Event Details

WHAT: "Silk Road Centurion", an RASBJ online book talk by Scott Crawford, moderated by Rianka Mohan



WHEN: Wednesday September 13, 7.00-8.00 PM, Beijing time



ABOUT THE EVENT: In 53 B.C. Roman soldier Manius Titinius falls captive to a warband of Xiongnu, nomadic horsemen who rule the seas of grass between the Gobi Desert and Mountains of Heaven. His forced march to the east plunges him into a new world of wonder and peril.


"Silk Road Centurion", Scott Forbes Crawford's debut novel set in the borderlands of ancient China, and published in 2023, takes us on a bold adventure through time, from windswept valleys to bustling cultural crossroads ...from daring rescue missions to the daily struggle for survival on the borderlands.


A former Beijing resident who has recently moved to Japan, Crawford will read from his work as well as present the historical and personal underpinnings of the fiction. We will also learn how he managed the fine balance of preserving accuracy with artistic freedom to create a compelling tale from the classic trope of East meets West.




ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Crawford's novel, Silk Road Centurion, recasts his experience living as a foreigner in Beijing, following a Roman soldier's adventures in ancient China. His short fiction has appeared in a range of magazines and anthologies. Scott Crawford has written widely about China and Rome for history outlets and a history book on the Han-Xiongnu War will be published in October 2023.



HOW MUCH: This online event is free for members of RASBJ; RMB 50 for members of partner RAS branches; RMB 100 for non-members. Interested in becoming an RASBJ member? Please sign up at https://rasbj.org/membershipโ€‹​

If you experience difficulty paying via Wechat, please try Alipay instead. We hope to "see" you there!



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

Members of partner RAS branches: Please register at least 72 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification; you'll receive several emails from RASBJ: one confirming your registration request, another requesting payment, and a third confirming your registration with a link to join the event. Please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ emails.

Speakers

  • Scott Crawford (Speaker)

    Scott Crawford

    Speaker

    When at age eight Scott Forbes Crawford moved with his family from Washington, DC to Tokyo, a new world of discovery and challenge opened to him. Enchanted by Japanese culture as a boy, the spell of foreign lands only deepened when as an adult Scott settled in Beijing, where he became an author.
    Crawford’s novel "Silk Road Centurion" recasts his experience living as a foreigner in Beijing, following a Roman soldier’s adventures in ancient China. His short fiction has appeared in a range of magazines and anthologies. He has written widely about China and Rome for history outlets and a history book on the Han-Xiongnu War will be published in October 2023.
    He has spent more than a dozen years in Beijing and Taipei and now lives in Yokohama with his wife and daughter.

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  • Rianka Mohan (Moderator)

    Rianka Mohan

    Moderator

    Rianka Mohan is a freelance writer and former investment banker. Her poetry was included in Mingled Voices 6: The International Proverse Poetry Prize Anthology and her work has been showcased at The Glass House Festival, Lens of Passion, Spittoon, and Republic of Brown. Previously, she has moderated panels for the Beijing International Society, RASBJ (Desert Pilgrims), the EU-China Literary Festivals, and the Neilson Hays Literature Festival, among others.

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