Why Gilgamesh Still Matters
December 26, 2025
Sumerians created a system of writing that was robust enough for literature more than 5,000 years ago. It was initially used to record inventories and
Many Worlds on Bangkok’s Streets
November 10, 2025
The first kings in Thailand’s new Chakri Dynasty grounded Bangkok in Thai traditions in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by erecting monuments in
Many Worlds in a Place at Bangkok’s Wat Pho
November 2, 2025
Thais needed to rebuild their world after Burmese armies traumatized them by sacking Ayutthaya, the capital of their largest kingdom, in 1767. The first king
The Buddha’s Footprint at Bangkok’s Wat Pho; Prettier than Zeus and Indra Combined
September 30, 2025
Wat Pho is the second of the three monuments that the first Chakri kings established in Bangkok’s center to reaffirm traditional Thai ways of perceiving
Traditional Thai Ways of Perceiving in Modern Bangkok
September 25, 2025
The horrors of the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767 made old Thai traditions seem like a lost haven. The siege dragged on for more than
Ancient Indian Concepts of Space; More Hidden Wealth in Basic Ideas
July 12, 2025
Western scientists in the 16th and 17th centuries increasingly conceived space as a void that objects move around in. At the same time, architects were
Perplexed Confucius and AI Models in Hoi An; Vietnam’s Multicultural Landscape
May 14, 2025
Confucians from the royal court in Hue probably would have found Hoi An chaotic if they had ventured there. Although the Nguyen Dynasty’s kings tried
Confucianism and its Discontents in Vietnam
April 29, 2025
In 1802 the last Nguyen lord, Nguyen Anh, defeated the Tay Son rulers of Vietnam after a traumatic civil war. He returned from the north
Vietnamese Kings Taking a Step toward China and Landing back on Their Own Shore
April 10, 2025
Vietnam is full of underappreciated cultural blends. China had ruled Vietnam since 111 BCE. The Vietnamese finally gained independence in 939, after China’s Tang Dynasty disintegrated.
Walking on Sacred Ground in Pisa
March 21, 2025
A lot of the people who take selfies by Pisa’s leaning tower miss the Campo Santo, but it’s one of the stateliest buildings I’ve ever