Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2002

Ci tat ion Prof. Ji X i an l in A s one enters the campus of Peking University, through the green pasture and round the pond w i th lotus in full blossom, Lang Run House comes into view, surrounded by w i l l ows and shrouded in tranquility. Its nonagenarian resident is the eminent Prof. Ji Xianlin, who despite his advanced years has to this day pe r s i s t ed i n research a nd w r i t i n g , c omm i t t ed as ever to enlightening the many generations to come. Prof. Ji is China's foremost linguist, orientalist, master of literature and translation. His scholarship stretches from antiquity to the present, spanning East and West. He reads English, German, Sanskrit, Pali and Tocharian, and is well versed in Indian culture, the history of Buddh i sm, Du n h u a ng studies, aesthetics, literary theories, comparative literature and studies of cultural interflows. His research in these fields has been extensive and his contributions enormous. Prof. Ji was born in 1911 in Qing Ping County, Shandong. A t the age of six, he was sent to study in the provincial capital Jinan. In 1926, he was admitted to the senior middle school affiliated to Shandong University and began to learn English and German, in addition to Chinese classical literature. This laid the foundation for his proficiency not only in Chinese but also in diverse foreign languages. In 1929, he transferred to Jinan Provincial College and there, under the tutelage of the two outstanding scholars H u Yepin and Dong Qiufang, he developed an enduring interest in literature and sealed his destiny as a writer. In 1930, the young Ji enrolled in Tsinghua University to major in Western literature, specializing i n German. D u r i ng that period, he took ma ny electives; in particular, he was most impressed and influenced by two courses: ‘The Psychology of Literature' taught by Z hu Guangqian and ‘Translation of Buddhist Literature' taught by Chen Yinke. Prof. Ji's later pursuits i n comparative literature and literary theories, and his dedicated research in the history of Buddhism, Sanskrit as we ll as other ancient languages of Central Asia owe much to the influence of these two mentors. In 1935, Mr. Ji left China for Germany, to study at G ö ttingen University, taking up a major in Indian literature, w i t h English T he University's 58th Congregation 37