User talk:John Hill/Archive06

What were you thinking?

Talk:Kangding County??? Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:24, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

I have just had a look at my note and, to be honest, I really don't know what I was thinking about at the time - I don't even remember writing it. (It's a real worry! I wonder whether it is due to the onset of senility or all the painkillers I have been on??? Who knows?). Anyway, I have added a retraction of my earlier statement and am now strongly opposed to the merger. Thank you for pointing out my inexplicable error. John Hill (talk) 22:51, 10 December 2009 (UTC)

Hehe, how are you my friend! I miss you being around!! Hope the book is doing well. Well, Kangding County is 11,125 sq. km and has hundreds of towns and villages, mountains, rivers etc so to redirect it to the article about the main town (when the article about the county could be very useful if researched and expanded from Chinese) seemed wrong! You are forgiven hehe! I hope you've seen recent developments on articles like Korzok Monastery and Thikse as I was hoping you could fill in any missing information! Next I intend to start the hermitages of Sera, have you seen the resources that the Tibetan Himalayan Library has on them!!

I've been starting a few new town articles. See Bayi Town, Gyaidar, Saga, Tibet and Garzê Town and Moxi Town. Amazingly I found images for Bayi! Stroke of luck. You'll also be pleased to know we finally have a decent svg map of Tibet and I've been steadily building images of Tibet by county in the commons.... Could you try to expand any of these articles when you have a moment? Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:18, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

Aw thankyou!! That is very kind of you! Yes I do tend to think of a massive range of topics, unfortunately I don't have the time to write DYKs on all of them!! Of late I've also been working on old english manor houses, don't know if you have heard of Wormleighton Manor and Virginia House (which was once in England but reconstructed in Virginia and emcompassed part of the design of Wormleighton! Fascinating subject!. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:08, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Yey Dzongsar Monastery is on the front page at the moment! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 14:18, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

You may be interested to know that Nvvchar and I are developing a decent article on Kathmandu, a core article obviously. Your help would be much appreciated in expanding the history/temples sections at User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 3. I am sure you have a wealth of material on Kathmandu's history. particularly ancient! Please add as much as you can! Together may we build the detailed article we should have! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 15:06, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Congratulations once again! You are incredible! Will try to get to Kathmandu sometimes soon. At the moment I am preparing to go to town to give a talk to the local branch of the Country Women's Association (membership about 10!) on sea silk!!! Take care, my friend, John Hill (talk) 22:54, 13 December 2009 (UTC)

Country Women's Association eh? Best of luck!! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 12:34, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Hey your contriubtions yesterday were outstanding!!! Wow! thanks for your editions. The Kathmandu article is shaping up nicely but is greatly in need of a history expert like yourself to write a good history, particularly Kathmandu valley from ancient times through the middle ages, past relations with China and India etc, the whole works!!. Give it the "John Hill effect", you know, beef it up with book info!! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 17:35, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

P.S. I can't believe we are missing an article on Serxu (town) in northern Kham!! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 17:46, 18 December 2009 (UTC)

I have merged the time line inputs provided by Dr. Blofeld in the history section. But references need to be fitted. I will add more text on Art section today.--Nvvchar (talk) 02:39, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

Hey no worries! Well I hope we can work on a very comprehensive history section using multiple sources over the next few weeks. Then with a bit of work and copy editing, condensing we might pass it for GA, although I don't know if I will bother going for an FA again its too stressful!! But the article even now is way better than it was before... Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 23:07, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

File:Statue of Zheng He with great great grandnephew.jpg listed for deletion

An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, File:Statue of Zheng He with great great grandnephew.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Files for deletion. Please see the discussion to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. FASTILY_sock^(TALK) 09:19, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Merry Christmas!!

Ho ho ho!

You too my friend! Thankyou so much for your kind words. May you have a great Christmas and a great 2010!!! I also greatly appreciate your editions as there are too few editors working on Central Asia!! As for the Kathmandu article with a bit of work and condensing I think it is a very imformative article, than even FAs like Calcutta, although the quality needs to improve which should come with time... The Calcutta article in my view is way off being comprehensive enough. It is missing info on vital topics!! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:51, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Greetings John! I've created a few stubs today on the Sera hermitages:

Chupzang Nunnery ,Drakri Hermitage ,Garu Nunnery, Jokpo Hermitage ,Keutsang Hermitage ,Keutsang East Hermitage,Keutsang West Hermitage ,Khardo Hermitage ,Negodong Nunnery,Nenang Nunnery , Panglung Hermitage, Purbuchok Hermitage, Rakhadrak Hermitage, Sera Chöding Hermitage, Sera Gönpasar Hermitage, Sera Utsé Hermitage, Takten Hermitage, Trashi Chöling Hermitage.

I've included a link to the Tibetan Himalayan Library which can be used to write them. See this and any of the others. It is quite fascinating. They are quite notable monasteries in their own right! So they are now blue linked and can gradually be expanded like Pabongkha Hermitage! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 13:03, 23 December 2009 (UTC)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! May 2010 be a good one for you and Central Asian coverage on wikipedia! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 12:28, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I only checked up on you last night. You've bene active! When you said about the book I thought you were barely going to be here anymore, that's why I haven't contacted you since. Primary credit goes to Nvvchar, he's being doing a lot of excellent work with monasteries and Red Tiger has too. We could certainly use your specialist book knowledge on many of these monasteries!. Recently expanded was Lamaling Monastery. Can you add something? Sometime I hope the three of us can collaborate and get the Sera Monastery article up to scratch. I've wanted that to be expanded since 2006!! I am certain a huge amount could be written on it and we have sources to summarise each of its hermitages too. I stubbed the hermitage articles a few weeks back but they also need fleshing out. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:46, 2 February 2010 (UTC)

Middle Kingdom of India

Hi! I gave reference to support my claims. You just seem to not agree or POV. You need to give evidence that my claims are wrong. Please provide me references or articles that prove, what is currently written by me and other fellow wikipedians are wrong. Please don't remove what is written currently in the Middle Kingdom article. Thank you! (GB (talk) 12:08, 4 January 2010 (UTC))

Thanks

I never thanked for your condolence note last year, but I appreciate it more than I can possibly express. All the best, in friendship. Guettarda (talk) 16:26, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

And thanks very much for your recent note. Guettarda (talk) 16:26, 10 January 2010 (UTC)

Request of citation

Dear John Hill, I have translated part of Shigatse for fr:Dzong de Shigatsé. I was requested for the "citation" coresponding to text in italic in "It was totally dismantled, rock by rock, by hundreds of Tibetans at the instigation of the Chinese in 1961". I am turing toward you, as you wrote this. [1]. This is not urgent. Thanks in advance for your help. With kind regards. --Rédacteur Tibet (talk) 19:00, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Many thanks for the info, I have added the citation and links, that were requested on fr:Dzong de Shigatsé. --Rédacteur Tibet (talk) 16:40, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

Ping

I have sent you an e-mail. --Tenmei (talk) 23:38, 11 January 2010 (UTC)

Me too. You have annother email. ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 00:58, 10 February 2010 (UTC)

File:Ticket to Vivekananda Memorial.jpg listed for deletion

An image or media file that you uploaded or altered, File:Ticket to Vivekananda Memorial.jpg, has been listed at Wikipedia:Files for deletion. Please see the discussion to see why this is (you may have to search for the title of the image to find its entry), if you are interested in it not being deleted. Thank you. Calliopejen1 (talk) 13:55, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

Tuyoq

Hello John. This place looks as if it has an interesting history. Know anything about it? Also how about Yanqi Town? ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 14:13, 19 February 2010 (UTC)

Thanks John! Congratulations too on your DYK!! ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 12:38, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Song Yun

Hello! Your submission of Song Yun at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Marylanderz (talk) 16:50, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Don't panic. Another editor followed up, and the article is in the DYK queue, which is why you don't see it on the suggestions page. It should appear sometime tomorrow. Marylanderz (talk) 11:28, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Oh, fabulous, I am really grateful for all the help and support.John Hill (talk) 23:03, 23 February 2010 (UTC)

Sera Monastery

Hi John. See User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 3. Any additions would be welcome. Nvvchar is uncertain about how to include info from the historical monastery and the rebuilt one. ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 14:08, 28 February 2010 (UTC)

I have seen your very useful edits. I have also prepared two more draft articles here‎ on the Chupzang Nunnery User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 5 and Garo Nunnery User:Nvvchar/sandbox/Saptha Badri. You may like to edit and supplement as I could not find more text on Chupzang for 5x expansion. You may also like to suggest some more web references for me to read and add. I could not get any imags of the nunneries on flickr. May be, during your sojourn in Tibet, you have taken some pictures and would be able to upload them for use here. In the Sera text, the architecture aspect is, in the initial part, in present tense while in the later part in past tense. Do you want it all to be writeen in past tense.--Nvvchar (talk) 06:54, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your kind message. I read your User page fully (I know you have published a book related to Tibetan Buddhism) at the time I contributed substantially to Kathmandu article (You also made very useful contributions) and of course the article on Buddhism in Himachal Pradesh, which I wrote with Dr Bloefeld. I have writen one on Architecture of Sikkim (mostly on Buddhist monasteries there), which is still under finalisation on my sand box user page. I will seek your advise when it is ready. In the mean time, you may like to comment on the two nunnery articles referred above, paticularly on the aspect of protests by nuns. Good day and best regards. --Nvvchar (talk) 08:49, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

My turn to be feeling unwell... I've started Nyang bran anyway, perhaps you have something on it.. ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 14:32, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Haa haa lol. Actually the antibiotics aren't working! I don't even have a cold or cough its just a throat infection. It will pass! I actually find salt and raw honey more of a healer. Now I know why the Hawaiians say several hours in the ocean has magical healing powers. ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 10:54, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Excellent work!. I've uploaded some more pics to pretty it up a bit. Isn't Yarlung Valley within Nedong County? Perhaps you could duplicate some of the info there... ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 11:23, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the warm greetings.--Nvvchar (talk) 11:26, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

By the way , please feel free to ask me for any collaborative work, when you get well. I will bbe glad to work on any joint article related to Buddhism and its monasteries (I am a Hindu by birth but Buddhist at heart). By the way, is this reference [2] the same as Jakpo Hermitage near Lhasa?--Nvvchar (talk) 11:33, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

Tang Dynasty

I'm confused by this edit to Tang Dynasty. The two paragraphs you moved were part of the article's lead; they summarize material that's already covered in more depth in the sections below. That's exactly what lead sections are supposed to do, according to WP:LEAD, but as a section within the body of the article they're rather redundant. Besides, according to the same guideline, the lead section for an article this size is supposed to be three or four paragraphs. A. Parrot (talk) 03:51, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi! I didn't really move or change anything - I just inserted a header. It seemed to me that the lead was too long and detailed (discussing such things as air-conditioning fans, standardized examinations, the names of a number of famous poets, painters, etc., etc.) Looking at it again now I think I should have just shortened these two very long paragraphs and left such detailed subjects to be dealt with (as they are - very well, it seems to me) further on in the article? As I understand it, the lead is supposed to summarize the main points of the article providing a brief overview - not to duplicate details to be repeated further on in the article. Perhaps the guidelines should specify the lead should be made up of 3 to 4 short to medium paragraphs? Anyway, I certainly don't want to get into an argument about it. Do you think you (or we?) could shorten the lead somewhat along the lines I have mentioned and remove the heading I inserted (which, on second thought, is not very appropriate)? I welcome any comments you may have on the subject. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 11:48, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

The paragraphs are pretty thick, but in the lead they look longer than they are because of the dynasty infobox squashing them against the left margin (and where you put them they're still squashed some by the History of China template). A little trimming would make sense, but I'm not an expert on China and therefore tend to be cautious. For instance, the poets are listed mainly as examples of the flourishing literature of the period, but to an uninitiated Westerner their names won't mean anything. User:PericlesofAthens, though, said that "Du Fu, in terms of renown and lyrical excellence, is China's Shakespeare". If that's so, you certainly wouldn't want to leave him out. The technological examples could be removed, but I do understand the desire to list Tang-era contributions to the long list of things the Chinese invented before Westerners even imagined them. The standardized examinations were an extremely important part of the governing structure in imperial China, and I wouldn't leave them out. The one thing I feel entirely comfortable removing is the statement that the Grand Canal "is to this day the longest in the world", as the canal's construction was an achievement of the Sui Dynasty and not the Tang. I'm about to do that, but if you want to trim some more, I won't object. Like I said, it's not my area of expertise. A. Parrot (talk) 20:54, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi all. I will trim the lead as necessary, but not at the moment. I have to run out the door! I restored those paragraphs to the lead for now.--Pericles of Athens^Talk 21:08, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

As promised, I pruned about 500 bytes of text from the introduction. I hope everyone approves of what I chose to excise from the introduction. Cheers.--Pericles of Athens^Talk 21:38, 1 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi again! Thank you, Pericles of Athens, for your work which I think really improved the opening paragraphs. I have just done a little more tightening up which I hope will meet your approval and that of A. Parrot. Please feel free, though, to make any adjustments you think will improve things further. Thank you both for your contributions and civility. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 00:22, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Looks good. A. Parrot (talk) 02:16, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Fabulous! I am so pleased you are happy with it. John Hill (talk) 02:25, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

I concur; the introduction sounds much tighter and more succinct.--Pericles of Athens^Talk 02:38, 2 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello there!

I am the person who asked you in an email about the geographical usage of the term Tianzhu in reference to a paper I was writing on the kaifeng Jews of China. I had no idea that you were a fellow Wikipedia editor. I love your book by the way. I would give it four thumbs up if I had a couple more hands. Keep up the good work! --Ghostexorcist (talk) 17:06, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

I am friends with user Pericles of Athens and, based on my recommendation, he has decided to look up your book.

Please keep me apprised of the Weilüe's publication. I look forward to reading it. I am greatly interested in cross-cultural contacts myself. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 00:51, 4 March 2010 (UTC)

Timeline of Tibetan history

Hi. I'm going to make a start on this. It can be gradually developed into a detailed timeline of Tibet's history! ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 21:22, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello Mr. Hill. Ever heard of Taklung Yarthang Monastery? ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 20:22, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Hi! I've replied to your email.The timeline is supposed to be bare minimum brief. Just to cover as many years as possible with notable events. I think it is easier to follow that reading the full article and may become useful. Look forward to your improvements to Taklung. Tomorrow I intend writing Leith Hall, a supposedly haunted manor in Aberdeenshire. Such a range of articles eh? Today I've started a few like Thowadra Monastery... ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 21:49, 12 March 2010 (UTC)

Nice work! I've nominated them as a double hook. ‡ Himalayan ‡ ^ΨMonastery 14:26, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much for the complement and the nomination! Cheers, John Hill (talk) 23:03, 14 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello!!

Hello. How are you? Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 13:15, 6 April 2010 (UTC)

Sorry to hear about your health. I've had several articles I've worked on with Nvvchar in the past few days pass GA, Mountain Railways of India, Dal Lake might be interest of you. Chamba, Himachal Pradesh has been developed as it awaiting review. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 14:12, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Which article do you mean? Punakha Dzong or Chamba? If you mean Chamba, most of the images were obtained by requests.. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 12:03, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Sera Monastery is currently undergoing GA review. Any help copyediting/making last minute improvements would be great. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 21:31, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Hi again! I was thinking particularly of Punakha Dzong - but Chamba is is also a great achievement. Where did you find all the wonderful photos for Punakha Dzong? Did you have to write to get permission to use each of them separately - or did you find most of them in one place? Whatever, if looks fabulous. Will see if I can get around to the article on Sera - have guests here at the moment - so give me a couple of days at least. I do have lots of other references to it here. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 22:20, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

Too late! Sera Monastery is now listed as a good article! Any further additions of course are very welcome. I think with a bit of work, we could make Punakha Dzong a GA too. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 13:56, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks!! Perhaps after the operation you will be feeling much better. I really do hope so.. I've also made an agreement with the Tibetan Himalayan Library to use any of their images of Sera, they have many valuable images of the smaller hermitages and valleys which will further beautify it. You know the OTRS scheme though, it takes so much effort to get them to sort it out. I do hope you will feel better when you go to India. I am rather jealous of your trip actually! Remember to take tons of photos and take some fine images of the exterior and interior of Takthok Monastery! and any others! I managed to request some free images for Dubdi Monastery and Yuksom earlier. Punakha Dzong and Taktsang Dzong are both current GA candidates. The first however is facing a lot of difficulties.. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 21:48, 13 April 2010 (UTC)

Fallingrain is definately unreliable, You can trust me on that one. Maplandia is good for coordinates but these sort of sites are not really valid references. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 10:52, 23 April 2010 (UTC)

John Hill, from Vancouver Poetry Conference??

Hello John Hill,

By a rather circuitous route, I have tracked you down through Wikipedia. I wonder if we might correspond via e-mail; I am working with Dr. Ralph Maud on a book about the late poet Charles Olson, who, in one of his interviews, referenced someone (not by name), who we believe is you. We'd love to be able to confirm this information.

My e-mail address is: [email protected]

Many thanks, John Greg Gibson Talonbooks, Vancouver www.talonbooks.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by Talonbooksprod (talk • contribs) 21:52, 7 April 2010 (UTC)

Sera Monastery

Dear Mr John Hill,

Thanks for the nice congratulatory message on the GA article on Sera Monastery. As you must have noticed Dr Bloefeld and me have collaborated on a number of articles in the last few months. We have also now covered a few Buddhist Dzongs/temples/Pagodas of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Laos, Combodia and Thailand, apart from China and Tibet. Please let me know any other monasteries, anywhere which you want us write on. Thanks once again. Please let me know, if you are in Delhi during your visit to India. I will be happy to meet you. Regards.--Nvvchar (talk) 01:32, 14 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for your kind words. I've made a start on Trongsa Dzong at User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 3. You may wish to contribute if you feel well enough. The photo in the history section is one of the most peaceful heavenly images I've ever seen!

Hey I was wondering if you could help me. There is this new TV presenter in the UK who is obviously of Asian parentage but I've been trying to figure out from her looks exactly what country her parents/a parent is from. See this. Pretty girl, Pierce Brosnan even said "you look stunning" to her face and obviously fancied her! Her name is Jameela Jamil which I'm 95% sure is a Pakistani name or possible Bangladesh. But from her looks there is something about her face which looks like she has some Burmese heritage or possibly Bangladeshi I don't know. She looks more Burmese to me than Pakistani. What do you think? If I was to guess I'd probably say Bangladeshi... From her looks it might be possible she has both Burmese and Pakistani ancestors. What do you think? Actually in thinking about it she might be of Malaysian heritage. South Asian names are very common in Malaysia aren't they? And she definately does look more southeast asian than central Asian in my opinion... Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 16:14, 25 April 2010 (UTC) Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 13:44, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Ms. Jamil certainly is beautiful - and it really does not matter what her ethnicity is and, in any case, it is totally impossible to tell from just a photo. With her name, she could be from almost anywhere in the Muslim world. I suspect, though, that she is likely Eurasian - but she could just as easily be Afghani, Pakistani or Indian, Malay, Uighur, etc., in spite of the fact she is very fair-skinned. But a traditional Muslim would be unlikely to willingly allow such pictures of herself on the net. That is another reason why I think she may well be Eurasian and brought up as a non-Muslim. What does her English sound like?

It does matter for the encyclopedia article sake, this is why I wanted to find out. She is english, but has an Asian father. She just looks very exotic as if she has a mixture of South Asian and east Asian heritage. I suspect maybe one of her parents is white, Eurasian as you say. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 09:50, 26 April 2010 (UTC)

Thanks. Well on twitter I saw her say something like "my old Indian father dancing to the Spice Girls". So I presume her father is Indian, but I am certain she has other Asian ancestry, further east.... Not important anyway just curious. Having PC security update problems at the moment, couldn't get on at all last night. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 10:08, 27 April 2010 (UTC)

Hotan and Kingdom of Khotan Articles

Hi, just wanted to thank you for your work on these two articles. I started both of them, very poorly as I was just learning how to edit in Wikipedia. I've just gone back to see what became of my stubs, and am amazed at the work you and others have done on them. I started them when I tried to look them up while reading up on the silk road. When I found they was no information, at all I created them. Now I see that there is a plethora of information regarding the subject matter I was researching. Lots of it due to your hard work. I just wanted to thank you for your contributions and edits. Baronger (talk) 23:52, 21 April 2010 (UTC)

White Horse Temple

If you are keeping well, can you please have a look at this artcile here User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 5. You have written some papers on this temple. You may freely delete or add to the text and imgs. Thanks.--Nvvchar (talk) 15:53, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for the inputs in the article on the Main Space. I have incorporated all your referenced text into the draft in my user page User:Nvvchar/Sandbox 5. I am still unable to find references to the second para of the section on location and the first paragraphs of the Architecture section. Can you suggest some pages from the book refrences that are now provided by you to subtantiate these paragraphs? Please see if the revised draft reflects your inputs fully. Best Regards--Nvvchar (talk) 07:30, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you for the additional inputs. It should work. Dr Blofeld is copy editing it now and will probably post it on DYK today. You can add more or edit, even after posting on DYK. I have also added two more book references and some more text. I have completed my inputs now and left it to Dr Blofeld to take it from here. Thanks, once again.--Nvvchar (talk) 09:44, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Yes. I agree with your doubts about the founding of the temple. The lead and the founding sections need to be redrafted suitably to clearly reflect this doubt. Dr Bloefeld has not started editing it. He appears to be busy. I agree, he is the best person to do the magic.--Nvvchar (talk) 01:19, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

Do whatever you think is appropriate. I admittedly know little about the White Horse Temple to be able to say (too far into China for me!!). I shall copyedit it shortly. I gather as it is now you've made the corrections you were concerned about? Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 09:16, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi again to both of you good people! No, I haven't done the editing I think is needed on the article - partly because I didn't want to barge in too much, and partly because I am not up to much at the moment - although I am doing some small edits on the Karmapa Lamas and some work on Karma Gon Monastery, as the article on it did not indicate how large and important it once was - something easily missed in its present forlorn state. However, I am really only working at about a quarter of my usual pace and attention and I have a very busy schedule ahead this month. I have to attend several functions at one of which I will be giving a public lecture on the development of the Silk Routes at a restored Chinese Temple from the gold-rush days at Atherton (about 350 kms south of here), and culminating in leaving for Canada and Japan on the 27th - so, I am really out of the picture for some time for anything except a bit of dallying here and there.

I would like to see some discussion of how the White Horse Temple in Luoyang became part of the "official" Buddhist story about the introduction of Buddhism to China - a story which has generally been accepted at face value until the last century - and how it has been shown in more recent times to be basically legendary and of doubtful historical value - though, perhaps, with a kernel of real history hidden in accretions. I am really hoping you and/or Nvvchar can pull it together - I am, unfortunately, almost constantly on heavy painkillers at the moment and don't feel up to it. I would be most happy, though to look it all over when you are done and make whatever constructive comments I can.

Thanks for your understanding and congratulations once again to you both - I can't tell you how happy I have been to see the vast pouring out of fine articles - you both are really doing a great public service with your many recent outstanding contributions. I am also thrilled to see you working together so well (something I am not so good at - being basically a loner in my writing and research). With loving-kindness and gratitude, Cheers, John Hill (talk) 10:04, 1 May 2010 (UTC)

The White Horse Temple article is now posted on DYK. In the Karma Gon Monastery article, apart from the infobox, I have added some more text under a History section. You may like to review it critically to add more or delete some portion. The book reference under this gives names of all Karmapaas and Tai Situpas who were connected with this monastery in Appendix 2 at some stage. This can be taken to DYK if more text could be added from your books. Thanks and regards. --Nvvchar (talk) 03:26, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

Great work! Sometime I'll begin writing a good article for Thimphu. If you haven;t got it already I think you'd enjoy the book Bhutan:Himalayan Mountain Kingdom which I have... Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 10:35, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much. I don't have much on Bhutan except the old, 2nd edition (1999) Footprint guide book to Tibet which also covers Bhutan with quite good coverage. You might find a second-hand copy cheap if you search a bit. The title is: Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan by Gyurme Dorje, ISBN 1 900949 33 4. Their new guidebook to Tibet does not cover Bhutan - but, it is a fabulous up-to-date (2009) and detailed reference work on Tibet. I do also have a couple of good books and an excellent large-scale map of Mustang, which I must get around to someday. All best wishes, John Hill (talk) 10:48, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

There could still be an issue of minimum five times prose expansion requirement for DYK (excluding infobox and references etc), which exludes words in quotes also. Please check. You may like to conisder putting the quoted text in your paraphrased format so that the same are also included in the word count.--Nvvchar (talk) 10:51, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much for the hint. I didn't know about the 5 x rule previously, nor the fact they don't count quotes. Will have a look. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 10:54, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

I have just had a peep at it and I am sure there must be 5 times more text now than before I and you and Dr. Blofeld started adding to it. Have a look at what we started with at [3]. Best wishes, John Hill (talk) 11:02, 2 May 2010 (UTC)

Panchen Lama in tibet in 1987

Hi John, I changed the page saying "Early in 1989, the 10th Panchen Lama returned to Tibet "for the first time in nearly three decades" as i met him there myself in 1987. there were thousands of tibetans who had walked for days to meet him and stood in a very long line waiting to be touched on their head as a blessing i have some slides of the event that i recently scanned, i don't know how to upload them

mark —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.38.111.185 (talk) 22:40, 11 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi Mark! I just had a look at the page and the text was still there. I am not able to check the reference I gave as I borrowed it from the library and don't have it at hand. So, I have removed the phrase "for the first time in nearly three decades". I hope that helps.

Would love to see your photos - just go to edit the page and click "upload file" at the left side of the page - then you will go to the Wikipedia site for uploading files. I suggest you take the option of clicking on through to Wikimedia Commons and uploading one of your images there (so it can be used on different Wiki projects). Anyway, you will find all the instructions on those pages as to how to it. It is a bit daunting the first time around - but I am sure you will figure out how to do it - the instructions are quite logical and intended to prevent copyright violations. Click on the statement that it is entirely your creation and then fill in all the boxes and, after checking, click "upload". Once you have uploaded the image file, copy its name and paste it into the article you wish it to appear in on its edit page - using similar formatting to that used by other images you will see on the edit page of the article - then click the "show preview" button at the bottom of the page and, if you are happy with the way it looks, click "save page" and it should appear in the article. If you have trouble getting the size or position right the first time, do not hesitate to let me know and I will try to help. Good luck with it all! Cheers, John Hill (talk) 02:21, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

John, I uploaded two pictures:

these are the smaller versions, the originals are available too

all the best, mark —Preceding unsigned comment added by Markddesimone (talk • contribs) 04:13, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

Thank you so much, Mark. They are absolutely magnificent photos and of real historical interest! I am glad you have uploaded them, but the resolution needs to be cut down before the images can be uploaded into articles. If you are using Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 (I don't know what the equivalent in a Mac is) use the Windows Pictures Manager program. If you open up one of the pictures with that program, and then click on "Edit Pictures" and then (on the right) on "Compress Pictures" - then click on the "Documents" or "Web Pages" settings you should then be able have them at a manageable size (do save them with new names, though, so you don't overwrite the originals on your computer, and keep the higher resolution images for later - you may want to do some editing on them in the future and the higher the resolution - the better chance you have of editing them properly).

pu

If you have trouble doing this, please send me your email address (mine is: [email protected]) and I will email you back your images already compressed which you can then upload and enter into a Wikipedia file. Whatever you do, congratulations, and many thanks for sharing these invaluable photographic records. Cheers and best wishes, John Hill (talk) 08:47, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

glad you enjoyed seeing them. He was an interesting man, spoke English well and had a broader outlook than I had imagined before meeting him. When one of our party, a young man from England said that religion had faded from his life and asked what he should do, the Panchen Lama replied "Study Christianity and 20th century history". all the best, mark

How interesting! Thanks for the story as well as the great photos. Cheers and warmest wishes from Down Under John Hill (talk) 07:26, 13 May 2010 (UTC)

Pamirs Map

Hi John! I think we have some mutual acquaintances. I noticed on a recent publication you had on line that you know a number of the professors in the Central Eurasian Studies department at Indiana University here in the US. I'm finishing up an M.A. in CEUS as we speak, so I recognized a few of the names on your list.

Actually, I'm doing my thesis on the colonization of the Pamirs, so I concur, the map is inaccurate. I did some searching around hoping to find something I could use for my thesis, but I couldn't find anything the public domain. Alistair Lamb (who I think is/was a fellow countryman of yours?) has some very informative maps of the Pamirs in his 1973 book, Sino-Indian Border in Ladakh. He's primarily interested in Ladakh and Tibet, but he goes over the Pamirs extensively. There's some other Pamirs maps kicking around, but nothing in the public domain.

I'm not skilled enough to make a map of the Pamirs, but there's some people on wikipedia who I'm sure do have the know-how to put together a decent map. David Straub (talk) 00:38, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi John. Your travel plans sound great! I'm a bit jealous. If you ever get a chance to go to the Pamirs, do so. There's really interesting!

I just finished a course with Eliot Sperling. If you see him in India, tell him I said hello.David Straub (talk) 19:25, 14 May 2010 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/TheGoodTourist

Hi John Hill

In the AfD nomination above, you posted someone's email address. I'm certain you did this for the best of reasons. Wikipedia has a policy on this, though, called WP:PRIVACY, and so I'm afraid one of your edits has been oversighted.

Cheers—S Marshall T/C 18:54, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

I should also note that the article has been deleted, per your request and AGF on the e-mailed request. The fact that the subject no longer exists played a role, as well. Best, UltraExactZZ ^Said ~ Did 20:40, 24 May 2010 (UTC)

Your DYK nomination

Hello! Your submission of Gunsar Airport at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! MANdARAX • XAЯAbИAM 10:37, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

GA reassessment

An article that you have been involved in editing, Romano-Chinese relations has been nominated for a good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments here . If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status will be removed from the article. Gun Powder Ma (talk) 09:51, 13 July 2010 (UTC)

Hello!!

You sly old soul!! I thought you had been in India the last few months which is why I hadn't checked up on you as you bid me a farewell a few months back!! I've been thinking of you and even said to a friend about you meeting the Dalai Lama. And you've been editing and even expanded airport articles!!! Hope you enjoyed Vancouver and Japan. Now remember to literally act like a Japanese tourist in India. Photograph and anetate every single village. mountain, person you come across, particularly valleys, rivers, roads and monasteries!! I look forward to having photos for Takthok!! I've been busy with the Dictionary of National Biography, latest entry is Litellus Burrell . I'm also processing the Dictional of National Biography of Chile with Calliopjen1 from spanish. Nvvchar and I are also currently writing 11 articles on Vietnamese provinces see User:Nvvchar/Vietnam Province 1 etc. That's on hold at the moment though until he returns from the US. Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:58, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Before you go if you could start any of the following:

Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 14:48, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi, would you be so kind as to give us support!

Hello, I hope you're doing fine and I sincerely apologize for this intrusion. My name is Claudi Balaguer (User Capsot from the Catalan Wikipedia and the Occitan Wikiccionari), I've just read your profile and have seen that you show a keen interest in diverse cultures, history and languages, so I think that you know very well what are a minorized language and culture and maybe I am not bothering you and you will help us... I'm a member of a Catalan association "Amical de la Viquipèdia" which is trying to get some recognition as a Catalan Chapter (some kind of intermediate superstructure between the Wikipedias and the Wikimedia Foundation) but this hasn't been approved up to that moment because Catalan does not have a/one state... We would appreciate your support, visible if you stick this template on your first page Wikimedia CAT or/and sign the list of Members and Supporters, following the link on the template. Thanks again for your attention and I sincerely apologize if my message was bothersome or not interesting for you, I wish you a nice, pleasant and warm summer, take care! And thanks for your userpage, I didn't know who the Beothuk were before reading it, it's always pleasing to learn new things! Capsot (talk) 12:10, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Hi

Thank you, Capsot, for your invitation to support your project - and have just added my name to the list of your supporters and placed your tag on my personal page. Good luck with it all! please excuse me for not writing in Catalan - I can read it slowly with a good bilingual dictionary handy - but I certainly cannot write in it. Glad to hear you have checked out the sad story of the Beothuk people - too few people know anything about them at all. Cheers and best wishes, John Hill (talk) 03:02, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, no problem with Catalan, if you can read it it's surely a first good step but well as long as we can understand each other there's no real problem. Thanks for your support. It's really sad to know that a nation, culture and language dies and that we know so little about them... I'll try to expand the Catalan version of the article and maybe translate it to Occitan as soon as I can have some spare time so they get to be a little more known. I wish you good luck with your research and hope you'll write more interesting books some time soon. If you ever need something from me about Catalan, Occitan or else, just let me know I'll be real glad to help! I wish you all the best, take care, my friend! Capsot (talk) 07:23, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

DYK nom

Hi. I've nominated Gyantse Dzong, an article you worked on, for consideration to appear on the Main Page as part of Wikipedia:Did you know. You can see the hook for the article here, where you can improve it if you see fit. Jujutacular ^T · C 13:42, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Gyantse Dzong

Hello! Your submission of Gyantse Dzong at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Soman (talk) 03:45, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Sorry for possibly jumping the gun a_{Subscript text} bit there, the article just looked so nice! Hopefully I didn't put you into too much of a rush to fix it up. Jujutacular ^T · C 14:04, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

No, Jujutacular, not at all, you did me a favour, thank you. I needed a little shove to get going on it as I leave for 3 and a half months travel in India next Wednesday and will have little time or opportunity to work on the WP while I am travelling, though I will be checking in from time to time when I am within range of wi-fi and not too busy. I have added a lot of detail today - probably too much. I will try to look at it tomorrow to see how it might be improved and if I can find an interesting hook to make a good DYK contribution. Many thanks and all best wishes. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 14:53, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Wow that's wonderful work!!! Dr. Blofeld ^{White cat} 11:24, 30 July 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much, my friend, for the gratifying praise. I have also just completed an article on the nearby Tsechen Monastery and Dzong which you might like to take a peek at. Have been rushing to get these done (between packing and getting our home ready for the woman who is going to babysit it while we are away). We leave for India early on Wednesday morning - so communications and contributions to WP from me will probably be rather sparse till after we return in November. All best wishes, John Hill (talk) 01:24, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

Lovely. Before you leave can you expand User:Nvvchar/sandbox/Miscel., Shigatse Dzong!! Dr. Blofeld - 15:36, 18 July 2010 (UTC) 10:12, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

I have added some more text under Geography and History sections, which you may like to edit. Wish you happy holiday in my country. Please write to me if you need any help (my e-mail<[email protected]>). Your article Gyantse Dzong is very erudite work.-- N.V.V. Char ^Talk . 11:49, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

Saw-shelled Turtle DYK

Hi John Hill, I reviewed your nomination at Template talk:Did you know#Saw-shelled Turtle (by the way, awesome animal) and noticed that you added the original creator of the article to the credits. Original creator is not of importance to expanded DYKs; you are the author of the expansion, and therefore the credit should go to you. What has me confused is this edit and the fact that you are a long-time editor with a few DYKs in your contributions. This brings me to ask, is there any reason for this? I'll change it and add a {{DYKmake}} template tomorrow unless you have any objections. Curious cheers, jonkerz♠ 02:57, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

I have a question for you

I was wondering if you knew of any examples of non-Chinese who lived on the northwestern boarders of Han China who may have worn turbans and had common facial features, such as sunken eyes and large noses? The reason I ask is because general Li Guangli noted some people with the same features during his attempts to expand the Han borders in 108 CE. The author of a book I'm reviewing believes these were Jews. I think this is dubious as I have the same facial features and I don't even have a single drop of Jewish blood in my family. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 21:25, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Certainly there were lots of people of quite different facial features during Han times along the northwestern borders of China (in modern Xinjiang). In fact, many mummies with pronounced Caucasian features (and DNA) have been found in the Taklamakan desert dating from several thousand years ago up until the Han period. As these were very ancient trade routes, representations all sorts of people were present in the region (Indians, Sogdians, Persians, Jews, Yuezhi, Xiongnu, and possibly even Syrians and Greeks, etc., etc., etc.). So, unless your author thinks he or she can identify the people from their clothes alone, I would be very sceptical indeed of claims that they were Jews. Perhaps the costumes illustrated may give some hint of ethnicity but, if they do, the author should carefully discuss this and give the reasons for their identification. Otherwise, the claim should be disregarded as mere guesswork. Hope that helps. Cheers and best wishes, John Hill (talk) 22:56, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

General Li Guangli's report says:

It reached the outskirts of the remote Ferghana, beyond the Pamir Plateau. Originally that was the last undisturbed placed from the upheavals in...Northwest Central Asia and inhabited by people with 'deep eyes, big noses and (distinguished) headdress.' Their principal livelihood was growing grapes, grazing and raising horses. Although they had often seen Han emissaries coming and going in Central Asia, and they also knew that there was a Great Han country to the East, but because they had been under the control of the Huns for [a] very long time, they did not hold the Han emissaries to as a high esteem as those of the Huns (Xiongu).

Basically, the description of these people fits in with the author’s theory that Jews left Israel and later settled in China. He believes the headdress was the coiffure worn by the Jewish Kohen-Priests. However, he admits: “Whether it was a turban (diadem) or a coiffure was not clear (the Chinese character has both meanings).” Like I said previously, you don’t have to be Jewish to have those types of features, so that could be any number of people Li Guang described. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 18:37, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

I just did some looking around based on the description of the area the people lived in and their lively hood. I think a very good candidate could be the Dayuan. It's in the same area, same time period, you've got the grapes and horses, and the article says something about caucasian features (whatever that may be). I would like to find out more of what those features were. I'm sure if I dug a little deeper that I could find something about headdress too. --Ghostexorcist (talk) 18:58, 1 August 2010 (UTC)

I think you are far more likely to be on the right track with people from Dayuan (Ferghana) and surrounds. These people, often later referred to as Sogdians, were notable for their trading activities, especially into China. Sure, there were probably some Jews who settled pretty early in China (and certainly did in India), but there is little to suggest that their numbers were significant during the Han era. And, I think trying to distinguish Jewish or other Semetic peoples by their facial characteristics from Persian, Sogdian or Mesopotamian people in ancient paintings is impossible. As to the turbans - one would need a very close study of the turbans worn by different groups at the time to make any sort of informaed guess - and I don't know of any such studies. Basically, I think the author you refer to is, at best, trying to back up his or her hypothesis with very shaky "eviedence". I wouldn't put any weight on it at all unless and until he or she comes up with some really strong and credible evidence. Cheers, John

You have made some interesting points there.

I actually found an English translation of Han records referring to the Dayuan people and it makes a point to mention that the men had "deep-set eyes". They don't mention anything about their noses or headdress, but this is subjective. Being that the Dayuan were Greco-Bactrian people, the headdress could have been any number of things from Greek to Central Asian headgear.

The best part is the Gen. Li Guangli, who wrote the above passage, was sent to battle the Dayuan people by the Han emperor. It only took me a few minutes to look this information up. So this means the author of the book I am reviewing surpressed the fact the passage referred to the Dayuan just so the info would fit into his thesis.

How is your second book coming along?--Ghostexorcist (talk) 15:29, 2 August 2010 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Saw-shelled Turtle

Hello! Your submission of Saw-shelled Turtle at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Espresso Addict (talk) 22:47, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Another editor has shortened the hook to conform with the format -- it's now in the queue at Queue 2, which is scheduled for tomorrow. If you'd prefer to change the wording let me know what you'd prefer asap and I can do the edit for you, as the queues are fully protected. Regards, Espresso Addict (talk) 10:00, 6 August 2010 (UTC)

Hello!!==

Great to hear from you. I didn't reply as I figured you'd not have much web access between now and your return. I was going to give you a big welcome then! WOW!!!, look forward to seeing your amazing pictures!! Dr. Blofeld 06:19, 8 October 2010 (UTC)

Yes those are wonderful photos! Thanks! Look forward to seeing the rest of them!♦ Dr. Blofeld 10:37, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

Look forward to your return. I've expanded the Lhasa article. If you could expand the history and culture sections when you return this would be great.♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:21, 28 October 2010 (UTC)

Saw-Shelled Turtle

Hi, I have removed the synonymy for the Saw Shelled Turtle as it was a bit too simplistic and potentially confusing. In its place I added a section on Nomenclatural history that better explains the nomenclature for this species. I also edited the referencing style to make it consistent throughout. I will be adding more to this one as its a species I have worked with and published on extensively. Please send me a reply if you want to discuss this more. Faendalimas (talk) 15:38, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

Through The Jade Gate To Rome

Hi John - I really do not like saying this, but I don't see how your book, excellent though it probably is, can be used as a reference given that it is self-published. This could change if it starts to be cited in peer reviewed journals and other academic publications, but as it stands, it isn't in principle different from any other self-published book. You could try running it through WP:RSN to see what others say. There's also the WP:COI issue also, although at least you, like me, use your real name. Sorry to bring this up, but I try to be consistent in what I do, which is why I reverted a recent edit of yours adding the book. Dougweller (talk) 09:50, 13 November 2010 (UTC)

I bought the book! It's an excellent, voluminous, well researched translation to English of an important Chinese historical text and is without question a valid English language source for that text. prat (talk) 15:09, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

It may well be that, but at the moment, anyone can remove it according to our policy on self-published works. If, when he has time, he has a discussion at RSN and that supports him, he can always refer to it in the future. Dougweller (talk) 16:20, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Don't worry, Dougweller, I have taken your pertinent comments and useful advice on board and will try to deal with them within the next week or so. I appreciate your concern and I believe it is very useful not only for me - but to bring the issue of the present status of self-published works in the WP up to a larger audience.

I believe it will need to be looked at more carefully now in this age of 'Print on Demand' and more self-publishing by serious authors - especially as many traditional publishers do not really give much editorial advice or even oversight (r even royalties to the authors) anymore and so are often of little use in establishing the authority of the text. Thanks for bringing all this to my attention. All best wishes,John Hill (talk) 16:43, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Reply

Dear Dougweller:

Thanks for briniging up this issue - one I was not aware of previously. In my defence I would like to discuss a few issues. First of all, my book was originally due to be published by Binghampton Univeristy in New York State but I voluntarily chose to self-publish because they wanted to bring it out as a 2-volume set and I wanted it in one volume and at an affordable price. They expressed great dissapointment when I decided not to publish with them - so, the book would have been published by a university press, if I had not withdrawn it myself.

Secondly, it has been cited in numerous works by well-known scholars (I can supply at least some of these when I return to Austalia later this week - I am presently in Chennai, India and don't have everything at my fingertips). It has also been favourably reviewed in the Silkroad Journal, Vol. 8, pp. 127-128, by Professor Daniel Waugh of the University of Washington (you can download a copy of the pdf of this journal at: http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol8/), and there are several other reviews due to appear soon in other journals. Finally, there are five completely unsolicited "5-star" reviews of the book on Amazon.com - several of them written by well-recognised authorities. (To see these reviews, please click on: http://www.amazon.com/Through-Jade-Gate-Rome-Centuries/product-reviews/1439221340/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending).

If you still need more information - please let me know and I will see what I can do after I return home.

Yours sincerely,

John Hill (talk) 05:00, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Academic references

The work of John Hill is already being used as reference material by historians such as Christopher I. Beckwith (1945-), professor of Central Eurasian Studies at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana: see Professor Beckwith's bibliography Empires of the Silk Road: a history of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age Christopher I. Beckwith p.439, or on page 440 Though the Jade Gate to Rome, also p.440. "The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu", John's earlier work and the basis of "Through the Jade Gate to Rome", is also used as a reference by a multiplicity of authors: [4], including the Journal of Asian History. Per Honor et Gloria ✍ 05:48, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Citations help a lot. Amazon reviews, frankly, are useless. I can find books full of complete nonsense, even lies, that get multiple 5 star reviews. And being used in a bibliography is not any help either, I'm afraid (I know some bibliographies include books not because they are good but because they are bad). I do think this should be discussed at WP:RSN at some point because others will, I hope (because of our stance on self-published works) raise the issue. It looks as though this could be an exception. Dougweller (talk) 17:27, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Through the Jade Gate to Rome

I just got your message. Does it not help that the book was accepted for publication by a respected US University and that three of my 5-star Amazon reviews were written by leading historians and that I also have at least one review by another leading historian in a respected journal, as well as numerous citations and quotations - and even, thanks for my assistance (which are certainly not meant to show that the material is untrustworthy)?

In any case, I am leaving Chennai by plane for Singapore this morning and won't be home in Australia for a couple of days. As I haqve been away for 3 and a half months it will take me some time to get things back into order and find the time to deal with the issue.

If you still really think it is necessary I will go through the process as you suggest - but it does seem to me to be nitpicking and is a real nuisance and waste of time and effort on my part as I am desperately trying to get my second book ready for publication before I go in for a major back operation. Please have another think about it and let me know if I really have to go through with all this. I do understand the reasons Wikipedia tries to ensure all information comes from reliable sources - but sometimes the process seems to go too far and is discouraging to anyone trying to write for it. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 01:56, 15 November 2010 (UTC)

Lhasa

I've had my work removed by Chinese POV pushers because I included alot of information about tradiational Tibetan architecture. I had fully intended writing the whole article, balnacing it out like Kathmandu and hopefully promoting to GA. He's even rmeoved a list of the notable landmarks like JOkhang temple ramoche temple etc. Surely he should be reverted?♦ Dr. Blofeld 10:35, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Reply

Dear Dr. Blofeld:

I have just checked out the article and totally agree with you but notice that someone has reversed his/her edits already with appropriate comments and you have done some more excellent work on the article. Hope that is the end of the matter. If not, though, please do alert me again.

Oh, by the way, i just returned from 3 and half months in India yesterday - so I am home at last but with a very nasty cough and a mountain of mail and other urgent things to deal with (including literally thousands of photos to edit) - but it is always great to hear from you and check out some of your voluminous work, so don't hesitate to contact me at any time. All my very best wishes, John Hill (talk) 14:34, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

WikiProject Australia rating of Aboriginal language articles

Hi John,

I noticed you undid my edit to the WP:Australia rating of the Guugu Yimithirr language article by reediting the article and reverting the rating to "High Importance". I completely disagree with this rating, and I believe while the "high" rating may apply for some more common aboriginal languages in Wikiproject languages; a 'High Importance' rating for obscure aboriginal languages does NOT apply to WikiProject Australia.

In order to assess an article as "High" importance the topic should be extremely notable and should reflect the probability of the average reader of Wikipedia (or average Australian reader) needing to look up the topic.

My belief is that the number of students that study obscure (or even near-extinct) Australian aboriginal languages, is an extremely small percentage of students. Further, aboriginal languages are not known, or of general interest, to general public of Australia; or of interest to general English Wikipedia community (see relevant page views). They are a specialist topic related primarily to the indigenous people of Australia. While they may rate more highly for the WikiProject:Australia indigenous taskforce; perhaps even at mid importance or higher; that rating does not apply in the general WikiProject:Australia importance scale.

For comparison for Wikiproject Australia articles do rate as "High importance" , see: Tasmanian Devil, The Wiggles, Donald Bradman, Military history of Australia, Australia Day, Edmund Barton, Native title in Australia, Uluru or the Australian coat of arms.

If you agree after reviewing the criteria, that such Aboriginal language articles should be rated as 'low importance', please either change rollback to/restore my version; or let me know it is OK for me to do so. If you still disagree, we can ask for a Third Opinion from WikiProject Australia.

Regards,

Aeonx (talk) 22:37, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

The claim that Guugu Yimithirr became the first Australian Aboriginal language to be written down by James Cook; may warrant this particular aboriginal language article to be rated as "mid importance" for Wikiproject Australia; but no higher. Aeonx (talk) 22:40, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks, Aeonix, for your help. Yes, I agree, I probably got a bit carried away - I have lived and worked among Aboriginal people since the early 1970s and presently live on the road to Hopevale (the main centre for Guugu Yimithirr) - so I probably see Guugu Yimithirr and, indeed, all Australian Aboriginal languages (and their rapid dissapearance in so many places) of higher importance than most people do. I will, therefore, reduce the ratings in both categories to "mid". The reasons for this in the Wikiproject Australia category includes the comment by Aeonx above, plus the fact that Guugu Yimithirr was the first Aboriginal language to contribute a word (kangaroo - from "gangarru") to the English language, and also that the Pitjantjatjara language of Central Australia is rated of "mid" importance for this project.

I also think the language deserves a "mid" rating for the WP"language and WP:Australia projects (and for Qld) for several reasons: it is the first language of a number of Australian people, it is under threat of extinction and, therefore, deserves extra attention, and it was the first native Australian language to be studied and a fairly extensive wordlist made. And I think "Indigernous" should retain a "high" rating.

I hope you will agree that these are reasonable grounds for the "mid" ratings, but if not, please let me know and why you disagree and we shall see what we should do about geting some arbitration or other help. Finally, I will copy all these comments to the Guugu Yimthirr Talk page as I think a record of them should be there too. Again, thanks, Aeonix, for pointing out my initial over-enthusiasm, which really was out of place here in the Wikipedia. Sincerely, John Hill (talk) 07:25, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

No worries, sounds good. Aeonx (talk) 12:30, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks so much for your positive comment. It is a real relief to me. cheers and best wishes, John Hill (talk) 14:00, 19 November 2010 (UTC)

Indo-Roman trade and relations

I still haven't had time to do anything about this, just a reminder for when you come back. Dougweller (talk) 06:22, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

Re: Trilokinath Temple at Tunde

My apologies John. Seven minutes had passed without any activity, so I assumed it was a safe to edit. Categories are often the last thing on one's mind when first creating a new article, so many editors welcome an early reminder, and usually respond to it rather quickly in their efforts to shape up their initial draft. The {{inuse}} template could possibly save you a bit of frustration when it comes time to create your next article. Again, my apologies are in order... happy editing! :)  -- WikHead (talk) 04:42, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

New Pages

Hi John, you left a note on my talkpage regarding Trilokinath Temple at Tunde. I was just wondering whether you've ever considered requesting the Autopatrolled userright. You're article creation record is formidable, and I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems receiving it if you asked. With that right, you may avoid situations like the one with Trilokinath Temple at Tunde.  -- Lear's Fool 06:05, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

No problem, keep up the good work!  -- Lear's Fool _mobile 12:55, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Reviewer granted

Hello. Your account has been granted the "reviewer" userright, allowing you to review other users' edits on certain flagged pages. Pending changes, also known as flagged revisions, underwent a two-month trial which ended on 15 August 2010. Its continued use is still being discussed by the community, you are free to participate in such discussions. Many articles still have pending changes protection applied, however, and the ability to review pending changes continues to be of use.

Reviewers can review edits made by users who are not autoconfirmed to articles placed under level 1 pending changes and edits made by non-reviewers to level 2 pending changes protected articles (usually high traffic articles). Pending changes was applied to only a small number of articles, similarly to how semi-protection is applied but in a more controlled way for the trial. The list of articles with pending changes awaiting review is located at Special:OldReviewedPages.

For the guideline on reviewing, see Wikipedia:Reviewing. Being granted reviewer rights doesn't grant you status nor change how you can edit articles even with pending changes. The general help page on pending changes can be found here, and the general policy for the trial can be found here.

If you do not want this user right, you may ask any administrator to remove it for you at any time. Dabomb87 (talk) 15:46, 26 November 2010 (UTC)

Welcome back

Hi John!! Are you back from India yet or what?? Have you uploaded any photos yet? Please do tell me about your trip by email. Yes they look like the same monasteries, please merge to the correct name!♦ Dr. Blofeld 11:36, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the Takthok photos my friend! Wonderful! I've emailed you!♦ Dr. Blofeld 12:03, 28 November 2010 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Trilokinath Temple at Tunde

Hello! Your submission of Trilokinath Temple at Tunde at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and there still are some issues that may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Thelmadatter (talk) 02:40, 3 December 2010 (UTC)

Kujula

Hi John! No problem, as I have the book myself. Maybe you can mention on the Kujula Talk Page which paragraphs you suggest could be referenced, with the page number you are considering? Best regards Per Honor et Gloria ✍ 01:21, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Bakhtiari

Dear mr. Hill,

You mentioned a connection between Bakhtiari music and Borodin in the Bakhtiari article you edited. I'd like to know if you have had additional information (besides the Ullens de Schooten book) to make such a statement. Thanking you in advance. You can contact me at pietervannes @hotmail.com

Kind regards,

Pieter van Nes

Pieter van Nes (talk) 11:01, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

DYK for Trilokinath Temple at Tunde

Moved box to my special page for DYK nominations. John Hill (talk) 21:39, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Hey

You might be just the man! any thoughts on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Articles_for_deletion/Manar_Group it is clear that it was a name used by either locals or torres strait islanders for the islands on the 'south side of the channel' (sounds treacherous when reading RMS_Quetta however the intrepid eds at the afd for manar group have come up a blank - by any chance would you have any local books that might mention it at all? that might confirm or deny? - thanks if you can - cheers - SatuSuro 01:27, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Thank you very much for what you have done for Albany Island - do you hold any hope for Manar ? SatuSuro 07:42, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

although I cannot claim any expertise whatseoever in any way the area - I strongly suspect either a local aboriginal term, or a Broken - torres creole origin for the word manar - and for whatever their wisdom - the geographic names (usually nomenclature advisory boards) people found some reason for exclusion some time back for it not to be picked up in the usual suspect locations at the Afd SatuSuro 07:50, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

No need for thanks - I am glad you brought it to my attention. As you can see, I have been researching the area a bit since your first note. It is many years since I was up there, but I do have a few books and old papers on the region as my wife and I once spent a year doing an economic development study of Cape York Peninsula and the Torres Strait. I haven't turned up anything on "Manar" yet and, like you, I suspect it is local term for this small group of small islands. If so, it may not be "notable" enough to justify a WP article. I thought I would phone a few friends tomorrow as well as the Torres Shire Council to see if I can find anything more of interest. Will certainly let you know if and when I do. Cheers, John Hill (talk) 08:06, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

You are very kind to go to the trouble - I find the whole torres island set of articles and categories in need of help - I am (my geographical knowledge from first hand) a central javanese, western tasmanian and south west western australian at heart - so this is new territory - please excuse me if i have in any way created anything cat or article wise that might seem odd - please correct where appropriate - thanks - SatuSuro 08:12, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

Any news yet? I have no problem with it going to adolphus channel article SatuSuro 13:26, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Hi again! No, I have not found anyone who knows it as Manar. It is such a small group of islands anyway - I think putting it in with the Adolphus Channel article is a good idea too. Thanks so much for the work and thought you have given to it all. Cheers and best wishes for 2011. John Hill (talk) 23:47, 4 January 2011 (UTC)