User talk:John Hill/Archive 9

File source problem with File:Carib Indian - Orinoco River 1890s.jpg
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Also:
 * File:Grenada - St. George. c. 1895.jpg
 * File:Mesny-1905.jpg
 * File:Port of Spain Harbour, 1890s.jpg

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File:Brush Turkey on tiles.jpg
The image File:Brush Turkey on tiles.jpg has been listed for possible deletion . Without knowing what you took a photograph of, we can't confirm that we have the copyright license we need to keep it here. Please comment at the discussion. Thank you, Oiyarbepsy (talk) 17:39, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

NOTE: This is a photo of one of the many decorative and informative tiles on a public monument to Aboriginal culture and history. It is known as the Milbi Wall (or "Story Wall") in Cooktown, Queensland, Australia. As it is part of a public monument which is regularly photographed by tourists and locals, I believe it should be free of copyright. John Hill (talk) 20:35, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

File permission problem with File:Drs. &#39;Will&#39; Beebe &#38; &#39;Ted&#39; Hill, Simla, 1959.JPG
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Also:
 * File:Museum dedicated to Zheng He at Nanjing.jpg
 * File:Nanga 01.jpg
 * File:Squid drying - Twillingate.jpg
 * File:Twillingate Lighthouse.jpg

ATTENTION : This is an automated, BOT-generated message. This bot DID NOT nominate your file(s) for deletion; please refer to the page history of each individual file for details. Thanks, FastilyBot (talk) 01:00, 18 March 2016 (UTC) Notes on copyright issues I wrote to the photographers of the first two photos under question here (File:Museum dedicated to Zheng He at Nanjing.jpg and File:Nanga 01.jpg) years ago for permission when I uploaded them and I recorded what they said. I no longer have addresses for them so it would be difficult to contact them again about this. So, please do as you wish - but in the knowledge that both photographers originally gave permission for these to be uploaded to the Wikipedia and they have appeared here for years since with no problems.

The second two photographs (File:Squid drying - Twillingate.jpgFile:Twillingate Lighthouse.jpg) were both taken by my sister, Joyce E. Hill, and I have just added the following note on the pages for each of these photograhs:

"NOTE: I just wrote to the photographer, my sister, Joyce Eleanor Hill in Vancouver for her permission to use this and other photos which she has taken. She has just sent the following email. I hope this resolves the problem with copyright. John Hill (talk) 20:43, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

-- Forwarded Message -- From: "Joyce Hill"  To: "Jo & John Hill"  Sent: 20/03/2016 1:40:42 PM Subject: Re: Wikipedia

I, Joyce Eleanor Hill, am happy to have any of my photos uploaded to Wikipedia by my brother John Edward Hill of Cooktown, Queensland, Australia,  used on the Wikipedia under the "Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 license”.  That applies for any length of time, no limits. Sincerely, Joyce Eleanor Hill"

I hope this resolves the queries about them. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 20:57, 20 March 2016 (UTC)

XKCD
Here's a laugh for you. Best wishes, Keahapana (talk) 00:04, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Thanks so very much - you have really cheered up a rather drab day here - and I have just begun to explore it! I gather you are well and are obviously firing. Due to health issues (which limit my working hours to just 2 or 3 per day at best) and my preoccupation with my annotated translation of the Weilűe, I haven't been quite as active on WP of late. Mostly just making small edits, adding references and uploading the occasional photo. I think I will have to reincarnate a few more times to get all the work I would like to do on the WP done. So many key articles need and deserve much more polishing. What are you up to these days? If you would like to contact me privately, don't hesitate to send an email to: wynhill2@bigpond.net.au. I would love to hear from you. All my very best wishes, and thanks for your many contributions, John Hill (talk) 00:38, 11 April 2016 (UTC)
 * Glad you liked it. Yes, I can sympathize with geezer health issues. I've recently been working on early Chinese dictionaries, and am grateful to have WP as an outlet. All's well here on the island, I ride my mountain bike and my wife rides her horse. If your Weilűe translation could use another set of eyes, I'd be glad to help proof. Let's keep in touch. Keahapana (talk) 02:46, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Hi again! Thanks for your friendly and supportive email. I am intrigued with the work you are doing on dictionaries of early Chinese - I would love to discuss with you some of the many rather cryptic terms in the Weilűe. Unfortunately, I really don't know who you are - other than your WP name, that you are with the University of Hawai'i, and the fact that you are a contact of Victor's. Have you been involved with any of the wonderful ABC dictionaries published by the U. of Hawai'i Press?

Removed section here John Hill (talk) 02:42, 15 April 2016 (UTC)

I am hoping that you may, perhaps, be able to be to assist me with some of the remaining unknown terms and that, hopefully, I may be of some help to you in return???? And, yes - certainly yes, to your suggestion of having a set of expert eyes looking over it all sometime before it is put in the public domain. But, look, I certainly don't want to give you a lot of extra work to do. Even if all we do is share some thoughts and maybe spark some ideas - that would indeed be wonderful!

Please do send me an email (see the address above) so we can communicate off these pages and - but only if you wish - please send me your name so I know who to address my emails to. Thanks so much for making contact and your kind offer of help.

I so look forward to hearing from you again.

Warmest wishes, John Hill (talk) 08:05, 13 April 2016 (UTC)


 * Will email tomorrow. Keahapana (talk) 03:32, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

The Tibetan Buddhism Banner
Hi. I'm grateful for your help and collaboration with getting a couple of Tibetan Buddhist banners up on some entries that I've been editing. I've got a question about the banner itself, and as an experienced user, I thought you might know how this works.

When looking at the Tibetan Buddhism banner, underneath the banner header, there are categories with drop down menus that include links to particularly important topics, people, places etc in Tibetan Buddhism. I want to find out where I can go to discuss the content of the drop down menus and discussing adding at least one prominent woman to the Key Figures links in the banner. I suggest Yeshe Tsogyal.

I posted this question at the talk page for the template, yet I'm not sure that it's really an active page.

I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you have for this potential conversation with the relevant group of users.

Thanks again. AD64 (talk) 06:49, 3 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Hi again! I have just had a look at the "Key Figures" tab in the box on the Mandarava page and notice it lists both Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal there. However, there could and should be more female persons and/or deities listed there as they play a truly significant role - particularly in Tibetan Buddhism. There is information on many of the most important ones at http://www.dharmafellowship.org/library/essays/women-buddhas.htm and you might find it good to add some of these women/deities to the "Key Figures" page. Again, if you need help, so write again. As the Kashmiri rug merchants used to say when I was living in India many years ago: "Looking is free! Asking is free!" All best wishes, John Hill (talk) 07:08, 3 May 2016 (UTC)


 * And so I shall ask again! I'm just starting to get my feet wet as an editor and your assistance is truly valuable. I looked just now at the Tibetan Buddhism banner on the Mandarava page and I think I understand the differences in what we are seeing. You are clicking on the words "Key Figures" which takes you here. I'm clicking on the "show" button on the right side. When I do this, the menu expands and I see, in order, from top to bottom: Gautama Buddha, Padmasambhava, Je Tsongkhapa, Dalai Lama, Panchen Lama, Lama, Karmapa, Rinpoche, Geshe, Terton, Tulku. I'm hoping to get Yeshe Tsogyal added to this list.


 * I am also grateful for your link to the Dharma Fellowship page; it is a great resource. Now that you've pointed me to the list of Tibetan Buddhists, I'm going to earmark this for updating.


 * I lived in Nepal and India for a little while myself, and could see the very rug shop when I read your description. I appreciate your warm welcome and the collaboration too.


 * Best wishes, AD64 (talk) 07:31, 3 May 2016 (UTC)

Blogs
Please do not add links to http://www.lumkap.org.uk/ as references or external links. It is a self-published source. Please see WP:USERGENERATED and WP:SPAM. Thank you JimRenge (talk) 01:14, 18 June 2016 (UTC)
 * Thank you for pointing this out. I will now endeavour to fix the relevant edits I have made. John Hill (talk) 03:39, 18 June 2016 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for August 26
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Copying within Wikipedia requires proper attribution
Thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia. It appears that you copied or moved text from Korzok Monastery into Karzok. While you are welcome to re-use Wikipedia's content, here or elsewhere, Wikipedia's licensing does require that you provide attribution to the original contributor(s). When copying within Wikipedia, this is supplied at minimum in an edit summary at the page into which you've copied content. It is good practice, especially if copying is extensive, to also place a properly formatted copied template on the talk pages of the source and destination. The attribution has been provided for this situation, but if you have copied material between pages before, even if it was a long time ago, please provide attribution for that duplication. You can read more about the procedure and the reasons at Copying within Wikipedia. Thank you. If you are the sole author of the prose that was moved, attribution is not required. — Diannaa (talk) 17:21, 26 August 2016 (UTC)

Coconut water
You've not addressed the concerns there. Minimally, if you are going to add images to articles, you should be familiar with MOS:IMAGES. --Ronz (talk) 16:24, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

I've removed your plaque image from a couple of articles. At least in one it was in the gallery. In neither case was it something strongly related to the article topic. In one article you may have been using it as reference maybe? I'm unfamiliar with general consensus for using such material as reference, but there have been a number of cases where similar plaques were found to be unreliable sources. --Ronz (talk) 16:37, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

Take your image of the Basgo sign as still another example. It's a picture predominantly of a large hill with the sky as a backdrop, with some surrounding trees. The buildings and sign are so small in comparison that they're secondary at best. The resolution and angle doesn't give obvious cropping improvements. --Ronz (talk) 16:47, 31 August 2016 (UTC)


 * When I checked your message to me today I at first thought you were only talking about the images I had uploaded to the Coconut water and Basgo articles - I was still half asleep and didn't at first notice that you have also deleted even more of my photos.


 * I only uploaded the photo to the Basgo page because there was no illustration at all of Basgo in the article and this one at least shows the setting of the village and entrance to it. Unfortunately, it is the only one I have of it. I believe it is at least better to be able to see that much than nothing at all. I uploaded it in hopes that someone would replace it by a better one sometime. If you can find such a photo - please do replace mine.


 * However, I then noticed that you have been going through my recent uploads and deleting ones you don't like without contacting me first about them. At this end it feels hostile. I would appreciate it in future if you would at least contact me and discuss the reason I uploaded them in the first place before just deleting them. I have uploaded many hundreds of images to the Wikipedia over the years - including over 570 photographs. Some of them may not be ideal - but I sincerely feel they each contribute something to the WP - if only temporarily - or I wouldn't take the time and trouble to upload them. If they really aren't appropriate it probably won't be long before some other editor removes them - hopefully after contacting me first.


 * I do believe in adding to the Wikipedia rather than subtracting from it unless there is something wrong or misleading or in bad taste that clearly should be removed. If none of these objections applies - I believe one should discuss the matter politely before deleting someone else's work. Although we obviously disagree on some issues I am aware you have made many good and worthy contributions to the WP, and I think you generally mean well, so I do hope we can leave this matter behind us and get on with more productive things. Yours, John Hill (talk) 20:34, 31 August 2016 (UTC)


 * No offense meant.
 * I hope you'll take a bit more time considering the quality and appropriateness of the images you add. --Ronz (talk) 23:45, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

Green glass Roman cup unearthed at Eastern Han tomb, Guixian, China
Thank you very much for uploading this image. It has been of great service in almost a dozen articles where I've just recently added it. Articles like Sino-Roman relations desperately needed images like this. For that matter, I'd like to personally thank you for translating and publishing the Weilue 魏略 online (2004), with an extensive and awesomely pedantic set of footnotes to accompany it. I'ts been very helpful in my edits to the aforementioned article and the one on Daqin. I'm putting serious thought into creating a Wikipedia article on you, for that matter, just to give you the recognition you deserve. Pericles of Athens Talk 23:44, 17 September 2016 (UTC)

Reply

 * Dear Eric Connor / PericlesofAthens


 * What a lovely surprise to receive your kind note to me. Thank you so very much - you have really made my week! Like most people, I thrive on praise - especially when it comes from someone I admire and respect. I have noticed your many excellent contributions to the WP over the years - and, just checking your User pages now - I realise that there are many other fine contributions that I haven't been aware of until now. Thank you for them.


 * I am thrilled that you have found my draft notes on the Weilüe from 2004 of some help. I should point out, though, that they are really out of date. Since I posted those notes on the Silk Road Seattle website (along with a translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions from the Hou Hanshu, also with copious footnotes, appendices. etc.), I have done a lot more work on both books. I keep discovering new things to explore in these amazing documents, and there has been a flood of new historical and archaeological material published in recent years which have allowed me to enrich our understanding of the texts.


 * I have published two editions of the annotated translations from the Hou Hanshu, one in 2009, and a much expanded, two-volume edition, in 2015 entitled, Through the Jade Gate – China to Rome. You can have a look at the book and read some of it as well as search the book for keywords on Amazon.com


 * I am still trying to get the Weilüe ready for publication but it is unfortunately a slow process – especially now that I am somewhat handicapped, mostly bedridden, and usually cannot work on it for prolonged periods as I used to. However, if you would like to discuss any subject related to either work (or anything else for that matter), please do not hesitate to email me at: wynhill2@bigpond.net.au – I would love to hear from you. Thanks again for your most kind comments. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 20:21, 18 September 2016 (UTC)


 * Dear John,
 * You are very welcome. And thanks for pointing out that your 2009/2015 Through the Jade Gate has some pages available for viewing at Amazon. I'll defintitely give it a look. :) I'm sorry to hear about the poor state of your health; I hope it improves. Kind regards, Pericles of Athens  Talk 21:10, 18 September 2016 (UTC)

Sanskrit
Hi again John! Sorry to bug you, but I have to relate a little theory of mine that's probably worth looking into.

The site of Oc Eo, Vietnam has yielded artefacts of Roman gold medallions from the reigns of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, the same Roman emperors associated with "Andun" in the Weilue and Book of Later Han for the embassy of 166 AD to Emperor Huan of Han's court (Young, 2001: 29; Ball, 2016: 153). Other Roman artefacts have also been found in the Mekong Delta region (Ball, 2016: 153). As you obviously already know, this was an embassy said to have first arrived via Jiaozhi in Vietnam, followed by the alleged Roman embassies in the 3rd century. Ptolemy's Geography tells us of that Cattigara seaport on the Magnus Sinus visited by a Greek seafarer Alexandros. The name "Cattigara" is likely to have been taken from the Sanskrit word Kottinagara (i.e. "Strong City") or Kirtinagara(i.e. "Renowned City"); it was also most likely the same site of Oc Eo mentioned above (Mawer, 2013: 38).

In the 2nd century AD, Oc Eo belonged to the Kingdom of Funan, which is attested not only in Chinese sources but also Sanskrit-language texts in the Grantha alphabet produced by the Funanese themselves (albeit in a scholarly language from India and not their own native ancient Khmer language). It is known that the Romans traded throughout India and bought most of their Chinese silks there via the maritime route from Egypt (Indo-Roman trade relations). Is it possible that the Romans communicated to people in India using Sanskrit? Or would it have been Koine Greek? I'm only familiar with northern India as being Hellenized, first with Alexander's invasion and then the Indo-Greek Kingdom and (Hellenized) Indo-Scythians. Surely there must have been some Romans who communicated to Indian merchants in a tongue other than the lingua franca of Koine Greek, especially Indians further south who did not live under Hellenized regimes. If there's any evidence for Romans or Roman Greeks speaking Sanskrit, that would be interesting, becuase it would most likely be the language they used when (hypothetically) trading with the Kingdom of Funan. Furthermore, it would have most likely been the language they used via interpreters with the Chinese, if those events in the Chinese histories are to be trusted as representing genuine Romans. Food for thought! Pericles of Athens Talk 15:32, 19 September 2016 (UTC)


 * It's also probably worth mentioning that one of the most famous medieval travelers in China, Marco Polo, knew three other (unnamed) languages yet Chinese probably wasn't among them. He most likely knew Mongolian, Turkish, and Persian, using these to communicate with others during the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. I don't know much about the early missionary work in China, but I do know John of Montecorvino, the first Archbishop of Beijing (Khanbaliq), was said to translate the Bible into Mongolian (not sure if he ever translated it into Chinese, probably not). When the Nestorian Christian Uyghur monk and diplomat Rabban Bar Sauma from Zhongdu, later renamed Khanbilaq (Beijing, China) visited the courts of Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, Philip IV of France, Edward I of England, and Pope Nicholas IV, he wasn't speaking his native languages of Uyghur and Chinese; he spoke in Persian, which was then translated for his gracious hosts. Pericles of Athens  Talk 15:44, 19 September 2016 (UTC)


 * It should be noted that I'm woefully ignorant about the subject in general, due to never having read sources like the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. There could very well be mention in Roman sources of Romans speaking in Sanskrit, but I would have no idea, because it seems like such an obscure topic that only a handful of academics would be privy to. Pericles of Athens  Talk 16:06, 19 September 2016 (UTC)

Reply
Dear Eric: Please don't apologise for contacting me; I have been looking forward to chatting with you further and was delighted to find your note here this morning. You have raised some interesting issues that are difficult to resolve but certainly worthy of attention. Even if they cannot be decided definitively, it is useful to understand what the main theories are and how best to apply them to articles in the Wikipedia to ensure they are balanced and not misleading.

You ask whether travellers from the Roman Empire to India and Funan might have spoken "Sanskrit". I don't know of any conclusive evidence - but I think it is highly likely, indeed probable, that some of them would have spoken one or more Indian languages. There were a number of closely related Indo-European or Indo-Aryan languages in use at the time spoken in a wide arc from Afghanistan (“Bactrian” or “Aryan”) and across most of northern India. These languages are often referred to by linguists as “Prakrits” and some use the term to include Classical Sanskrit and Pali which were certainly closely related. How well they could be mutually understood at the time is impossible to say, though it is very likely that a person speaking any one of them would have had little difficulty in learning how to understand another. Also, of course, it is highly probable that traders would have used a basic vocabulary forming a sort of trade language or lingua franca widely understood across a vast region.

Travellers across the overland routes would have come through the Kushan territories in Afghanistan and northern Pakistan where Greek was spoken for centuries alongside various “Prakrits”, and there would have been many native speakers both of some form of Greek plus the local Prakrit. One can assume that traders would have easily and quickly picked up enough of the local languages to be able to negotiate trade, but also, translators would have been easy to find.

Traders travelling from Egypt to Indian ports using the monsoon winds were forced to spend months in port waiting for the monsoons to change before returning home. Some of them would likely have put down roots and stayed behind and/or had families with local women. There is good evidence that communities of “Yavanas” were actually living in India by the second century and it is fair to assume that many of them would have spoken one of the Sanskrit-related Prakrits. It therefore seems almost certain to me that “Western” traders visiting Oc Eo would have had on board people who spoke one or more of these Prakrits.

As to whether Ptolemy’s Kattigara (Latin: Cattigara) referred to Oc Eo or another port is still not proven. I tend to think it more likely referred to Jiaozhi near modern Hanoi – but, as I say, I cannot be certain. I won’t go into the reasons for this here now as it may take a while and I have to leave for a doctor’s appointment in half an hour. If you would like to discuss the evidence it might be better to do it by email.

I highly recommend you have a read of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. It is a truly fascinating and irreplaceable document. The most modern and up-to-date version is Lionel Casson’s book, The Periplus Maris Erythraei based on Frisk’s earlier translation. However, it is now out of print and being sold at ridiculous prices (I am so glad I bought myself a copy many years ago). It would be good to find a copy in a library – but McCrindle’s 1879 translation or Huntingford’s 1980 version (which comes with excellent notes) would be good to have on hand as you may find yourself referring to the Periplus from time to time even after you have read it through. If you can afford Huntingford’s (which I see is available on Amazon.com for about US $55 new or $45 used plus post) it would be worth getting a copy. If not – I could send McCrindle’s edition in pdf format via attachments to several emails – as I have it on my computer (plus an 1807 translation by William Vincent). Please let me know what you think.

Hope this is of some help. All best wishes, John Hill (talk) 23:52, 19 September 2016 (UTC)


 * Hi John! Thanks again for the long and thoughtful reply. It appears that my own university library has a copy of Lionel Casson's 1989 publication, so no worries! I wouldn't want to make you labor for me and send a bunch of emails with huge attachments when I could just walk down to the library and pick up the up-to-date version (with convenient parallel texts of Greek and English, very cool). It's also available online, at least in snippets from what I can tell (courtesy University of Washington).
 * Your point about Greeks having to stay in India for months on end is a fantastic one! It makes perfect sense too, from any reading of the text one should glean that fact seeing how the author stresses that travel only during certain months is favorable (if not necessary for one's survival...you wouldn't want to be caught at sea much longer than you needed, with dwindling provisions). I could certainly see the sons and daughters of mixed-marriage Greek-and-Indian couples being bilingual, even if there's no explicit evidence for it. I'm chiefly interested in any sort of primary sources that might offer us any sort of view into the world of Indian society as the natives saw it at the time (3rd century). Unfortunately such literature doesn't seem available. The Indians had some impressive mathematical and astronomical treatises, a rich tradition of religious and philosophical texts, tales and epics, and terse chronicles, but no investigative histories in the manner of Herodotus/Thucydides until centuries later (and even then most of the earliest historians were Muslims from the north, with Hindu exceptions of course, such as Kalhana's 12th-century Rajatarangini ). Things like the Edicts of Ashoka mention some historical events and people, but that's hardly a history one could systematically approach. Given the lack of official histories, one would have to dig for these sorts of ideas in documents mined from archaeological sites, such as private letters, legal documents, proclamations, etc.
 * Since archaeological journals are usually in the arcane domain of a small intellectual community (burrowed deep inside the larger academic community), I honestly have to wonder if what I'm discussing is already a confirmed fact from recent findings, yet I would have no idea due to lack of access to such reports. This is also not an area of expertise for me, yet I would like to devour as much information as I can. You've been an enormous help in that regard and I'll be sure to pick up Lionel's version of the Periplus. Goodspeed to you and I hope your health recovers soon! All the best. Pericles of Athens  Talk 01:57, 20 September 2016 (UTC)

Dahuting Tomb murals, Chinese Eastern Han period (25-220 AD)
I just uploaded all of these to Wikimedia! And have used them in several articles thus far.

The Dahuting Tomb (Chinese: 打虎亭汉墓, Pinyin: Dahuting Han mu) of the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), located in Zhengzhou, Henan province, China, was excavated in 1960-1961 and contains vault-arched burial chambers decorated with murals showing scenes of daily life, with banquet scenes, dancers with musicians playing, court women flaunting their hairstyles, war chariots and cavalry riding to battle, mythological scenes with creatures such as dragons, etc. Pericles of Athens  Talk 14:18, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

In regards to one of the woman in the first row, is that a glass cup she's holding? That's interesting, considering how prized Roman glass was in Han China at the time, considered a foreign luxury item. Pericles of Athens Talk 14:18, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

Reply
Dear Pericles: Thank you so very much for posting these magnificent illustrations. I had not seen photos of the Dahuting murals before - so they are a real treat.

As to whether the woman in the second photo is holding a glass vessel is of great interest because, if it can be determined that it was of glass, it would almost certainly be representing an imported item as the Chinese were not producing such items in glass at this early period. However, at first glance, it looks to me similar to pottery vessels of Chinese design that I have seen, but I am certainly no expert on such matters.

I have, therefore, written to a colleague and friend who is far more knowledgeable about such things for his opinion, or, whether he could suggest someone else to contact. When I hear back I will let you know what he says.

Again, many thanks for such a beautiful gallery of fascinating images - I will download them all to my computer so I can examine them in detail more easily. With my very best wishes, John Hill (talk) 21:01, 11 October 2016 (UTC)

Pericles' response
John,

Thanks for the surprisingly wonderful reply! I assumed we were just going to have some fun idle conversation; I had no idea any of my normal Wikimedia stuff was going to spur a serious academic investigation.

Firstly, you may certainly use the images! I do not own them; they are public domain, by virtue of being flat 2-dimensional photographic representations of ancient artwork, with expired ownership (that only lasts 70 years in the US, and by all other accounts 100 years into the past...I think it's fairly safe to say the arists of the Eastern Han period have lost their claim to copyright). Only photographs of 3-dimensional ancient artwork have a valid claim by the photographer as being his or her licensed property. So by all means, use these images to your heart's content! They can also be found on the web if you do a Google Image search for "Dahuting Tomb" (with even better results if you search for it in Chinese with "打虎亭汉墓"). Google Books doesn't seem to be of much use, sadly (as I've already discovered), but for what it's worth, Baidu.com has an article in Chinese that seems to dive into the topic: you can read it here. Sadly I was unable to find higher-resolution images, so unfortunately you'll have to make do with them unless you can find better photographic work for the inside of the Dahuting Tomb.

In either case, I'm also no expert in Chinese ceramics, but I've seen enough images of Chinese ceramics to see how you're making the comparison (even though none of these objects seem as small or scaled down as the one the woman is precariously holding):

Talk to you soon! Pericles of Athens Talk 05:04, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

Just found this!
I can't believe I had to find something this amazing on a stupid blog from Sina Weibo. Look at these images of Dahuting Tomb in Zhengzhou, Henan! Look how you progress down the stairway into the tomb through the barrel-arched vault and through arched doorways, with stone doors still intact and bearing fanciful reliefs. And then finally, BAM! The burial chamber with all the murals I've shown above and more! It's a shame these pictures have so much glare, due to the protective glass frames mounted against the murals. I'm afraid it would be impossible to upload these images to Wikimedia Commons, because they are shot at angles that produce 3-dimensional views of the tomb's interior. For what it's worth, look at these two in particular: here and here. I hope you and your colleagues find these useful! Pericles of Athens Talk 05:54, 12 October 2016 (UTC)


 * WOW! What a treat! Thanks you so much for EVERYTHING! You have really gone to so much trouble - I am very grateful. I haven't been able yet to go through it all carefully - nor have I heard back again from my friend yet (though I did write to notify him of your last postings here and the intriguing comment from "MisterCake").


 * I am very busy here at the moment - so I may need a day or so before I can get back to it all. I am jealous of your time in Kyrgyzstan - I always wanted to travel more in the Stans but, unfortunately, I am past my travelling days now - so I can only hope that reincarnation is real and that I will come back as a human and not a cockroach as one "friend" predicted! :).


 * I hope I am not distracting you too much from your PhD studies. A million thanks once again.


 * All my very best wishes, John Hill (talk) 07:07, 12 October 2016 (UTC)


 * No problem, take your time! Let's hope that you and I both become reincarnated as something other than cockroaches. ;) Pericles of Athens  Talk 14:46, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

These were just uploaded!
Have a look! They're from a Western Han tomb in Xi'an (Chang'an), Shaanxi, from the Xi'an University of Technology: Pericles of Athens  Talk 17:02, 14 October 2016 (UTC)

I sent you an email as you requested. Cheers. Pericles of Athens Talk 14:25, 17 October 2016 (UTC)

Nomination of Gö Lotsawa for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Gö Lotsawa is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

The article will be discussed at Articles for deletion/Gö Lotsawa until a consensus is reached, and anyone is welcome to contribute to the discussion. The nomination will explain the policies and guidelines which are of concern. The discussion focuses on high-quality evidence and our policies and guidelines.

Users may edit the article during the discussion, including to improve the article to address concerns raised in the discussion. However, do not remove the article-for-deletion notice from the top of the article. Si Trew (talk) 05:14, 24 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorry about that, I meant to nominate the redirect at, not the article. I've tried to remove the nomination at AfD. Si Trew (talk) 05:16, 24 December 2016 (UTC)

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Kokyar: Qira or Keriya County?
Hey- in the last few days, I have done some work on the English Wikipedia pages for Qira and Keriya counties in Khotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, and I wanted to ask you about your excellent Kokyar page. Isn't Kokyar in Keriya and not Qira? Am I getting something wrong here? I want to be able to link your page on either the Qira or Keriya county page. Thanks for any help. Geographyinitiative (talk) 22:04, 16 December 2019 (UTC)

Reply
Hi - Thanks so much for pointing this out. On checking it seems clear that I must have made a mistake placing Kokyar township in Qira county. However, checking on the internet I found different answers as to which county Kokyar is actually in. One site places it in Keryia county (see: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58f9cb676.html), while another places it in "Yecheng county of Kashgar" see (https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/35-killed-in-landslide-in-chinas-xinjiang-province/articleshow/53108201.cms). So, I don't know what to do until we can find an authoritative source of information. Please let me know if you discover anything of interest. All best wishes, Cheers, John Hill (talk) 01:51, 17 December 2019 (UTC)

Keriya Town
Hello- request comment on this page you made a while back./ Geographyinitiative (talk) 01:10, 14 January 2020 (UTC)


 * Hello again! I've been slowly building Wikipedia's information base on Khotan and Kashgar, and I have made a new discovery today. Responding to the basic problem behind your comment here:, I think I have made a more correct identification for the Kokyar described on the Kokyar page you made. There is indeed a Kokyar in Keriya/Yutian County (over 400 km away to the southeast of Kargilik Town), but there is ALSO a Kokyar Township just about 50 km south of Kargilik Town. This must be the Kokyar I you were talking about when you made the Kokyar page. I plan to make the necessary changes this week. (Our conversation is a little confusing to me, so let me know if you don't understand what I'm saying.) Geographyinitiative (talk) 01:46, 13 April 2020 (UTC) (modified)


 * Reply: Thanks so much for the excellent detective work! It seems to me you have solved the puzzle! Congratulations, and thanks again - i really appreciate the work you have done on this. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 02:55, 13 April 2020 (UTC)


 * If you like that, check out the Kokyar page now! Made a lot of new additions. Couldn't find an uploadable photograph. You may like the maps I've added. Loved looking up those old books you mentioned. I plan to move on to some towns in Tashurkgan County next week. Geographyinitiative (talk) 11:40, 18 April 2020 (UTC)


 * Oh hey, I just now put two and two together and realized that it's probably you that wrote the "Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty" book. Is there a digital version of this book that we can link to? I found Stein's 1912 book. Thanks for any help. Geographyinitiative (talk) 11:51, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Also, if you have Uyghur names for the villages in Kokyar, let me know and I will add them. Right now, the only names I could find were the Chinese character names for the villages (except for one village, Outunsu / Otan-su). Geographyinitiative (talk) 11:56, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
 * We may be tempted to think that a place like Kokyar isn't really that important or significant, but the population of Kokyar is more than that of the country of Palau. It's very sad that I can only put together the relatively short entry that I have, and it's extremely sad that I couldn't find the Uyghur names for the villages. Geographyinitiative (talk) 12:28, 18 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Hi again! Thanks for all the work you have been doing - it is a relief to me to know someone is interested in these small but strategically important places on the ancient trade routes into Xinjiang, and adding to them. Unfortunately, I am practically totally bedridden now and not able to focus as much as I would like on my studies. However, I have had a look through most of the old books and papers I have here at home relating to the region and cannot find anything more worth adding. Other than a few references by 19th and early 20th century foreign travellers, there is very little available on Kokyar that I know of other than official reports in Chinese.
 * I think the main reason there is so little information available is because there have been so few outside visitors in recent times) There was a big drop in visits to the region after the rebellions and battles between warlords leading up to the invasion of China by Japan and the battles between the Kuomintang and the Communists. After the Communist victory in 1949 the region was basically closed to foreigners - especially after China began testing atomic weapons in the region. My wife and I were extremely fortunate to be among the first foreigners allowed to travel along the old southern branch of the Silk Routes from Kashgar to Dunhuang in 2011 for 3 glorious weeks with our own vehicle guide and driver - we were SO very fortunate! I don't imagine it would be easy to repeat such a journey these days. Thanks again for all you are doing - i do hope you will keep a watch on entries from the region. If I come across any articles which may be of use to you I will let you know and then send them on to you if you would give me your email address. All my very best wishes.John Hill (talk) 01:27, 19 April 2020 (UTC)
 * Sorry - I meant Keriya Town not Kokyar in the note above - please excuse me.John Hill (talk) 01:29, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

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Insertion of photos of your father
Please do not put photos of your father into random articles. There is no historical context for these, basically they are spam. - Ahunt (talk) 22:56, 18 April 2021 (UTC)


 * I wondered when I uploaded this photo whether it would be acceptable, but I thought it was of historical interest (as there are almost no other photos available of the medical rescues service provided by the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW II). I would appreciate your advice as to whether this photo should be used at all (and, if so, in which articles?). Perhaps is I removed his name from the caption it would be acceptable? Whatever, i will look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 23:08, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

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