Event Details

WHAT: British Sinologist Frances Wood discusses online the comprehensive collection of Chinese books assembled by prominent physician Dr. Hans Sloane (1660-1753)


WHEN: 7-8 PM Beijing Time, Wednesday Aug 5, 2026


ABOUT THE EVENT: Sir Hans Sloane's collection of Chinese books in London is remarkably comprehensive, spanning the full range of Chinese literature and culture. When he died in 1753, his total collections included 50,000 books, prints and manuscripts and tens of thousands of other items and curiosities. These were bequeathed in his will to King George II and were among the founding collections of not only the British Museum but also the Museum of Natural History and the British Library. But how did a retired doctor in London acquire a Chinese collection of such broad scope when no one around him knew Chinese?


ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Frances Wood worked in the Chinese section of the British Library for over 30 years, mainly focused on the conservation and cataloguing of thousands of Dunhuang manuscripts. The discovery of Sloane's Chinese books, buried amongst tens of thousands of later acquisitions, was a late but fascinating project. The author of many books, she is now working on the diary of literary and intellectual figure Chen Xiying during his wartime stay in London.


HOW MUCH: Free for members of RASBJ. 50 RMB for members of RAS partner branches (London, Shanghai, Hong Kong). 100 RMB for non-members. Alipay may be an easier payment method than WeChat. You can also pay by credit card. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships/​


HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I will attend" on this notice and follow the instructions. After successful registration you'll receive a confirmation email with a link to join the online event. If you seem not to have received it, please check your spam folder.

Members of partner RAS Branches: Please register 72 hours before the event to allow time for membership verification. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.


REFUND POLICY: Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable. However, if RASBJ cancels an event, all registrants will be refunded.

Speakers

  • Frances Wood (Speaker)

    Frances Wood

    Speaker

    Frances Wood studied Chinese at Cambridge and at Beida (Peking University). She was curator of the Chinese collections in the British Library for 30 years with a special interest in Dunhuang manuscripts. She is author of “Hand-Grenade Practice in Peking: my part in the Cultural Revolution” (John Murray, 2000) and a number of other publications, including:
    • 1985 Chinese illustration. British Library. ISBN 978-0-7123-0053-7
    • 1991 (with Norah M. Titley). Oriental Gardens. British Library. ISBN 978-0-7123-0239-5
    • 1995 Did Marco Polo go to China?. Secker & Warburg. ISBN 978-0-436-20384-8
    • 1998 No Dogs and Not Many Chinese: Treaty Port Life in China, 1843-1943. John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6400-0
    • 2002 The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23786-5
    • 2005 The Forbidden City. British Museum Press. ISBN 978-0-7141-2789-7
    • 2007 The First Emperor of China. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1-84668-032-8
    • 2008 China's First Emperor and His Terracotta Warriors. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-38112-7
    • 2009 The Lure of China: Writers from Marco Polo to J. G. Ballard. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15436-8
    • 2010 (with Mark Barnard). The Diamond Sutra: The Story of the World's Earliest Dated Printed Book. British Library. ISBN 978-0-7123-5090-7
    • 2017 Great Books of China. Head of Zeus. ISBN 9781786694515

    Frances Wood worked in the Chinese section of the British Library for over 30 years, mainly focused on the conservation and cataloguing of thousands of Dunhuang manuscripts. The discovery of Sloane's Chinese books, buried amongst tens of thousands of later acquisitions, was a late but fascinating project. She is now working on the diary of literary and intellectual figure Chen Xiying during his wartime stay in London.

    view more