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Asian Studies

A window into East Asian history: Conserving Buddhist murals
museum worker restoring buddhist mural

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A window into East Asian history: Conserving Buddhist murals

Penn Museum staff are restoring Buddhist murals that were crafted in a style prevalent between the 13th and 14th centuries, bringing renewed vibrancy to art from a distinct era of East Asian religious history.

Art Matters: ‘Tall decorated jars’
Closeup of a Song Dynasty urn with snakes writhing across a ribbed surface

A snake writhes across a Song Dynasty urn. 

(Image: Penn Museum)

Art Matters: ‘Tall decorated jars’

Jan. 29 marks the Lunar New Year and the advent of the Year of the Snake, an animal that can be spotted in a Penn Museum exhibition featuring objects and celestial figurines from the Song Dynasty.

Kristina García

Chinatown and community as a cornerstone
Will Chan leans against a reflective class in the Pan-Asian American Community House

As a Thouron Scholar and a Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics, Will Chan also works as an advocate for building Asian communities at Penn as president of the Pan-Asian Graduate Student Association and the sponsorships and partnerships lead at the Ginger Arts Center, a youth-led organization in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

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Chinatown and community as a cornerstone

Will Chan, a Thouron Scholar and Ph.D. candidate in theoretical physics, is also an advocate for building Asian communities.

Kristina García

The Immigration Act of 1924
A group of Chinese and Japanese women and children waiting to be processed, held in a wire mesh enclosure. Benches line either sides of the room, with a stool in the middle.

A group of Chinese and Japanese women and children waiting to be processed, held in a wire mesh enclosure at the Angel Island Internment barracks in San Francisco Bay. The Angel Island Immigration Station processed one million immigrants from 1910 to 1940, mostly from China and Japan.

(Image: AP Photo/File)

The Immigration Act of 1924

A century after a federal law established a national quota system on immigration, legal historian Hardeep Dhillon explains the significance and legacy of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Kristina García

Author Celeste Ng and the questions that drive her
Three people sitting on a stage discussing books

From left to right: David Eng, Celeste Ng, and Lynnea Bao.

(Image: Cory Shin)

Author Celeste Ng and the questions that drive her

At the annual Yoonmee Chang Memorial Lecture, author Celeste Ng spoke about her writing process, the model minority stereotype, and the role of legacy, art, and belonging in her work.

Kristina García

The Penn Museum’s crystal ball
A historic, black-and-white image of two children gazing at the crystal ball

For almost 100 years—except for the three it went missing—one of the world’s largest crystal balls has occupied the Penn Museum’s Asia Galleries.

(Image: Penn Museum)

The Penn Museum’s crystal ball

For almost 100 years—except for the three it went missing—one of the world’s largest crystal balls has occupied the Asia Galleries of the Penn Museum.

Kristina García

What’s That? ‘The Goat’ at Penn Carey Law.
Bronze statue of a goat is displayed in the lobby of Penn Carey Law School.

The bronze sculpture called “Hsieh-Chai,” also known as The Goat, at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

(Image: Courtesy of Penn Carey Law)

What’s That? ‘The Goat’ at Penn Carey Law.

The bronze sculpture called “Hsieh-Chai” has been Penn Carey Law’s mascot-in-chief since its dedication in 1962.

Kristen de Groot

‘Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India’
Painting from 18th century shows an Indian banker being carried in a carriage and surrounded by armed entourage.

Late 18th century portrait of banker Vakhatchand Jhaveri and his armed entourage, painted on the inner marble wall of the Jain temple Ajithnath Derasar in Ahmedabad, India.

(Image: Courtesy of Sudev Sheth)

‘Bankrolling Empire: Family Fortunes and Political Transformation in Mughal India’

A new book by Sudev Sheth, senior lecturer in history and international studies, looks at how the leaders of one of the most dominant early modern polities lost their grip over empire.

Kristen de Groot