Then off to the fantastic Gerhard Richter retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vitton today. (Mao, Davos, Graubünden, Vierwaldstättersee).

where he entertained us with fantastic stories and fine Belgian beer hidden "from the other missionaries" under his bed. May he continue to r.i.p.!

For a nice obituary see W.S. Coblin in Monumenta Serica 47 (1999):505–514, summarized in the Wikipedia article on Serruys. I had the good fortune of visiting him in the retirement home of his congregation near Leuven shortly before his death with Bill Baxter (UMich.) 3/4

His work on the Fangyan 方言 and Old Chinese dialectology, on the syntax of oracle bone&bronze inscriptions and the Shangshu 尚書, or on children's riddles and ditties from Shanxi were pathbreaking achievements in their time and deserve to be read even today. 2/4

Meanwhile, here is Feng Shi 馮時's imaginative attempt to make sense of the markings on the ceramic supports: www.bilibili.com/opus/7985362...

"AI has become exceptionally proficient at mastering the grammatical and logical “craft” of language, the “art” of imbuing text with deep emotional resonance and novel imagery remains a significant challenge and a key differentiator for human creativity." Phew, close call!