He once served as chairman of various professional organizations, such as the Chinese Foreign Literature Association, the Chinese South Asian Association, and the Chinese Language Society. His Ji Xianlin Collection consists of 24 volumes, including articles on ancient Indian languages, Sino-Indian cultural relations, Buddhism, comparative and folk literature, essays, translations of literary works, and so on.
Ji Xianlin believes, “Cultural exchange is the main drive for humankind’s progress. Only by learning from each other’s strong points to make up for shortcomings can people constantly progress, the ultimate target of which is to achieve a kind of Great Harmony.” Over the past ten years, Ji has actively participated in discussions on the cultural problems between the East and West, based on the same ideology.
According to him, human culture is divided into four parts: Chinese culture, Indian culture, Arabic-Islamic culture, and European-American culture, with the former three constituting the Eastern cultural system and the last the Western one.
Ji Xianlin has been crying for the rejuvenation of the Eastern nations and the rehabilitation of their respective cultures, claiming both the Eastern and Western cultures have experienced enormous ups and downs, which has caused a sensation among the Chinese society. Ji’s opinion is of great significance in the understanding of history in China, signalizing an active refute against the predominant “European Centralism” view that prevails in the country.
With his achievements in the history of Sino-Indian cultural relations, Buddhism history, Indian literature, and comparative literature, Ji Xianlin is acclaimed as a master of Eastern studies both at home and abroad.
Ji Xianlin’s Personal Charm
Though a reputable professor of Peking University, Ji Xianlin seems to fall short of all his titles in the eyes of common people, as he is always dressed in a bleached khaki suit and a pair of cloth shoes, with an old leathery schoolbag in hand. He is always inconspicuous whenever he is in a crowd. As some people have said, Ji Xianlin, who is always modest and easily accessible, looks like an ordinary worker or an old farmer, without a bit of the air of a “big figure.” However, it is this unassuming old man who has won widespread admiration and respect.
Whenever Ji Xianlin walks on the campus, such a thing often occurs: a bicycle stops suddenly in front of him and off jumps a student, who asks, “Are you Professor Ji Xianlin?” Following Ji’s nod, the student usually says, “Mr. Ji, I just want to say ‘I really admire you!’” Then, the student will bow to Ji Xianlin before turning around to ride away on his or her bicycle.
There are times when young people driving a car may get out the car just to bow to him, which is a sign of their admiration of him. It is the charm of Ji’s personality that has won him enormous esteem.
A philosopher once said, “Greatness lies in commonness.” Ji Xianlin personifies this truism. He is a common human being, and his greatness lies in one character, “真”（truthfulness）, which makes up his unique personality charm.
Ji Xianlin has always treated all kinds of people with sincerity. He is a caring person who loves his families, relatives, friends, teachers, and students dearly. He still remembers those illiterate farmers who played with him during his childhood and especially respects anybody who, like him, are kind and honest.
Ji Xianlin is also well known for telling the truth. As early as in 1986, he wrote an article titled “A Few Words for Hu Shi (a famous but very controversial scholar)” which shocked the literary circles. At that time, Hu Shi was seen as a “negative example,” and no one dared to touch this “forbidden area.”
Though some of his friends tries to persuade him from doing such a risky thing, Ji Xianlin, thinking the evaluation of Hu Shi was not only a problem of personal appraisal, but also a big event of significant academic implications, felt it necessary to tell the truth about Hu Shi. In other words, Ji’s view is that even if Hu Shi did make unforgivable mistakes, his contributions in modern Chinese literature should not be ignored. His article won the affirmation and support of a great many scholars, breaking a path for the re-evaluation of the nearly century-old development of modern Chinese literature.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
