Raden Ajeng Kartini (1879-1904). Pioneer for women’s rights in the Dutch East Indies/Indonesia

After her untimely death, now more than a century ago, Kartini's testament in the form of her correspondence reminds us of her enduring legacy.

Doris Jedamski • June 22, 2021

An Edict Issued by the Wanli Emperor - Three Students Report on a Ming Dynasty Manuscript

In December 2020 the University Library acquired a Ming edict once in the collection of the Dutch sinologist Robert van Gulik. Three Chinese Studies students report on its restoration and academic relevance.

Guest author • June 08, 2021

Brailliant and over the Moon: The Chinese Tactile Collection

Thinking about inclusion is not something new in the world of reading, and the Leiden Special Collections have pieces to prove it. In this blog I want to highlight a collection of 19th century books in the Special Collections aimed at helping the blind in Qing China read their mother tongue.

Guest author • March 23, 2021

The 1973 Chinese edition of the Communist Manifesto

A perfect edition for a perfect text.

Marc Gilbert • January 26, 2021

Old Manuscript Dictionaries of Chinese: New Connections through the work of Francisco Diaz and Appiani's Copy

The Leiden Special Collections surprised us with another version of the so-called Vocabulario de letra China written by Francisco Diaz.

Guest author • October 27, 2020

The Esperanto textbooks that never were

Among the many joys of doing research, my favourite is best described as “archival serendipity”. When my research kept yielding correspondence in Esperanto I decided to have a look in the Leiden Special Collections. The result: Or. 6767: a complete grammar of Tibetan, explained in Esperanto.

Guest author • October 13, 2020

Donation of letters describing an 18th-century voyage between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies

The letters, authored by German Johann Anton Neubronner (1763-1815) on his voyage to the Dutch East Indies are a perfect supplement to three major collections gathered by Neubronner’s famous grandson: Indologist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk.

Doris Jedamski • September 29, 2020

The Illustrated Description of the Living Hells

Two copies of a rare and long-forgotten Chinese book are preserved in the Leiden Special Collections where they are awaiting researchers.

Guest author • April 02, 2020

A busy route: a story of airmail between the Dutch East Indies and the Netherlands.

The Hoekstra-collection contains more than 900 items of ephemera and memorabilia, but among the most striking items is a set of mysteriously empty envelopes.

Guest author • February 06, 2020

leidenspecialcollectionsblog

Asian Special Collections

Blogs