iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Not what I am looking for, but still an introguing find: someone must have been bored... (Or.8210/S.3011B, dated 848 to 868). #dunhuang #manuscripts #chinese

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

What's crawling here? It's my author's copy of "Microhistories Retold. Insects in the Premodern World". The contributions range from studying #insects as materia medica to philosophical and literary views, and from Virgil to medieval Portugal and early China. @degruyterbrill.bsky.social @lmu.de

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

On Chinese and Taiwanese social media, users are jokingly discussing alternative designs to the proposed new #Euro banknotes showing famous people or birds: a train construction site in Germany, a pickpocket in Paris, or an attached plastic bottle cap.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

A bittersweet last day at #EACS2026 in Venice. While I normally tend to stick to early history and philosophy more, this year, I have mostly listened to papers on literature and from manuscript studies, which has been very inspiring.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

My presentation "The Classics as Teachers, Teaching the Classics. Commentary as a Didactic Instrument in Early Imperial China" at #EACS2026 takes place in session 10/11 (from 14:15) tomorrow in room 10A.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

#EACS2026 has kicked off in Venice! An impressive 800 scholars of Chinese Studies from Europe and the world are gathered here.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

How I imagine everyone is travelling to #EACS2026 (conference of the European Association for Chinese Studies) in Venice.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

I finally got my hands on "The Craft of Oblivion" by @albertgalvany.bsky.social (2023). Curious to find out what the beautiful fish on the cover have to do with forgetting and memory. Goldfish, at least, have been proven to have a much better memory than they get credit for...

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

A masterclass has rounded off the summery visit by Martin Kern to @lmu.de. Based on his forthcoming comparative philology lexicon, we discussed the value of intercultural and interdisciplinary comparison (decentring familiar conceptions and convictions) and gained career insights for our PhD cohort.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I discovered a, to someone in Chinese Studies especially, interesting detail on the facade of Westminster Abbey, London: a Chinese man's sculpture. Turns out, it is pastor Wang Zhiming 王志明 (1907-1973), who is revered as a modern martyr because he was killed during the Cultural Revolution.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Prof. Martin Kern (Princeton) will give a lecture on "Writing and Community in 300 BCE China. The Canonical Poems (Shi 詩) at the Chu 楚 Capital of Ying 郢" @lmu.de on July 14th. I am thrilled he followed the invitation by our project and will even be giving a masterclass to our cohort.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

I organised an introductory seminar on #DigitalHumanities together with the IT Group fpr the Humanities @lmu.de for our cohort of #PhD students. The seminar concluded with a detailed overview of current #AI tools and how they might be responsibly implemented into a research workflow.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Yesterday, the opening ceremony of the Cluster of Excellence "Cross-Cultural #Philology" took place in #Munich. Part of the ceremony were paired presentations by the PIs. Pictured are @histphilosophy.bsky.social and Prof. Hans van Ess, comparing commentaries from #Arabic and #Chinese texts. @lmu.de

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Pressing this door handle would trigger a deafening alarm, so someone took precautions that nobody would press it :D (this is not an emergency exit, no worries)

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Glad that my participation at EACS Venice will be supported by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). My presentation on "The Classics as Teachers, Teaching the Classics" discusses the intersection of teaching and commentary-writing on the "Confucian" classics. Kitty for your viewing pleasure.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

A glimpse into St Michael's Church (聖彌愛爾大教堂), Qingdao (China). Construction began in the German concession around 1932 under the auspices of the Steyler missionaries. It is a Roman-style architecture and was used until around 1950.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

A late Qin 秦 dynasty wooden map, excavated in Fangmatan 放馬灘 No. 1 (Gansu, Tianshui 甘肅省天水市). #cartography #chinesehistory #china #manuscripts #maps #geography #research #history #archeology #asia

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

The Year of the Horse is celebrated with a play on words at this hotel in China: 马屁拍拍，好运即来, "Pat pat the horse butt, and good luck will come soon". The proverbial phrase "patting the horse butt" means "to flatter someone" in Chinese.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

A sign at the Laoshan Daoist Temple, saying that minors are not permitted to participate in religious activities. Under 18-year-olds may not be present at religious ceremonies under Chinese law.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Qingdao No. 9 High School traces its roots back to German missionary and sinologist Richard Wilhelm (衛禮賢, 1879-1930), who translated a large number of Chinese classics into German. Lesser known that the Chinese scholar Lao Naixuan 勞乃宣 (1843-1921) helped him with the translations .

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

There are overall 20 different plays put on, and some visitors come several days in a row to see them all. Some are interactive, and they all interweave bombastic light and visual effects and narration with the stageplay.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

I was interviewed about my impressions of the Dream of Red Mansions plays at Langfang Hongloumeng Huancheng 廊坊《紅樓夢》幻城, a kind of artist's dreamland that interweaves influences from the classic novel with very large-scale stage technology. I will share some thoughts below.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Impressions from the exhibitions of textual and cultural heritage at the China National Archives of Publications and Culture (中國國家版本館）. They are not yet publicly accessible, but house a comprehensive collection of textual artefacts in an effort to preserve China's cultural heritage.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Talisman in a temple in Hengchun 恆春, #Taiwan.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Production facility for tofu skin (doupi 豆皮) in Dachi 大池, #Taiwan.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

/2 Another depicts "Accepting the red-haired foreigners' submission" (shoufu hongmao fan 收服紅毛番), commemorating Koxinga's victory. This temple is hidden in a pretty remote fishing hamlet between Taitung and Hualien.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Illustrations at a #Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功) shrine in #Taitung 臺東 (Eastern #Taiwan). One shows Zheng's ships (flying banners with the character Zheng 鄭) attacking a Dutch fortress (marked by the character He 荷 for Helan 荷蘭). /1

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

The mountaneous areas of #Miaoli county are famous for their strawberries. This is a "pick your own"...field (but no need to bend down). Tip: ask for a sample from different owners, the difference was noticeable (even at adjacent plots). #Taiwan

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Ad for a #Taichung local politician (sorry his face is covered) who says he "would very much like to kick #Trump's arse" (很想揍川普). Not sure what this says about his goals for a Taiwanese city district (北屯, biggest current discussion topic is a high road expansion) flashy campaign for sure.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Steak restaurant near Yongchun 永春 MRT (Taipei) that combines three characters consisting of first one, then two, then three "human" radicals: 人从众. What is supposedly meant as visual play revals a philosophic message: "humans follow the crowd". Profound for a place selling slices of dead cow. #台北

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

Very detailed funerary grain jar (Western Jin Dynasty).

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

These two very realistic and adorable oinkers (Western Han).

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

These two gorgeous elephant jugs (Qing). Animals are a recurring theme throughout the collection.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

A Qing kitsch vase with a pocelain bow.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

3. Owl-shaped jars with ash glaze (Han dynasty).

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

2. An emoji jug (looks like 囧 to me). Qing period, I think.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

A little gallery of my favourite exhibits at the National Palace Museum (besides the cabbage, of course). 1. Celadon bowl embedded in oyster shells (Southern Song).

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

A familiar seeming illustration from the script of "Dragon's Gate Inn" (龍門客棧) on display at Taoyuan airport.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

...and of course, a visit to the Palace Museum was in order. /3

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

...and these calligraphies by Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 in a letter to Fu Ssu-nien 傅斯年. I furthermore had the opportunity to meet or catch up with some fellow scholars... /2

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Some highlights from the libraries at Academia Sinica: a book about the mysterious apocryphal writings in China (new to me, and takes me back to my dissertation), 緯史論微 (Discussing Minutiae of the Apocryphs' History)... /1

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Wrapping up my brief research visit to Taipei with an obligatory visit to Elephant Mountain. Didn't see any elephants. #taiwan #skyline #taipei

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

In #Taiwan, cars of European brands are often decorated with #EU-style number plate frames. In this example, an old Škoda car is given a mock-plate of #Czech Republic.

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Siwei (lit. "Four cornerstones" or "four directions") refers to the "four social bonds": mores, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame (li, yi, lian, chi 禮義廉恥). (The image below shows the university sports facilities).

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

This is the oldest building on the campus in #Taipei, where the university relocated to in 1954 (it's out in/on the mountains of Muzha 木柵. Not very central, but close to the famous Maokong 貓空 tea-growing area). It is called Siwei 四維 building and houses cultural activities and ceremonies. /2

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Marco Pouget @marcopouget.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

I had the opportunity to visit Cheng-chi University #政治大學 today (founded in 1927). I learned that the university's name (cheng-chi means "politics") refers to its beginnings as a training ground for political administrators. Thus, it had strong bonds to the #Kuomintang 國民党 at the time. /1

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