He studied Sinology at Leiden University (1976-1984), Chinese history at the University of Nanjing (1981-'82), and Art & Archaeology of East Asia the University of Amsterdam (1982-'84). From 1984 until 2008 he was the Curator for China at the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (National Museum of Ethnology). From 2009 onward he focused his work on the archives of the museum, their digitization, their description and their access. In 2012 he took up the post of Librarian.