Frances Wood
Encyclopedia
Frances Wood is an English
historian known for her writings on Chinese history, including Marco Polo
, life in the Chinese treaty ports
, and the First Emperor of China
. She has argued in her 1995 book, Did Marco Polo go to China?
, that the book of Marco Polo (Il Milione) is not the account of a single person, but is a collection of travellers' tales.
in Liverpool
in 1967, before going to Newnham College
, Cambridge University where she studied Chinese
. She went to China to study Chinese
in 1975–1976.
Wood is currently Curator of Chinese collections at the British Library
in London
, England
. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the International Dunhuang Project
, and the editor of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
historian known for her writings on Chinese history, including Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
, life in the Chinese treaty ports
Treaty ports
The treaty ports was the name given to the port cities in China, Japan, and Korea that were opened to foreign trade by the Unequal Treaties.-Chinese treaty ports:...
, and the First Emperor of China
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...
. She has argued in her 1995 book, Did Marco Polo go to China?
Did Marco Polo go to China?
Did Marco Polo go to China?, ISBN 978-0813389998, is a 1995 history book by Frances Wood, arguing that Venetian explorer Marco Polo never visited China as told, but travelled no further than Persia, basing his description of China on accounts from Persian travellers.-Further reading:* * *...
, that the book of Marco Polo (Il Milione) is not the account of a single person, but is a collection of travellers' tales.
Biography
Wood was born in London in the late 1940s, and went to art schoolArt school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
in 1967, before going to Newnham College
Newnham College, Cambridge
Newnham College is a women-only constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1871 by Henry Sidgwick, and was the second Cambridge college to admit women after Girton College...
, Cambridge University where she studied Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
. She went to China to study Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
in 1975–1976.
Wood is currently Curator of Chinese collections at the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of the International Dunhuang Project
International Dunhuang Project
The International Dunhuang Project is an international collaborative effort to conserve, catalogue and digitise manuscripts, printed texts, paintings, textiles and artefacts from Dunhuang and various other archaeological sites at the eastern end of the Silk Road...
, and the editor of the Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society.
External links
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wdctlFrances Wood on Desert Island DiscsDesert Island DiscsDesert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
(broadcast 5 December 2010)]