ✨ 🌟 🤩 A rare manuscript copy of 天元玉曆祥異賦 (The Tianyuan Jade Calendar in Verse Prose on the Auspicious and Unusual Signs). 10 vols with oodles of stunning hand coloured illustrations on this work of Chinese #astrology to explore! cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-FH-0...

Winds blow and waves crash - how would you interpret the signs?
https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-FH-00020-00038/13

Strange beasts run across the sky: https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-FH-00020-00043/95

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

"In this paper I want to point out that the concept of predetermined sexuality is observed in horoscopic literature in China from the ninth century." www.cultureandcosmos.org/pdfs/28/28_K...

cultureandcosmos.org

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Spending the winter break at Dharma Drum Mountain 法鼓山 in Taiwan.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Back to Buddhism. At American Academy of Religion 2025, speaking on Maitreya in the Āgamas, Mahāyāna, and early Vajrayāna. Thanks to my panel members!

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

History of Science Society (HSS), 2025 Annual Meeting. De Gruyter Brill book table.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Heading to New Orleans today for the History of Science Society (HSS) 2025 Annual Meeting.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Examining an astrological scroll (III 520) from Turfan, 9th century. Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Humboldt Forum. Several researchers are taking an interest in this object!

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Registered for the AAS Annual Conference in Vancouver, Canada from March 12-15, 2026.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 01/10/2025

Honored that my book has been shortlisted for the Late Antiquity Book Prize in Memory of Bill Podmore (1933-2016). vcla.org.uk/bookprize/

vcla.org.uk

Late Antiquity Podmore Book Prize

Late Antiquity Book Prize in memory of Bill Podmore (1933-2016), awarded by the VCLA.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Visiting the Yale University Art Gallery.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

The generals in the Beinecke edition of the omenology manuscript (天元玉曆祥異賦). The qi 氣 of the general will manifest in the sky in various ways.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

At the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale, examining a copy of a Ming-era omenology manual (天元玉曆祥異賦) from 1425, but I think this manuscript dates to the early Qing.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

At Yale University. Checking out the used bookstores.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Important forthcoming volume. Astrologers at Work: Essays on the Practices and Techniques of Astrology in Memory of Helena Avelar. brill.com/display/titl...

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

We had a joint summer school program at Beijing between University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG). I had a lot of fun in Beijing.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Coming soon: "Astrologers at Work brings together fourteen scholars to explore the history of astrological practice, focusing on techniques, doctrines, and methods of interpretation across cultures and centuries." brill.com/display/titl...

brill.com

Astrologers at Work

"Astrologers at Work" published on 30 Oct 2025 by Brill.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Too many centipedes in the house. 天稚彦物語絵巻. Humboldt Forum.

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Reposted by Jeffrey Kotyk

Jörg Matthias Determann @determann.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Thank you and 감사합니다 to Sooyeun Yang for sending me photos from the panel I chaired at the Meeting of ‪ @bshsnews.bsky.social at @cam.ac.uk. Po-Hung Liu, @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social, @busradede.bsky.social and Majideh Qazizadeh gave spectacular presentations. conference.bshs.org.uk/wp-content/u...

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

I'm in Cambridge for the annual meeting of the British Society for the History of Science.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

British Society for the History of Science: Annual Conference, from July 8 to 10, 2025, in Cambridge. I'll be presenting on "Scientific Astronomy and Horoscopes in Medieval Japan." conference.bshs.org.uk/programme/#6g

conference.bshs.org.uk

Programme – BSHS annual conference

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Reposted by Jeffrey Kotyk

Jörg Matthias Determann @determann.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

I would like to add to my expression of gratitude to @samhistsci.bsky.social by thanking him for allowing me to chair a panel at the conference of @bshsnews.bsky.social with Po-Hung Liu, @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social, @busradede.bsky.social and Majideh Qazizadeh. conference.bshs.org.uk/wp-content/u...

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

My recent presentation in Paris: "Astral Icons in the Taizō Maṇḍala 胎藏曼荼羅 versus Textual Descriptions." MANTRATANTRAM project, 30 May 2025. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lcz...

youtube.com

MANTRATANTRAM_VID_TantricBorderlands_Paris_30_05_2025_Kotyk

YouTube video by Andrea Acri

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

I'll be at the British Society for the History of Science Annual Conference, July 8 to 10, in Cambridge. I'll speak on "Scientific Astronomy and Horoscopes in Medieval Japan." conference.bshs.org.uk/programme/

conference.bshs.org.uk

Programme – BSHS annual conference

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Première visite au Campus Condorcet. 🇫🇷

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Depictions of signs of the zodiac from Brauweiler Abbey, before 1141. Shell limestone, recycled Roman architectural pieces.Dauerleihgabe des Museum Schnütgen, Köln.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Many thanks to Prof. Ralph Kauz and Bonn University for the opportunity to present my book.

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Ferdowsi and Company | فردوسی و دوستان @ferdowsiandcompany.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Much belated intro of our interview with Dr. Jeffrey Kotyk about his book which builds on the pioneering work of Berthold Laufer by utilising classical Chinese sources to tell the story of Sino-Iran in a new light for both Iranologists & Sinologists. open.spotify.com/episode/0wUqJq

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Upcoming conference in Paris. networks.h-net.org/group/announ...

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Last day of the conference was held at the Münster Zoo which has a cosplay event today.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

In Münster for a conference. "Same and/or Other? Animals in East Asian History." www.uni-muenster.de/Sinologie/fo...

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

At auction: "The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, Mauryan Empire, Ashokan era, circa 240-200 BC." www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti...

sothebys.com

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Exploring Early Buddhist–Christian (Jingjiao 景教) Dialogues in Text and Image: A Cultural Hermeneutic Approach, Wang Jun and Michael Cavayero. www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16...

mdpi.com

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Peter Romaskiewicz, PhD @peterromaskiewicz.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

Anyang Museum in Henan Province finished restoration on a local tomb mural depicting a black and white cat (note the bell collar!). Belonging to official Zhao Yigong, the tomb was completed in 829 CE; it's thought to be the earliest Chinese tomb mural of a domestic cat. #caturday

The image is a fragment of a burial tomb mural depicting a cat. The artwork shows a black and white cat sitting upright. The cat is facing to the right and its tail is curled around its body. The mural has a weathered appearance, with visible cracks and a rough texture.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Fine Sasanian metalwork. Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art (2023).

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Bryan Lowe @bryandaniellowe.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Just reassembling printed editions of now mixed up Shōsōin documents into their original 8th-century order as a scroll in preparation for my grad seminar tomorrow 📜

Long taped together scroll of documents on floor

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Many thanks to Tel Aviv University and Prof. Or Porath for an invitation to give a series of lectures on Sino-Iranian relations in late antiquity, Japanese star mandalas, and ancient astronomy in East Asia. We also visited the Israel Museum yesterday evening.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

At Tel Aviv University speaking on the relations between Iran and China in late antiquity.

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Jeffrey Kotyk @jeffreykotyk.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Nice configuration of Mars, Moon, and Jupiter tonight. Stellarium app.

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De Gruyter Brill Medieval & Early Modern Studies @dgb-mem.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

From boxes to book shop: ready for tomorrow’s opening of the annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America. @saaupdates.bsky.social #Shax2025 #RSA2025 #RenSA25 #EarlyModernSky