Throughout the First Millennium AD, walled sites enclosing up to 13 square kilometres were constructed in Upper Burma and in Arakan, near the Bangladesh border. Archaeology has given us a window to the life, the hopes and fears, of the inhabitants. They kept in close contact with their ancestors, whose cremated remains were integral to the ritual sites of the cities. Buddhist and other Indic artworks, and religious texts, show that they were open to new and changing spiritual notions. Intaglios, symbol-marked coins and gold jewellery provide evidence of trade, technology and social differentiation. But defensive walls and gates, and what appear to be deliberately buried protective figures, artifacts and inscriptions, also suggest that there was a great concern with enemies, real or imagined. This lecture outlines what we know of an ancient culture that sat in a crucial zone between India, China and Southeast Asia, and just as importantly, considers the many research questions that still need to be asked. Dr Bob Hudson is an archaeologist from the University of Sydney, Australia. His research focuses on the origins, function and fate of the early urban systems of Myanmar (Burma). He applies a range of techniques, from excavation and satellite imagery analysis to radiocarbon dating and DNA sampling, to research issues. He is a visiting professor at the Myanmar Department of Archaeology Field School at Pyay, the site of the Pyu city of Sriksetra.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : asie

Ukiyo-e prints, the popular Japanese polychrome woodcuts of the ‘floating world’, evolved from the popular illustrated literature of the early Edo period (1603-1867). The recent discovery of an important group of colour-printed Chinese illustrated books from the early seventeenth century in a Japanese collection sheds new light on our understanding of the sources of ukiyo-e prints. This talk will introduce these late-Ming erotic book illustrations and demonstrate the influential role of Chinese books imported to Japan prior to and during the Edo period. It will be suggested that underlying the quintessentially Japanese art of ukiyo-e prints is a foundation of Chinese inspiration and technology. Soren Edgren is editorial director of the Chinese Rare Books Project at Princeton University. He received his PhD in sinology from the University of Stockholm, and he writes on the history of the book and printing in East Asia.
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : estampe, Japon

Une conférence de l'EFEO Ecole Française d'Extrême Orient Dévrire, interroger, convaincre : les figures de la vie ordinaire dans l'imagerie vietnamiennepar Philippe Papin
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : asie, vietnam

D'un statut l'autre : du Japon à l'Europe, destins multiples de l'estampe ukiyo-e par Hélène Bayou
Mot(s) clés libre(s) : asie, estampe, peinture