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The Royal Asiatic Society has a strong history of publications, both of its academic Journal, and of monographs and other literature. During the course of its existence various committees have overseen this work. This collection contains the minutes for the meetings of these committees.

A copy of the inscription from the stone tablet depicting a pair of phoenixes amongst peonies, overshadowed by a wutong tree, The original tablet was carved in the late nineteenth century and still survives at Baidi Cheng, an islet in the Yangzi River near Fengjie town in Sichuan, immediately west of narrow Qutang Gorge. The inscription tells how Baidi Cheng, White Emperor City, was founded by the first-century general Gongsun Shu and named after the dragon-like swirls of white mist which gathered about a well there. It also recalls how Bao Chao [跑超], retreated to Baidi Cheng and practised calligraphy. Bao Chao is also identified as the creator of the picture.

The copy of the inscription is on tracing paper and is a copy of the complete inscription but none of the surrounding image.

The original envelope in which it was found has been kept with the inscription. Addressed to the Librarian of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society it has been annotated by hand with details of the book in which the inscription was found and dating this discovery to 12 September 1972.

A set of handwritten copies of Sanskrit inscriptions and some English translations. These include:

• 'Translation of an inscription found in one of the Palitana Temples of Kattywar (Kathiawar) by Capt. Geo. LeGrand Jacob 1937'. This is the title on a handwritten small blue label. Under the title is written 'Not worth printing, HHW' (Horace Hayman Wilson). The document itself consists of 8 sides - 4 of these are of the translation of the inscription on stone, signed by Jacob and dated 6 February 1837. Under the translation is a further note in a different hand about the lack of historical value of this inscription. The following 3 pages give notes regarding the inscription, again signed by Jacob and dated 24 February 1837. The final page is headed 'Private note' which suggests if published the writer rather than the Society takes responsibility for the content. This is signed J.W.
• 'Inscription on the most ancient of the Jain Temples at Palitana in Kattywar bearing dates of [Samoat] 1582 for the foundation and 1587 for the completion'. This is signed by George LeGrand Jacob, Government Political Agent, Kattywar. This is a lengthy handwritten inscription in Sanskrit, possible the Sanskrit version of the translation above.
• 'Sanskrit rendering of Copperplate Inscription found near Palitana in Kattywar (Kathiawar) deciphered by J. Prinsep' with further note 'NB. The plate is incomplete only one leaf of the tablet having been found'. A handwritten copy in Sanskrit of the inscription.
• 'Translation by Mr J. Prinsep, Sec. of Calcutta As. Soc., of Copper tablet inscription found near the Hill of Palitane in Kattywar' A single sheet of English translation. Further writing on the reverse of the translation indicate it was received by the Royal Asiatic Society in November 1839 and read at their General Meeting on 7 November 1839.
• Four short Sanskrit inscriptions numbered 1-4 in English numerals and titled '[Biluspoor] (Bilaspur?) near Kutah and indicating they are family documents.
• A single sheet of a Sanskrit inscription labelled '[Chundrabhagu]'.
• A large sheet of Sanskrit writing with illegible title in English but probably bearing the number 1216.
• A large sheet with what appears to be a genealogical table in Sanskrit with accompanying. English translation. The sheet also bears Sanskrit phrases with English translation.

Documents connected to H.H. Wilson. These are:

• An Analytical Account of the Panchatantra
• Notes on the Vishnu Purana
• Copies of letters sent to and from H.H. Wilson concerning the allowance of the late Colonel Wilford.

Two letters and three articles by Reinhold F.G. Müller. These are:

• Letter from Reinhard Müller to the Royal Asiatic Society to send an article from the Archivs für Geschichte der Medizin BD.15, Leipzig, about John Ambrose Barth, November 192,3 and two articles on the name 'Tschmolungma', one of which he asks to be forwarded to the Royal Geographical Society. Due to difficulties in obtaining material he also asks for the Society to send articles on Asian medicine. Typed, dated 10 December 1923.
• Letter from Reinhard Müller to the Royal Asiatic Society to thank for material sent and that he will send copies of his articles concerning them once published. He gives his bookseller, Otto Harrassowitz, as a suitable means of getting material to him and payment. Typed, dated 26 January 1924.
• "Abschrift - Mitteilungen zur Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften XXI Bd. Nr.1 Nr. 95/96, 1922." - review by Müller of L.A. Waddell's Ancient Indian Anatomical Drawings from Tibet, J.F. Fleet's The Standard Height of an Indian Man; and Berthold Laufer's Das Gitralakshana. Typed, dated 1922.
• "Abschrift - Mitteilungen zur Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften XXII Bd. Nr. 1/2 Nr. 100/101, 1923" - review by Müller of W.S. Hadaway’s Some Hindu “Silpa” Shastras in their Relation to South Indian Sculpture. Typed, dated 1923.
• Über asiatische Bergnamen - an offprint of an article by Müller from the Zeitschrift des Ōsterreichischen Alpenklubs, November 1923, concerning the naming of mountains in Tibet. Printed, dated November 1923.

A plate of part of the 'Akshobhya in his Abhirati Heaven', the 15th century image from Western Tibet (Guge) which is found in the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This plate shows only the bottom left corner of the image. Pencilled on its surround is '165e'.

The George Staunton Prize was initiated in 2007 for an article by a young scholar working on topics related to the history, archaeology, literature, language, religion, anthropology and art of Asia. A 'young scholar' was defined as someone in the process of completing their PhD or someone who has been awarded their doctorate within the previous five years. Award winning submissions were published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society and the winners received a prize of £250. Since its initiation the Prize has been awarded irregularly. Winners include:

• 2007- Nile Green for the article, ‘Jack Sepoy and the Dervishes: Islam and the Indian Soldier in Princely India’.
• 2008 - S.P. Ong for the article, 'Jurisdictional Politics in Canton and the First English Translation of the Qing Penal Code (1810)'.
• 2010 - joint winners: Felicia Yap for 'Eurasians in British Asia during the Second World War' and Martin Worthington for 'On Names and Artistic Unity in the Standard Version of the Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic'.
• 2014 - Dr Fozia Bora for her article, 'Did Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Destroy the Fatimids' Books? Historiographical Enquiry'.
• 2023 - Dr Kelsey Granger for her article, 'From Tomb-Keeper to Tomb-Occupant: The Changing Conceptualisation of Dogs in Early China'.

There is limited archival material at this stage but it contains:

2007

• One letter to enter an article for the prize, dated 26 May 2007.
• Official letter from Charlotte de Blois, Executive Editor, Royal Asiatic Society, to Nile Green to inform that he has been awarded the prize. Digital document, dated 30 May 2008.
• Copies of emails between Nile Green, Charlotte de Blois and Sarah Ansari, Honorary Editor, concerning receiving the prize, Typed, 1 piece, dated 2 May 2008.

2008

• One letter to enter an article for the prize, dated 28 May 2008.
• Copies of emails between Charlotte de Blois and Sujit Sivasundaram concerning assessment of entered essays. Typed, 2 pieces, dated 1 July - 14 November 2008.

2010

• Two letters to enter an article for the prize, dated 15 and 27 October 2010.

2011

• Two letters to enter an article for the prize, undated.
• Advertisement for submissions for both the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the Sir George Staunton Prize.

2014

• 'Staunton Submissions' - list of candidates and their referees. Digital document, undated.
• 'Staunton Opinions' - summary of opinions of the judges for the articles submitted. Digital document, undated.

2015

• Advertisement for the Sir George Staunton Prize, articles to be submitted before 31 December 2015.

The Royal Asiatic Society initiated the Professor Mary Boyce Prize for articles relating to the study of religion in Asia. Award winning submissions receive £250 and are published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. The focus of the prize is any religion, anywhere in Asia and at any time, and the Society’s main aim is to encourage the submission of pieces of original, unpublished research that make innovative contributions to understanding, learning and scholarship.
Since its initiation the Prize has been awarded irregularly. Winners include:
2007 - Julius N, Tsai for the article, Reading the ‘Inner Biography of the Perfected Person of Purple Solarity’: Religion and Society in an Early Daoist Hagiography.
2009 - Alexander Wynne for the article, The Buddha's ‘skill in means’ and the genesis of the five aggregate teaching.

There is limited archival material at this stage but it contains:

2007

• Judge's comment upon submissions for the Prize, electronic document.

2008

• Draft publicity poster for the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the George Staunton Prize, electronic document.

2009

• Copies of emails between Charlotte de Blois, Executive Editor, Royal Asiatic Society, and Alexander Wynne, winner, Professor Mary Boyce Prize concerning his entry and award. Two pieces, dated 9 June -14 July 2009.

2010

• Submission letter for entry to the prize. Handwritten, 1 piece.

2011

• Draft publicity poster for the Professor Mary Boyce Prize and the George Staunton Prize. Computer printed, 1 piece.

Parts 2,3,4 and 5 of the 'Etymological Vocabulary of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Ainu' by Johannes Rahder of Yale University. The second and third parts were privately printed in 1959, the fourth in 1960 and the fifth in 1962, all in New Haven Connecticut, USA. These are typed manuscripts.

• Part 2 runs from page 75-157 with ten pages of Abbreviations and a title page. On this first page of the text is the handwritten note 'pages 1-74 form the first part of J. Rahder's Etymological Vocabulary of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Ainu (first edition printed in Tokyo 1956 as Monograph 16 of Monumenta Nipponica, Sophia Univ; 2nd revised and enlarged edition New Haven 1960).' Foolscap sheets.
• Part 3 has a title page and 66 pages of content. Foolscap sheets.
• Part 4 has a title page, three preface pages and 38 pages of content. Foolscap sheets.
• Part 5 has a title page, 1 preface page and 45 pages of content. Sheets 28cm x 22cm.

The 'Index of Languages' taken from the 'Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the Library of the British and Foreign Bible Society' by Horace Frederick Moule and Thomas Herbert Darlow, London, 1903-1911. This is a handwritten copy made into a table over 72 sheets with the headings Language, Where Spoken, Family of Languages, Characters used by Bible Society for printing, and Remarks. With the index is a typed covering page which indicates that this is not a complete list but comprises only of those languages and dialects into which the Bible had been translated. At the top of the page the date 1936 has been crossed out and replaced with 1937.