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.

A Journey In Inner-Mongolia

“What you have begun, you must finish, and what you’re looking for, find it!”, with these words and his best wishes my lama friend bade me farewell in Peking (Beijing) in March 1948, when I started on a trip to Inner Mongolia with my French colleague, a sinologist like me.