Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2002

he yun (《清塘荷韻》)， Dong xi man bu (《東西 漫步》)， Liu De shi nian (《留德十年》), Xue hai fan cha (《學海泛槎》), Qian xi wen cun (《千禧 文存》), Ji Xianlin zi xuan ji (《季羨林自選集》） and Niu Peng za yi ( 《牛棚雜憶》 ).The last is an a c c o u nt o f l i f e d u r i n g t he C u l t u r a l Revolution, w h e n he was sent away to w o r k o n l a b o u r f a r m s . I n t h i s n a r r a t i o n, he r ema i n ed true to history, his sole i n t e n t i on b e i n g t o h e l p f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s t o understand w h a t actually happened d u r i ng those t umu l t u o us days. He carefully refrained f r o m e x a g g e r a t i o ns a n d d i s t o r t i o n s, a n d f o r e s wo re pretensions. Such a p r a gma t ic attitude may w e l l be rooted i n his training as a conscientious researcher. T h o u gh i n his tenth decade, retirement is never on his m i n d. To this day, he still gets u p every m o r n i ng at f o ur a nd spends l o ng h o u rs at the desk, r e a d i ng a nd c o l l a t i ng i n f o r m a t i o n . A t present, he is c o m p i l i ng Zhongguo Fo jiao shi ( 《中國佛教史》)， an opus of 14 volumes scheduled to be completed next year. In a d d i t i o n, he is s u p e r v i s i ng a g r o up of students in the translation of Mahabharata, another I n d i an epic, w h i l s t w o r k i n g on an a d d e n d um for Tang shi. Prof. Ji also chairs the e d i t o r i al c omm i t t ee for three n a t i o n al academic projects: Dong fang wen hua ji cheng (《東方文化集成》)， Si Ku quan shu cun mu cong shu ( 《四庫全書存目叢書》 )and Zhuan shi cang shu ( 《傳世藏書》 ).These p u b l i c a t i o ns on an unprecedented scale w i l l bear t e s t i mo ny to the history of Chinese culture. A n advocate of pluralism, Prof. Ji believes that every ethnic g r o u p, large or small, has made a unique contribution to the culture of ma n k i n d. He believes that ethnic groups are i n t e r d e p e n d e nt a nd mu st strive to l i ve i n h a rmo ny and peace. He also believes that the f u t u re of the 21st c e n t u ry lies w i t h Eastern culture, and promotes the concept of ‘ Un i ty b e t w e en N a t u re a nd M a n ' , i n contrast to We s t e rn p h i l o s o p h i es t h at place m a n i n opposition to nature. To live a meaningful life, one mu st contribute to the c ommu n i t y, and mu st always r ema in true to oneself. O v e r the y e a r s, P r o f. Ji X i a n l i n has a s s umed a m y r i a d of p u b l ic posts; he has been the president of the Foreign Languages Research Society, a v i c e - c h a i r m an of the C h i n a Society of F o r e i gn L i t e r a t u r e s, the president of the A s s o c i a t i on of D u n h u a ng a nd T u r f an Studies of China, the president o f the C h i n a L i n g u i s t i cs A s s o c i a t i o n, an e x e c u t i ve c omm i t t ee m e m b er of Chinese Society of H i s t o r y S t u d i e s, an e x e c u t i ve c omm i t t ee memb er of the C h i na Wr i t e r s' A s s o c i a t i o n, a m e m b e r o f the N a t i o n a l Comm i t t ee of the Chinese People's Political Co n s u l t a t i ve Conference, a memb er of the S t a n d i n g C o m m i t t e e o f t h e N a t i o n a l People's Congress of the People's Republic o f C h i n a a nd a v i c e - p r e s i d e nt of P e k i ng Un i v e r s i t y. Prof. Ji has r e c e i v ed a host of international honours. In 1952, he received an honorary medal f r om the Sanskrit University of India and was later elected as an Ho n o r a ry A c a d em i c i an by the N a t i o n al A c a d e my of Arts of India. These are the t wo most prestigious commendations. In 1998, Prof. Ji was awarded an h o n o r a ry doctorate b y the Un i v e r s i ty of Teheran. M r. Ch a i rma n, Prof. Ji X i a n l in is a lifelong scholar. For his prolific writings, for his i mm e n s e c o n t r i b u t i o ns to i n t e r n a t i o n al cultural exchange, for his tenacity i n the face of adversity and upheavals, for his capacity for tolerance and his mo r al fortitude — M r . Ch a i r ma n, I present Prof. Ji X i a n l in for the awa rd of the degree of Doctor of Literature, honoris causa. A translation of the citation written by Prof. Serena Jin 4 0 Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2002