Brian L. Kennedy Posted January 25, 2008 (edited) Edited January 30, 2008 by Brian L. Kennedy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rene Posted January 25, 2008 Very nice to see this. Thank you for sharing it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian L. Kennedy Posted January 25, 2008 Thanks hfd, That was one of a set of six training manuals that my wife and I got at auction. They are all from the mid to late 1800s and the other ones cover different types of Daoist fortune telling, fengshuai and talismans. As a historian I need to be upfront----they could be forgeries. Fake antique books is and has always been a cottage industry in China. The forensic tools that it would take to determine if any Chinese manuscript is fake or not, simply are not available. Â Nonetheless, the drawings are outstanding! Â take care, Brian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted January 25, 2008 Very nice post - thanks for sharing this and thanks for your candor. When you say the tools to authenticate Chinese training manuals are not available do you mean anywhere? in Taiwan? or within your budget? My assumption was that there are quite accurate methods for dating such documents, for a price, at least in the US. Is there something unique about Chinese manuals (paper, ink, ...) that makes them an exception? Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites