Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2002

Samiti Nakata of the Xinjiang Museum, China, p u b l i s h ed i n Ge r ma ny i n 1998. The latter is an unprecedented English translation of the original fragment, w h i ch took almost 20 years of painstaking research and compilation. The contribution of this w o r k to the international research effort on Indian-European languages and the s t u dy of Tocharian is immeasurable. (The Chinese introduction of this publication is included in Ji Xianlin wenji (《季羨林文集》 )). Prof. Ji also has a deep interest i n cultural interflows. By coincidence, he came to possess a f r a gme nt f r om D u n h u a ng d e p i c t i ng h o w sugar-making was first introduced f r om India into China. This p r omp t ed h i m to pursue the origin of sugar, its dissemination and the method of production. He subsequently wrote several papers on the subject, expounding the history of c u l t u r al interchange b e t we en Ch i na a nd India over the past m i l l e n n i um. These papers f o r med an integral part of Tang shi ( 《糖史》 ). For t w o years f r om 1993 to 1994 d u r i ng the compilation of this huge book, Prof. Ji, already w e l l into his eighties, w o u l d every day trudge f r om home to the Peking Un i v e r s i ty L i b r a ry i n search of information. Come rain or w i n d , come heat or cold, he was always there, buried i n books, ploughing through the endless pages o f Si Ku Quan Shu ( 《四庫全書》） (Complete Collection of Chinese Books compiled by the i mp e r i al g o v e r nme nt of the Q i ng Dynasty). Every small discovery w o u l d b r i ng immense joy, ma k i ng all the toil and sweat wo r t hwh i l e. The passion for exhaustive research and the great perseverance p r o d u c ed a w o r k of 8 m i l l i o n characters, a true milestone i n the h i s t o ry of Sino-foreign c u l t u r al exchanges. P r o f. Ji also u n d e r t o ok to p r o o f r e ad a n d a n n o t a te Da Tang Xi Yu ji ( 《大唐西域記》)， w h i c h has h a d an e n d u r i ng i n f l u e n ce o n B u d d h i st literature i n East Asia. This is yet a n o t h er s i g n i f i c a nt c o n t r i b u t i on to t he s c h o l a r s h ip on Ch i n a 's c u l t u r al exchange w i t h its neighbours. A s a serious student of I n d i an culture, Prof. Ji is of course we ll read in Indian literature. Over half a century, he has translated a large number of literary wo r ks into Chinese. A p a rt f r om a f ew selected Ge r man wo r k s, such as The Buddenbrooks by Thomas Ma n n, Prof. Ji's main interest has always been in Indian classics. A m o n g his translated wo r ks i n this arena are Pancatantra, Vikramorvasiya, Ramayana a nd Abhijnansakuntala. Abhijnansakuntala, together w i t h Mahabharata, are r e g a r d ed as the t w o greatest epics of India. The t wo classics were subsequently circulated to the West, b r i n g i ng enormous impact on Europe's Enlightenment and Romantic movements. Prof. Ji first embarked on the translation of Abhijnansakuntala w h e n the Cu l t u r al Re v o l u t i on was d r a w i ng to an end. In those v e ry challenging times, the professor spent hour after hour pondering the meaning of each and every line, each and every w o r d . In 10 years, f r om 1973 to 1983, he succeeded i n c omp l e t i ng the translation of a total of the 20,000 h ymns w h i c h make u p t h e o r i g i n a l m a n u s c r i p t. T h e C h i n e se translation runs to eight monumental volumes. Through the years, Prof. Ji has translated a total of some 4.5 m i l l i on w o r d s of I n d i an literary wo r k s. H is dedication, meticulousness a nd p a i n s t a k i ng effort is a l i v i ng role mo d el for translation professionals all over the w o r l d. Prof. Ji is a master i n translation, a nd equally an earnest creative writer. His w r i t i ng is a l wa ys r i ch i n ideas, presented i n a most concise and yet all-embracing style. H is prose w r i t i n gs invariably tell stories of the author's o w n life that often t u r n out to be reflections of the larger society. H is reminiscence of bygone days spent w i t h precious mentors and friends are especially v i v i d and touching. He has p u b l i s h ed dozens of prose collections, amo ng w h i ch the most popular are W o he shu (《我和書》)， Lang run suo yan (《朗潤瑣言》)， Chun gui yan yuan (《春歸燕園》), Ji Xianlin ren sheng man bi (《季羨林人生漫筆》)， Qing tang The University's 58th Congregation 3 9