Adam Smith
@adsmit.bsky.social
Assoc. Curator, Penn Museum
Views are mine, not my employer's
UK (1970-1993)
PRC (1993-2001)
US (2001-)
http://upenn.academia.edu/AdamSmith
https://twitter.com/AdamDSmith1970
Views are mine, not my employer's
UK (1970-1993)
PRC (1993-2001)
US (2001-)
http://upenn.academia.edu/AdamSmith
https://twitter.com/AdamDSmith1970
From a post on Twitter by Maxim Persikov (Panates).
x.com/gyankotsu/st...
x.com/gyankotsu/st...
October 20, 2025 at 8:44 PM
From a post on Twitter by Maxim Persikov (Panates).
x.com/gyankotsu/st...
x.com/gyankotsu/st...
"The noise made by the tendons of the fingers."
October 20, 2025 at 8:44 PM
"The noise made by the tendons of the fingers."
The murals are approximately contemporary with the famous Yuan and early Ming murals from Henan and Southern Shanxi, many of which are in US collections, including the Penn Museum. The Medicine Buddha and Twelve Divine Generals subject occurs in both.
October 20, 2025 at 7:27 PM
The murals are approximately contemporary with the famous Yuan and early Ming murals from Henan and Southern Shanxi, many of which are in US collections, including the Penn Museum. The Medicine Buddha and Twelve Divine Generals subject occurs in both.
Paste code from here: bbchallenge.org/1RB1RA_1RC1R...
... into this: turingmachine.io
... and chant a buddha-name with each state transition.
... into this: turingmachine.io
... and chant a buddha-name with each state transition.
September 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Paste code from here: bbchallenge.org/1RB1RA_1RC1R...
... into this: turingmachine.io
... and chant a buddha-name with each state transition.
... into this: turingmachine.io
... and chant a buddha-name with each state transition.
The Untold Unspeakably Unspeakables of the Avatamsaka Sutra have got nothing on BB(6).
archive.org/details/TheF...
archive.org/details/TheF...
September 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
The Untold Unspeakably Unspeakables of the Avatamsaka Sutra have got nothing on BB(6).
archive.org/details/TheF...
archive.org/details/TheF...
The grains of sand in eight million kotis of nayutas of Ganges rivers are a tiny handful compared to the number of deterministic steps that this six-state Turing machine starting on an empty tape takes before halting.
www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
September 6, 2025 at 5:15 PM
The grains of sand in eight million kotis of nayutas of Ganges rivers are a tiny handful compared to the number of deterministic steps that this six-state Turing machine starting on an empty tape takes before halting.
www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
www.quantamagazine.org/busy-beaver-...
HONEY
"Sesame oil, milk, honey, [and] syrup are to be cooked in a vessel [so that] half [of it] remains. ... pepper is to be strewed in – this is to be drunk as a medicine against cancer."
cetom.univie.ac.at?m-ioltoch306
"Sesame oil, milk, honey, [and] syrup are to be cooked in a vessel [so that] half [of it] remains. ... pepper is to be strewed in – this is to be drunk as a medicine against cancer."
cetom.univie.ac.at?m-ioltoch306
July 28, 2025 at 2:27 AM
HONEY
"Sesame oil, milk, honey, [and] syrup are to be cooked in a vessel [so that] half [of it] remains. ... pepper is to be strewed in – this is to be drunk as a medicine against cancer."
cetom.univie.ac.at?m-ioltoch306
"Sesame oil, milk, honey, [and] syrup are to be cooked in a vessel [so that] half [of it] remains. ... pepper is to be strewed in – this is to be drunk as a medicine against cancer."
cetom.univie.ac.at?m-ioltoch306
Qinshihuang Kunlun magic herbs inscription latest.
Turns out this so-called uninhabited zone 無人區 isn't quite so uninhabited after all. A local Tibetan guy Dorje Namgyal [sp?] (pic L) used to herd his flock of 3000 sheep there and says he saw the inscription in 1986.
www.nbd.com.cn/articles/202...
Turns out this so-called uninhabited zone 無人區 isn't quite so uninhabited after all. A local Tibetan guy Dorje Namgyal [sp?] (pic L) used to herd his flock of 3000 sheep there and says he saw the inscription in 1986.
www.nbd.com.cn/articles/202...
July 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Qinshihuang Kunlun magic herbs inscription latest.
Turns out this so-called uninhabited zone 無人區 isn't quite so uninhabited after all. A local Tibetan guy Dorje Namgyal [sp?] (pic L) used to herd his flock of 3000 sheep there and says he saw the inscription in 1986.
www.nbd.com.cn/articles/202...
Turns out this so-called uninhabited zone 無人區 isn't quite so uninhabited after all. A local Tibetan guy Dorje Namgyal [sp?] (pic L) used to herd his flock of 3000 sheep there and says he saw the inscription in 1986.
www.nbd.com.cn/articles/202...
Eye of dog? Nose of dog? World's most annoying writing system?
June 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Eye of dog? Nose of dog? World's most annoying writing system?
See you there, Philly! If the only thing stopping you going is company, message me. I'll have my phone with me. If the only thing stopping you going is the weather, bring an umbrella and hope it pisses with rain on Trump's shitty parade.
June 14, 2025 at 12:04 AM
See you there, Philly! If the only thing stopping you going is company, message me. I'll have my phone with me. If the only thing stopping you going is the weather, bring an umbrella and hope it pisses with rain on Trump's shitty parade.
The Tuoba Wei emissary's inscription was plate 217 in Jettmar's Antiquities of Northern Pakistan. This is plate 214. (No connection between them, sadly.)
June 13, 2025 at 11:49 PM
The Tuoba Wei emissary's inscription was plate 217 in Jettmar's Antiquities of Northern Pakistan. This is plate 214. (No connection between them, sadly.)
Hell of a long way from Pingcheng 平城 to Maymurgh 迷密...
June 13, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Hell of a long way from Pingcheng 平城 to Maymurgh 迷密...
TIL: there's a legible 5th c. CE Chinese inscription in Pakistan, scratched on a rock by a Tuoba Wei emissary.
大魏使谷巍龍今向迷密使去
Envoy of the Great Wei, Gu Weilong, now departs on his mission to Maymurgh (?)
大魏使谷巍龍今向迷密使去
Envoy of the Great Wei, Gu Weilong, now departs on his mission to Maymurgh (?)
June 13, 2025 at 9:41 PM
TIL: there's a legible 5th c. CE Chinese inscription in Pakistan, scratched on a rock by a Tuoba Wei emissary.
大魏使谷巍龍今向迷密使去
Envoy of the Great Wei, Gu Weilong, now departs on his mission to Maymurgh (?)
大魏使谷巍龍今向迷密使去
Envoy of the Great Wei, Gu Weilong, now departs on his mission to Maymurgh (?)
This is the story of the guy who (it is said) actually found it in 2020: Hou Guangliang 侯光良. He believes was made on behalf of Kublai Khan in about 1280 CE, or possibly by one of the Qing emperors.
news.qq.com/rain/a/20250...
news.qq.com/rain/a/20250...
June 11, 2025 at 9:37 PM
This is the story of the guy who (it is said) actually found it in 2020: Hou Guangliang 侯光良. He believes was made on behalf of Kublai Khan in about 1280 CE, or possibly by one of the Qing emperors.
news.qq.com/rain/a/20250...
news.qq.com/rain/a/20250...
According to the title of the Guangming Daily article, this is:
Concrete Proof of the Ancient Location of "Kunlun".
I.e. near Gyaring lake in Qinghai.
source: epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/20...
Concrete Proof of the Ancient Location of "Kunlun".
I.e. near Gyaring lake in Qinghai.
source: epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/20...
June 11, 2025 at 8:37 PM
According to the title of the Guangming Daily article, this is:
Concrete Proof of the Ancient Location of "Kunlun".
I.e. near Gyaring lake in Qinghai.
source: epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/20...
Concrete Proof of the Ancient Location of "Kunlun".
I.e. near Gyaring lake in Qinghai.
source: epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/20...
"The Emperor sent the Five Grandee, vassal Yi, leading magicians to collect medicines in the Kunlun Mountains. Yi in the 26th year, third moon, jimao day, his chariot arrived here. Yi [...] before [...] could [?] 150 Chinese miles."
Ok, Bsky, real or fake?
Ok, Bsky, real or fake?
June 11, 2025 at 8:07 PM
"The Emperor sent the Five Grandee, vassal Yi, leading magicians to collect medicines in the Kunlun Mountains. Yi in the 26th year, third moon, jimao day, his chariot arrived here. Yi [...] before [...] could [?] 150 Chinese miles."
Ok, Bsky, real or fake?
Ok, Bsky, real or fake?
"But we have found in Ho's 54-page review many more serious errors than he claims to have found in our 431-page book. We believe that a reviewer's primary responsibility to the reader is to carefully read the book he is reviewing; and Ho Dah-an failed to do this."
June 6, 2025 at 5:01 PM
"But we have found in Ho's 54-page review many more serious errors than he claims to have found in our 431-page book. We believe that a reviewer's primary responsibility to the reader is to carefully read the book he is reviewing; and Ho Dah-an failed to do this."
Wang Gengdi et al. steal a head, sentenced to death.
Court summary and ruling here: gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/014e...
Court summary and ruling here: gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/014e...
May 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Wang Gengdi et al. steal a head, sentenced to death.
Court summary and ruling here: gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/014e...
Court summary and ruling here: gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/014e...
May 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Another terracotta soldier incident, to add to the Philly ugly sweater thumb-stealing, the Osaka nationalist in 1984, the German art student, the Great Yorkshire Terracotta Warrior Heist of 2016, and all the rest.
始作俑者，其無後乎！
x.com/tongbingxue/...
始作俑者，其無後乎！
x.com/tongbingxue/...
May 30, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Another terracotta soldier incident, to add to the Philly ugly sweater thumb-stealing, the Osaka nationalist in 1984, the German art student, the Great Yorkshire Terracotta Warrior Heist of 2016, and all the rest.
始作俑者，其無後乎！
x.com/tongbingxue/...
始作俑者，其無後乎！
x.com/tongbingxue/...
Ew York.
Ew Mexico.
Assachusets.
Ew Mexico.
Assachusets.
May 16, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Ew York.
Ew Mexico.
Assachusets.
Ew Mexico.
Assachusets.
The Smithsonian is transferring to China fragments of the Warring States Chu silk manuscript (a.k.a. Zidanku 子彈庫 silk manuscript) sections (juan 卷) 2 and 3. These were accessioned by the Smithsonian in 1992. Section 1 is still in private ownership.
Press release: asia.si.edu/about/press/...
Press release: asia.si.edu/about/press/...
May 16, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The Smithsonian is transferring to China fragments of the Warring States Chu silk manuscript (a.k.a. Zidanku 子彈庫 silk manuscript) sections (juan 卷) 2 and 3. These were accessioned by the Smithsonian in 1992. Section 1 is still in private ownership.
Press release: asia.si.edu/about/press/...
Press release: asia.si.edu/about/press/...
These ones are in the ball-park, if you ignore the big hole in the middle. humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-m...
Did any of you actually read that piece? From: Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder. Lol. +1 for "Fu Hao’s unmolested crypt".
Did any of you actually read that piece? From: Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder. Lol. +1 for "Fu Hao’s unmolested crypt".
May 15, 2025 at 10:31 PM
These ones are in the ball-park, if you ignore the big hole in the middle. humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/lexi-m...
Did any of you actually read that piece? From: Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder. Lol. +1 for "Fu Hao’s unmolested crypt".
Did any of you actually read that piece? From: Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder. Lol. +1 for "Fu Hao’s unmolested crypt".
"was not used to harm anyone"
May 15, 2025 at 10:04 PM
"was not used to harm anyone"