To Lhasa and beyond: Thomas Manning and the making of early British sinology

Dr Edward Weech is speaking at the Royal Geographical Society on Monday 16 November, with his talk To Lhasa and beyond: Thomas Manning and the making of early British sinology running from 2.30pm to 3.45pm. It's part of the Society's Be Inspired series, and you can follow it either in person or online, though you'll need to book in advance.

Most people remember Thomas Manning for reaching Lhasa in 1811, but Weech wants to shift the focus to Manning's deeper ambition: the study of China. At a time when teaching Chinese in Europe was minimal and institutional support practically non-existent, Manning took on the language and its literature as an independent scholar, first in Napoleonic France and then in China itself. The talk draws on Manning's notebooks, translations and correspondence to reassess his place in the early history of British Sinology, framing his travels as part of a larger intellectual project: to encounter China on its own linguistic and conceptual terms.

Weech is the Librarian at the Royal Asiatic Society, which was founded in 1823 in the spirit of Sir William Jones's Asiatic Society of Bengal. The talk takes place in the Education Centre at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 1 Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AR, with the Society's entrance on Exhibition Road. Doors open at 2.00pm, and entry is free.