There is an exhibition of artefacts, or stuff as it is commonly known, from the Han Dynasty coming up at the Asmolean in Oxford and I spent much of yesterday listening and rereading about Wen Di, my favourite emperor, Wu Di the empire builder and the cruel Empress Lu. It was an extraordinary age and I'm really looking forward to seeing objects which will be on show for the first time outside China.
If anyone is interested, I highly recommend Lazlo Montgomery's China History Podcast.
It is Monday morning and I'm about to set off for Shropshire.
If anyone is interested, I highly recommend Lazlo Montgomery's China History Podcast.
It is Monday morning and I'm about to set off for Shropshire.
I glanced down onto the car park last night
Everything was washed in a pale frozen light
The cars, the outline of the rowan tree
Shadowed houses
And beyond a string of orange streetlights along the ring road.
It all seemed so still, so cold, so far away
And different.
It was only ten o’clock
Yet no one came or went
No cars
No distant hum of traffic
No litter of paper and plastic blown across the grass
While all around the world crowds streamed through the streets
Talking, laughing… weeping
Drinking coffee, holding hands
Playing loud music,
Shouting abuse at no one in particular
And robbing the unwary in dark alleys.
But here all is still and dead as a painting
A photograph
For fear of breaking some kind of strangeness
Some silent sleeping spell
I carefully closed the curtains.