Between Europe…		…and Asia

Carl D. Barkman (1919–2006)

Born in Amsterdam in 1919, Carl Barkman studied Sinology at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, with Russian as a subsidiary subject. He wrote a doctoral thesis The Return of the Torghuts from Russia to China, which was published in 1955 in Hong Kong (Journal of Oriental Studies).

Books and short stories

Ambassador in Athens

Carl Barkman arrived in Athens as the Dutch ambassador in 1969 during the early years of the Junta, and became in fact the most outspoken of the European Community representatives, interceding with the Colonels on behalf of political prisoners and bringing pressure to bear for the restoration of democratic government.

Ubashi’s Concubine (postlude to The Mandate)

Ubashi’s former concubine, Meilan, stayed in the luxurious ger which she had been provided with. Ubashi himself, for all his vanity, was soon forgotten, but all attention was now secretly focussed on the Chinese beauty. The common people associated her with Ubashi’s extravagant spending and his dependence on the Chinese; they hated her and jeered at her when she went by in her sedan-chair.