A Firm Patriot
Ji Xianlin is a firm and faithful patriot who show enormous love for the magnificent mountains and rivers, the long history, and rich culture of his motherland. He once said, “Even when I am burned down to ashes, my love for China will not change.”
When he was studying in Tsinghua University, he joined the ranks in petitioning Chiang Kai-shek to fight against the Japanese invaders in Nanjing (of East China’s Jiangsu Province), and went to the countryside to promote patriotism.
Even in the dark times during the fascist reign, Ji, with an empty stomach, still continued to work hard in subjects such as Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit. When he got an “A” in all his PhD subjects, Ji said, “I haven’t disgraced my country; my scores are the only comfort that I can give to my motherland.”
Soon after returning to China, Ji Xianlin began to work in Peking University and since then has engaged himself in applying his patriotism into the teaching and research profession to pay back to his country, starting numerous new research topics and devoting himself to academic research, proudly finishing 40 articles and 13 academic 
papers within three years.
Setting his heart on serving the country with his academic achievements, Ji started to translate the world famous Indian epic Ramayana in secret. After five years of strenuous work, he finally finished translating the 80,000-line epic into Chinese, erecting a monument in the history of China’s translation and Sino-Indian cultural exchange.
Once the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) ended, Ji, feeling completely refreshed and revitalized, again committed himself to academic writing. During his later academic years, Ji published 11 academic books and over 200 papers, accomplishing brilliant achievements in more than ten academic fields, including Chinese cultural research, comparative literature, and Sanskrit.
Ji Xianlin’s Philosophy
Preoccupied with research and writing, Ji has paid little attention to his health and daily life over the recent years. As a result, he is plagued with many health problems, and was once threatened with eyesight loss. In the summer of 2002, he was hospitalized for a complicated skin disease. However, throughout all these problems, he has remained focused on his writing.
On how to stay healthy, Ji believes in his “three nos”: no waste of time, no choosing of food, no nagging. As he often says, the meaning of life lies in working, which requires a healthy body; on order to stay healthy, one needs to do exercise.
As a prolific language experts and translator, Ji has never slacked his efforts in his 70-year-long academic career. He gets up at 4:30，has breakfast at 5:00, and then begins to write. By the time the office workers begin their work, he has already finished a day’s worth of academic research and writing. Once he was asked whether he feels sleepy when he gets up so early in the morning. His answer was yes, but that he often felt compelled to get up.
Apart from cherishing time, Ji’s efficiency and speed at writing is also surprising. One of his famous essays – Forever Regret, was composed within several hours.
A Lotus in Weiming Lake
Anyone acquainted with Ji Xianlin knows he is an affectionate man with a mild temperament. Ji, however, often says he is a withered and dull tree, which is left with only the trunk and branches but no flowers or green leaves. This is due to his research subject being often considered by others as “astronomic” and his books, as “mysterious.” He strongly expresses his desire for flowers and leaves to grow on the tree!
In fact, none of the people who have contacts with Ji have ever thought him dull or uninteresting, whether in science or behaviors. In real life, Ji is warmly and sincerely attached to all living things.
As Min Weifang, the Secretary of the CPC Committee of Peking University, said, “Ji’s heart is not only filled with China, but also the East, and even the whole world. All his life, he has been committed to the spreading of humankind’s culture and spirit. His life is like a book that can enlighten mankind’s wisdom and purify people’s hearts.”
（Source: chinaculture.org）
