culture – SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR)

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.

"An Exhibition on the Culture of Han Dynasty Bamboo Slips from the Haihun Marquisate"

China: Rare Bamboo Slips Exhibited! (15.4.2026)

15/04/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

A visitor is pictured during “An Exhibition on the Culture of Han Dynasty Bamboo Slips from the Haihun Marquisate” at the Nanchang Relic Museum of Haihun Marquisate of Han Dynasty in Nanchang, east China’s Jiangxi Province, April 13, 2026. The exhibition opened here early this week, during which over 100 newly restored bamboo slips are publicly displayed for the first time since their discovery.

Honeywood Museum: Charshalton Ponds & Billiard Room! (21.2.2026)

22/02/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

We visited the Honeywood Museum in nearby Carshalton Ponds – as the Staff and Management added a Chinese New Year display to the usual mixture of local history artefacts. We have visited in the past – but I do not recall the impressively “large” Billiard Room which seems to have been converted to a “Snooker Room”. Me and Gee sat and drank a cup of coffee outside the Honeywood Museum – watching the numerous types of birds traverse the surface of the water. I think we entered the Museum probably in the wrong direction – and immediately emerged in the Billiard Room – which seemed to corelate seamlessly with Pond itself. During Victorian times, the well to do, those who owned local business and large country-homes – often could often afford all the lateest scientific devices. The air around the Ponds was fresh and yet mild – a thoroughly invigorating experience!

Nauru: President David Adeang Arrives in Guangzhou for Ancestral Visit & Chinese New Year! (9.2.2026)

09/02/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

During the visit, Adeang will also travel to Jiangmen City, his ancestral hometown in Guangdong, to reunite with clan members and celebrate Xiaonian. He will also visit Guangzhou and Foshan, meet with provincial and municipal officials, and tour local enterprises to explore ways to further deepen practical cooperation between Guangdong and Nauru.

Most ethnic Chinese in Nauru originate from Guangdong Province. According to verification by relevant authorities, Adeang’s maternal great-grandfather hailed from Zhongxinli, Zhonggu Village, Kaiping City, Jiangmen. His ancestors migrated to Southeast Asia more than a century ago in search of a livelihood and later settled in Nauru.

Laos Buddhist-Socialist Republic: Using Inner & Outer Culture to Construct Socialism! (4.2.2026)

04/02/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

Supplies arrived on the back of walking peasants – and/or soldiers, guerrillas, and volunteers riding bicycles, etc. These supplies came from the USSR and China, as well as other places. The Laotian people achieved their Revolution in 1975 – following the North Vietnamese victory other the US-derived South Vietnam regime. Indeed, it has been written that Laos has been the most bombed nation on earth – with the landscape full of bomb-craters and dangerous unexploded ordnance. Simce then, Laos Communist Party has been navigating the vaguaries and peculiarities of the political and cultural climate. Laos is a Buddhist-Socialist Republic which preserves a strong Theravada Buddhist tradition. As a consequence, Marxist-Leninism and Dhamma overlap and intersect seamlessly. By clicking the above link you will find a translated article on the BMA-UK site regarding how Laos is using inner and outer cultivation to build Socialism!

A drone photo taken on July 10, 2025 shows two mausoleums of the Xixia Imperial Tombs in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Wang Peng)

China: Archaeology Proves “Oldest” [5,300-Year-Old] Continuous Culture! (1.2.2026)

01/02/2026 Adrian (釋大道)

A cornerstone of this research is the Erlitou site in central China’s Henan. Excavated since 1959, this site is widely regarded by Chinese scholars as a major urban center associated with the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 B.C.), traditionally considered China’s first dynasty.

The most critical discovery at the site is the presence of China’s earliest grid-patterned capital layout, offering rare insights into the capital system of early states.

Erlitou is part of a constellation of key sites. From the ritual complexes at the Niuheliang site in Liaoning to the exquisite pottery at the Taosi site in Shanxi, each discovery has helped clarify the picture of China’s early history.

This grand narrative of continuity is given tangible form through a national network of 150 major archaeological sites, 65 national archaeological parks, and over 240 on-site museums. Together, they form an indelible material record spanning millions of years of human history, 10,000 years of culture and over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

1 2 3 … 29 »