Hello, my name is Nora Van den Bosch, and I am undertaking a PhD project (2026-2029) at the EAST center of the Université Libre de Bruxelles . I specifically research the transnational history of Sino-Belgian educational exchanges (1900–1950), with the focus on the social and political dynamics shaping the Chinese student migration to Belgium. As part of the research I construct a database which traces the overseas Chinese students in Belgium as well as other actors who were part of the educational exchanges. This database, which is currently named the ‘ C hinese O verseas E ducation in B elgium’ database (COEB for short), will be accessible to the public towards the end of the project, hopefully just in time for the hundredth year anniversary of the arrival of the first Chinese Boxer Indemnity scholarship students in Belgium (see group photo). The COEB Research Blog will house my reflections on the research journey and the history and serves as a (temporary) platform for sharing news...
Post card – Place Maghin (1) Number 5 was like any other residence building at the Maghin Square. It was situated in a neighborhood far away from the bustling center of Liège, with an unblocked view of the Saint-Léonard prison and in short walking distance of the river La Meuse . And yet, in the morning of February 18, 1904, it started to attract onlookers to its facade. The house had recently got a new purpose and had had to undergo a sudden transformation to meet it. In the two weeks leading up to that day, people had moved in and out to prepare the place and local newspapers had dedicated a few lines of reporting to the changing interior, mentioning military-style beds being carried to the second floor, the arrival of a blackboard for one level below and plans of installing gymnastic devices in the large garden. (2) But the interior's redressing was not what peaked local interest. It was the new inhabitants whose clothes had been described in vivid detail...