"Gate of the center of splendor" in (from right to left) Manchu (genggiyen tob duka), Tibetan (dbus gsal sgo), Chinese (lì zhèng mén), Chaǧatay (rošan oturadaqi darvazah), and Mongolian (gegegen töb qaǧalǧa) at the Qing summer palace of Chengde 承德 / Jehol (Common domain, Wikimedia).

Reed, Brush, Chisel: Script, Literacy, and Writing Across Central and East Asia (400–1800)

This symposium brings together leading scholars across a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences to discuss Central and East Asia's diverse, multiethnic, multiscriptal experience to challenge conventional ideas on writing and its relationship to culture.

Friday, December 8, 2023 to Saturday, December 9, 2023
1:00 PM - 5:30 PM (Pacific Time)
UCLA Luskin Conference Center
Los Angeles, CA 90095

This symposium brings together leading scholars across a range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences in order to discuss Central and East Asia’s diverse, multiethnic, multiscriptal experience with the aim of challenging conventional ideas on writing and its relationship to culture.

The symposium will begin on the afternoon of Friday, December 8th. The first day will feature a showing of rare books and manuscripts in various scripts and languages held by UCLA Library Special collections. This will be followed by a roundtable and discussion regarding the history of the collections, in particular its Middle East and East Asian holdings. It will be followed by a reception.

The next day, December 9th, will feature roundtable panels discussing script and literacy cultures along the land corridor stretching from Central to East Asia. The event will be open to members of the UCLA academic community as well as scholars, students, and the interested public in the Los Angeles area.

Please note, due to unforeseen circumstances, the keynote speech originally scheduled for December 8th has been cancelled. Registration is required to participate in the symposium and late registrants will be waitlisted.

The symposium is supported by UCLA’s Luskin Endowment for Thought Leadership and is co-sponsored by UCLA’s Center for Buddhist Studies (CBS), the Program on Central Asia (POCA), the CMRS Center for Early Global Studies (CMRS-CEGS), and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.

Symposium Schedule

Speaker Biographies

Friday, December 8, 2023 - Textual Traditions Across Scripts: UCLA's Special Collections*
Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center
RSVP for Symposium Day 1*

*Access by invitation and RSVP for waitlist only due to limited capacity

 1:00–2:15 PM: Special Collections Materials Workshop (Charles E. Young Library)

Led by Devin Fitzgerald

2:30–3:00 PM: Refreshments Served (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

3:00–5:00 PM: Special Collections Roundtable and Discussion (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

Panelists - Devin Fitzgerald, Solange Ashby, Luke Yarbrough

5:15 PM: Reception at South Courtyard (Luskin Conference Center) 

Saturday, December 9, 2023 - Roundtable Panels
Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center
RSVP for Symposium Day 2*

*Registration is REQUIRED

7:30–8:30 AM: Buffet Breakfast at Plateia (Luskin Conference Center)

8:30–8:45 AM: Welcome

Torquil Duthie, Koh Choon Hwee

8:45–10:15 AM: Roundtable One (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

Facilitator - Elvin Meng
Panelists - Stefan Baums, Huaiyu Chen, Sixiang Wwang

10:15–10:45 AM: Nutrition Break (Lobby)

10:45–12:15 PM: Roundtable Two (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

  Facilitator - David Lurie
Panelists - Jason BeDuhn, Amanda Goodman, Eric Schluessel

12:30–1:15 PM: Buffet Lunch (Plateia, Luskin Conference Center)

1:30–3:00 PM: Roundtable Three (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

Facilitator - Matthew King
Panelists - Shao-yun Yang, Marjorie Burge

3:00–3:30 PM: Nutrition Break (Lobby, Luskin Conference Center)

3:30–5:00 PM: Roundtable Four (Laureate Classroom, Luskin Conference Center)

Facilitator - Luke Yarbrough
Panelists - Narges Nematollahi, Bryan Lowe, Stacey Van Vleet

5:00–5:30 PM: Final Remarks

Sixiang Wang

6:00–8:00 PM: Dinner for Roundtable Panelists and Speakers (Plateia, Luskin Conference Center)

Cost : Free and open to the public but registration is required and space is very limited

Sponsor(s): Center for Buddhist Studies, Program on Central Asia, Asian Languages & Cultures, Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies