19th century – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

Sticky glandular hairs on Saxifraga candelabrum trap an insect. (Photo: provided by Springer Nature/ Zhangxinjian)

China: Recent Tibet Plateau Discovery Confirms Darwin’s 1875 Carnivorous Plant Prediction! (6.8.2026)

06/08/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

Led by Sun Hang’s team at the CAS Kunming Institute of Botany, with collaborators from Wuhan Botanical Garden, Jishou University and the University of Florida, the findings resolve a long-standing question over whether certain Saxifraga species possess true carnivorous traits.

In 1875, Darwin proposed that some species of Saxifraga might be carnivorous because they possess sticky glandular hairs capable of trapping insects. However, evidence supporting the hypothesis had remained unavailable until now.

Surrey: Tilford Local History – Village Hall & Medieval Bridge! (25.5.2026)

25/05/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

The temperature rose to 32 degrees today – and I believe this is the highest recorded temperature for May on record for the UK. It is said that when the Romans occupied Britain – 1st century BCE-5th century CE – it was much hotter in Southern England than it is today. Indeed, so hot was it that the Romans regularly cultivated grapes. Since those heady days – the temperatures have cooled in the UK – and 32 would be more usually experienced for a few days in mid-August – not late May. We waited to late afternoon to take the dogs to a nearby woods near Tilford village – so as to not overheat their paws on the overly hot ground. We stayed in the shade – but I did get photographs and footage of a village hall built in the 19th century – and an old bridge – which looks medieval to me! Cricket was being play on the Green – and I like a good game of cricket. It is complicated and very Confucian in nature!

Professor Zhu Fenghan, the lead editor of a sixty-volume compendium documenting more than 23,000 ancient Chinese bronze artifacts lost abroad, poses for a photo during a press conference for the books' release in east China's Shanghai, April 19, 2026. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)

China: Record of “Stolen Bronzes” By Imperialists Compiled! (20.4.2026)

20/04/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

Zhu, also the lead editor of the books, said previous such surveys focused mainly on bronze bells, cauldrons and ritual vessels. This collection categorizes nearly 300 types of bronze artifacts, ranging from weapons, tools, lamps and mirror stands to irons, coal rakes and dice. One example is a human-shaped lamp stand currently at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Previously, scholars at home and abroad generally assumed that there were over 3,000 Chinese bronze wares in overseas collections. However, the “Collection of Chinese Bronzes in Overseas Collections” has expanded this figure by more than sevenfold.

“We have created an identity document for each piece of relics,” Zhu said. The team found that only a few relics have clear records of legal trade, diplomatic gifts or legitimate export.

As the compendium points out, the primary channels for these bronzes leaving China from the late 19th century to mid-20th century were looting, smuggling and war plunder. Western collectors and dealers bought large numbers through agents inside China, forming an illegal supply chain.

The charity plans to make the site accessible to the public

UK: Heighington Station [1827] – First Train Platform in World! (19.1.2026)

19/01/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

Last year Heighington Station, which dates to back to 1827 and was part of the first passenger railway to use steam trains in the world, was bought by the charity Friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.

The group’s chair Niall Hammond said the excavation of a small train platform located near the site was planned.

He said it was presumed it was the “original for the building” because it looked the right size and shape.

He said plans were still in the early stages, but that the group hoped to attract lots of volunteers to the dig over the summer.

Hammond said the platform, which is next to the station, was “tiny” and had cobbles.

He said ideally the team would find a “Georgian penny” at the bottom of the platform during the dig which would confirm its age.

Imperial Japanese Officer - Taiwan Massacre

Taiwan: Imperial Japanese Army Massacres 1870-1945! (17.9.2024)

17/09/2024 Adrian (釋大道)

That is, excluding the population growth rate between the Liu Mingchuan Period to 1895 (some 11 years), Taiwan’s population plummeted by 600,000 to 700,000 in less than a year – due to Japan’s policy of killing and expelling Taiwanese people! Between 1895-1897 the Imperial Japanese permitted ethnic Chinese people to leave Taiwan – but official figures record that only 4,456 Taiwanese people took this route of relocating to Mainland China. This process involved an official procedure of application – which was granted (or denied) by the Imperial Japanese Authorities on a case-by-case bases. Therefore, no matter how the numbers are calculated, from September 1895 to the end of 1896 (just over 1 year), the number of “unnatural” (or “massacred”) deaths of Taiwanese people suffered at the hands of the Imperial Japanese reached at least 500,000 – which is a credible figure.

Galmpton: Encountering a Superb Traction Engine! (1.8.2024)

04/08/2024 Adrian (釋大道)

Indeed, what Goldsworthy Gurney first envisioned as an “Automobile” to be driven on open roads – became widely known as a “Traction Engine” from around 1850 in the UK. Ironically, whilst carry a single driver on country roads – whilst moving between farming fields – these devices were not allowed to evolve into the Motor Car envisioned by Goldsworthy Gurney. Only much later would a petrol-driven motor car be allowed to be developed. Whilst driving back from Exeter to Galmpton on Friday evening (Friday, August 1st, 2024) – whilst traversing the narrow streets of Galmpton – we encountered the above “Traction Engine” which was apparently joining many other examples in a local fayre that was about to be held! How lucky we were!

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