Peking University is in hot water again after more than 5,000 ancient books belonging to late linguist Ji Xianlin were taken from his former residence on campus.
Ji Cheng, Ji's son, said yesterday that the theft apparently occurred between noon on Tuesday and noon on Wednesday when the place was left unattended as the housekeeper he had hired to look after the house was out.
Ji has been looking for a permanent place to house the relics after his father died in July at the age of 97.
Ji Xianlin, scholar of ancient languages and writer, was referred to in the media as a 'national treasure', as he dedicated much of his life to studying linguistics. He wrote a huge collection of works on literature, culture and the arts.
Fluent in 12 languages, he was given a lifetime achievement award by the government in 2006 for his contributions to the field of translation.
His son said that when he arrived at the residence at lunchtime on Wednesday, many belongings, including several bronze busts of his late father and one Buddhist sculpture nearly 1.5 metres tall, were missing. The estimated value was 1 million yuan (HK$1.13 million).
A living room window had been broken. Everything had been intact when Ji left the residence on Tuesday, he said. He alerted university authorities and police in Haidian district, in which the university is located, but calls to a university spokesman and the police went unanswered yesterday.