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Celebrated linguist, scholar of ancient languages and writer Ji Xianlin died yesterday in Beijing at age 97, according to Peking University, where Professor Ji had worked since 1946. 
Frequently referred to in the media as a 'national treasure', Professor Ji dedicated much of his working life to studying linguistics and wrote a huge collection of works on literature, culture and the arts. He was fluent in 12 languages.
He was given a lifetime achievement award  by the government in 2006 for his contributions to the field of translation.  
Internationally, he was recognised for his research on ancient Indian aboriginal languages, primeval Buddhist languages and Sanskritic  literature. In June last year, he was awarded a prestigious Indian government prize to honour his outstanding contribution to cultural exchanges between the two countries.
In the Cultural Revolution, he secretly translated the epic poem Ramayana from Sanskrit into Chinese. 
Ji Xianlin was born on August 6, 1911, into a poor family in Qingping county, known as Linqing today, in Shandong province. 
He was admitted to Tsinghua University as a western-literature major. He went to Germany in 1935 to study ancient languages including Sanskrit, Pali and Tocharian, and received his doctorate in 1941. Professor Ji looked more like a worker than a prestigious scholar, wearing bleached khaki suits and cloth shoes and carrying an old case. 
He was an unabashed patriot, saying: 'Even when I am burned down to ashes, my love for China will not change.'
Professor Ji was also highly regarded for his moral values and personality. Premier Wen Jiabao is reported to have told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that Professor Ji was his mentor.
In recent years, he became almost  blind, and his hearing was severely impaired. He lived in a military hospital in Beijing for about the past five years, attended by a government- appointed medical team.
Professor Ji is survived by his son, Ji Cheng , whose relationship with his father was  tumultuous for more than a decade.



Translator, scholar and patriot Ji Xianlin dies at the age of 97