So there is a story about the "top 10 cities at risk during nuclear war" circulating in various tabloids/etc. with my name attached to it, and I will say that a) I never have (nor would) make such a list at all, and b) I never said any of the quotes attributed to me in the article.
Perhaps watching National Theatre's Dr Strangelove with Steve Coogan (playing four roles) was a bit too close to home, given world events. Not quite shaken it from my mind
Felt well adapted and an enjoyable play in its own right with humour, while not losing the underlying message.
Closeup of a sketchbook page showing a drawing of a nun. Her cloak and veil are blowing in the wind, and she is wearing a golden icon of the Virgin Mary as a necklace.
What is this Byzantine nun doing above decks in the middle of a fierce Mediterranean storm? Stay tuned for the story of Saint Paraskevi to find out!
WIP of the next Women of 1000 illustration π
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/take-your-se...
Thought this might provide some fun
The National Theatre is putting up Wilde's famous play The Importance of Being Earnest on Youtube from 12th-18th March. Costumes look fantastic and looking forward to seeing it.
open.substack.com/pub/colingor...
Got up to 1500 before I really started having trouble with the English of the time, then it got worse. A fun way of having a look at the way language evolved, with some nice facts to go with.
Perhaps the voters didn't hear "vote for Plaid/Green, get Reform" loud enough? Third time's the charm!
I believe the government is rushing through some return animals (like beavers) to UK nature schemes before the local elections. I have the teeniest feeling that might not be enough
Indeed. The Romance isn't always the easiest to get into, particularly for those with no background, but Moss Roberts does a good job making it approachable. The annotations remain very helpful and informative in other ways as well for the more experienced.
I am trying to find a digital copy of Laurence Constant-Ancet's "FΓ©lix Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau : un itinΓ©raire, de la RΓ©volution Γ la monarchie de Juillet" with some urgency. If you can help feel free to DM!
I always like to think of the RTK Diao Chan and Lu Bu as geniune, and it makes a sweet romance, so glad other adaptations do too. But I do enjoy that there is room for a more cynical interpretation.
Cao Cao was seeking to build support with Guandu in mind. Imagine the reaction if Cao Cao kills Liu Bei?
Yuan Shao would have a PR gift, Xu and new officers would be unsettled, hard to see Zhang Xiu being willing to join Cao Cao for fear of also being killed. It would destabilise his position.
While, in retrospect, Cao Cao there (and Sun Quan with the golden cage plan) can look like they have missed a moment to destroy a rival, they did have good reason to stay their hand.
When Cao Cao had Liu Bei, it was when Liu Bei had sought refuge with Cao Cao and helped him against Lu Bu.
Red lacquer bowl, Western Han dynasty. https://www.dpm.org.cn/collection/lacquerware/228840.html
Red lacquer bowl θ³ζ― in Romance of the Three Kingdoms 1994. Characters read εεΉΈι£, wishing the person an auspicious meal.
Zhuge Liang grabbing a red lacquer bowl θ³ζ―.
These bowls, called Erbei θ³ζ―, were drinking vessels; Zhuge Liang calmly drinks from one when he and Lu Su are attacked by arrows.
Earlier tradition sometimes had the brothers less proactive in taking up service than the way RTK has it. No crafting grand weapons, no gathering a following, but waiting, appropriately, for orders from above (like Huangfu Song, as the sole commander, or directly from the court) to raise troops.
Earlier, it was often Zhang Fei and Guan Yu who meet first, their sense of honour and their strength, sometimes shown in a deed like moving a boulder.
It is when they go to have wine and drink together that they meet the worthy man to serve, in part thanks to the majestic appearance of Liu Bei.
A small but interesting, for me at least, change the Romance of the Three Kingdoms has from some predecessors is the order in which the three brothers meet.
In RTK, Liu Bei is the first we meet, his background showing he is a hero. Guan Yu is the one at the inn whose appearance awes the others
DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
Earlier the government reversed its decision to delay elections in 30 areas across England. This is a welcome decision. At the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk we've previously argued elections should only be delayed in exceptional circumstances.
On this red-figure pelike - a squat jar with two handles under a broad rolled lip - we see Amymone standing on the left, her hand on winged Eros' head. Poseidon - who has rescued her from a satyr - sits on an unseen chair or rock, seemingly inspecting the tines on his golden yellow trident. A cat sits under the god of the sea, looking out at us, the viewers. Greek, South Italian, Apulian, ca. 360-340 BCE. Attributed to the Dechter Painter. Met Museum, New York (1984.323.3)
Closeup of the cat, not drawn particularly well, but the attitude is all there, as if to say, 'Can you believe all this drama?'
Just in time for #caturday, I noticed something very interesting on this ancient Greek pelike (jar) featuring Poseidon and Amymone. A very rare representation of a cat. It doesn't seem to be very impressed by the presence of the gods. Perhaps this is a scene from a play ... πΊ 1/
#MetMuseum πΈ me
LO - & I cannot overemphasize this enough - *fucking* L.
This is absolutely insane. lmao.
This is like an insane twitter thread in an academic dressing gown...
A Japanese woman with long black hair sits at a black lacquered writing desk. The green blinds are up on part of the wall of the room, letting in the moonlight. She looks out at the moonlit garden with a somewhat melancholy, pensive expression. She wears a voluminous purple robes that spill across the floor behind her. She holds an ink brush above a blank scroll of paper. Behind her in the room are a biwa lute and a black lacquered cabinet.
Happy Valentine's Day! It's also the 8th anniversary of Women of 1000. 8 years - wow!
For this anniversary, here's last year's illustration. Did you know that Murasaki Shikibu was quite possibly a big old lesbian?!
That's right, I mean *THAT* Murasaki Shikibu, Tale of Genji author! π³οΈβπ
𧡠1/5
On Monday, Jan 26, Jen Murray and I will be doing a Reddit/Askhistorians #AMA about our new book on #CivilWar memory.
Hit us up with questions about the meaning of the Civil War in an age of BLM, Jan. 6, Trump, and America' s 250.
@univnebpress.bsky.social
@askhistorians.bsky.social
I do love how Liu Bei is the singleton without family who suggests it. The Guan Suo tale has some interesting ideas that I am not surprised the novel doesn't repeat.
The Liu An is possibly the bit of the romantic tradition that ages the worst. I get what it tries to do but oof.
The AskHistorians Best of 2025 Awards have been announced!
Whether it's the Beast's books, Bond's booze or Blackfoot butts, come celebrate and enjoy some outstanding public history work!
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Quite pleased to hear of a new Stargate show. It has been awhile but have plenty of happy memories of the shows, so fingers crossed this works out.
We have an AMA with @eikeexner.com today over on @askhistorians.bsky.social! Come check it out and learn some history of manga!
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Things like this are perhaps why people, of his own time and after, believed Liu Biao offered Liu Bei the succession. I personally don't think that fits with what is known about Liu Biao and their dynamic. But in the immediate crises, Liu Bei's portrayal of himself had an impact on others of that.
1) Refusal to attack Liu Zong. A pragmatic decision portrayed by Liu Bei (or his scholars) as done out of loyalty to his old boss.
2) Visiting Liu Biao's tomb to weep
3) Refusing to initially cut and run from the large following he gained. An act perhaps more famous than any military victory.
If looking for why Liu Bei was seen in a positive light and for some of his ability, his flight across Jing works well. The way Liu Bei cultivated his image via his decisions (and his claimed motives behind them) show his long term reputational thinking. There are three examples in a short time span
Thinking of, when speaking of Romance of the three kingdoms and other three kingdoms based literature, of switching from saying fiction to romantic tradition. Think people would get the fiction part for that while placing the Romance within a long history of storytelling about the era
What would you do without such thoughtful and outstanding help?
