Mark Bender, chair of Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, participated in a workshop entitled “Recent Advances in Yi Studies” at the School of Asian and Oriental Studies, University of London.  Dr. Nathan W. Hill, a Tibetologist, organized the event which was designed to raise awareness of research on a unique indigenous script among the Yi, a Tibeto-Burman speaking ethnic group numbering over 9 million in SW China.  The script, which has several local varieties, dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and is still used for ritual and narrative purposes.  Bender spoke about his collaboration with Prof. Aku Wuwu and tradition-bearer Jjivot Zopqu about their translation of the creation epic The Nuosu Book of Origins (University of Washington Press, 2019) and other recent translations of Yi texts into English. Other presenters were Dr. Halina Wasilewska (Adam Mickiewitz University, Poland) and Dr. Kazue Iwasa (Kobe City University, Japan).

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWaLbkj8p-4&t=1s