A talk in Preston will compare the Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall.
The Great Wall of China spans much of the northern border of China while Hadrian’s Wall is the far western end of the northern border of the Roman Empire.
Both borders are of a similar length and were built over a similar period of time, possibly for similar reasons.
The talk will explore histories of cultures and migrations and the roles played by borders and boundaries, the creation of frontiers and what lies beyond, and how the spaces we inhabit, or the ones we imagine, help to shape our identities.
Frank Pearson will give the talk. Retired from teaching, Frank still gives lectures and writes on cave exploration, the history of science, Romantic literature, Classical Chinese landscape poetry and painting, and writes his own poetry.
Frank studies Chinese language, literature and philosophy and collaborated with Lian Xiaomin and Yu Feixia in translating the Classical Chinese philosophical text, Laozi’s Dao De Jing, published in China in 2022.
Interested in comparing Classical Chinese landscape and spatial aesthetics with those of Western thought, Frank is currently translating the Classical Chinese landscape poetry of Xie Lingyun with Yu Feixia.
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Frank told Blog Preston: “History shows us that borders and boundaries, however imposing, are porous – people and ideas will always pass through.
“History in the landscape is accessible to all of us. At a time of climate change, war and mass migration – and with the building of walls and closed borders increasing – we have much to learn from the traces of our past in books and in the lie of the land.
“This talk is a look into history from a geo-poetic perspective, an exploration of who we are and where we live.”
Migration, Culture and History: The Great Wall of China and Hadrian’s Wall will take place at Lancashire Archives in Bow Lane on Saturday 8 February from 1.30pm to 3pm.
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Priced at £5 – which includes refreshments – tickets are available via Lancashire County Council website.
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This story was made possible by you, our readers, and a host of organisations in the city, through our Crowdfund Lancashire appeal, which unlocked support from the Lancashire Culture and Sport Fund provided by Lancashire County Council. You can see all our coverage and, if you know of an arts project or event in the city we should be covering, you can submit it for our event listings and/or send details to contactus@blogpreston.co.uk for us to cover it as a story on the Blog.