Collection Pop-Up: Rare East Asian Collection

Welcome back to our Collection Pop-Up series for 2025!

Have you ever discovered anything exciting in the library?  Xiaoju Liu, Curator of the University's Rare East Asian Collection, has recently unearthed a rare Chinese manuscript in the collection - a volume of Ming Dynasty poetry and criticism.

Inscriptions in the manuscript  authenticate it as an important artefact. Who decided that? On what grounds was the judgement made? And how does that influence our understanding of the item?

Please join Xiaoju as she guides us through her journey of discovery, discussing the provenance, reception and significance of this item within the collection.