Shi Jinbo

Shi Jinbo 史金波

Shi Jinbo dressed in Yi costume in 1961
Born (1940-03-03)March 3, 1940
Gaobeidian, Hebei, China
Citizenship China
Fields Linguistics
Institutions Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Shi Jinbo (Chinese: 史金波) (born 3 March 1940) is a Chinese linguist and Tangutologist.

Biography

Shi Jinbo was born in Gaobeidian City, Hebei in 1940. After leaving school, he enrolled at the Central College for Nationalities in Beijing, where he studied the Yi language. During 1960–1961 Shi went to live among impoverished Yi peasants in the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan in order to improve his language skills, and by the end of his time there he was fluent enough in the Liangshan Yi language to be able to act as an interpreter for a local government committee.[1][2]

He graduated in 1962, and encouraged by Wang Jingru (王靜如), his advisor for his Master's degree, who believed that the extinct Tangut language was related to the Yi language, Shi applied to study Tangut language as a postgraduate at the Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. After graduating in 1966, Shi joined a team researching the Western Xia caves at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu, and based on his translation of Tangut inscriptions in the caves he was able to identify a large number of caves as dating to the period during which Dunhuang was governed by the Western Xia regime (1036–1226).[2]

Shi's academic career was curtailed by the Cultural Revolution, and in 1970 he was assigned to train as a stonemason at a cadre school in Henan. He returned to Beijing in 1972, and resumed the study of Tangut in his spare time, compiling a Tangut dictionary on his own. He managed to get permission to access the Tangut materials held at the Beijing Library, and for three months he was able to engage in private research at the library. In 1974 Shi published his first article on Tangut literature.[2]

In 1975 Shi rejoined the Institute of Ethnology, and during 1975 and 1976 he and Bai Bin (白濱) carried out extensive fieldwork at Western Xia sites. He then worked on a translation and study of the Tangut rime dictionary, the Sea of Characters, which was published in 1983. Later, he worked on translations of a variety of Tangut texts, including Buddhist texts, an encyclopedia and a set of legal statutes.

Shi has not restricted himself to linguistic research, but has also made important contributions to the understanding of Tangut history and culture. In 1988 he published an influential study of Tangut Buddhism and Tangut Buddhist art.[3] He has also published studies on the history of printing in China, with particular emphasis on printing during the Western Xia. In 1990 he won an award as a "Young or Middle-Aged Expert who has made Outstanding Contributions".[2]

Shi is currently a professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a part-time professor at Ningxia University.[2]

Works

References

  1. ↑ "史金波简介" [Brief Introduction to Shi Jinbo] (in Chinese). 22 October 2011. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Shi Jinbo". 18 May 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  3. ↑ Gaowa, Saren (21 June 2007). "A Review of Tangut Buddhism, Art and Textual Studies". International Dunhuang Project. Retrieved 2012-10-26.
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