Ji Xianlin: A Critical Biography reconstructs the academic, professional and personal journey of the doyen of Indology, Buddhism and Orientalism in China. Though his On a Long Journey of life remains full of trials and tribulations, and an emotional world buried deep under the familial and professional obligations, nonetheless, true to the evaluation, he remains indispensable as far as China's translation, comparative literature, Dunhuang-Turfan studies and cultural exchanges are concerned.
India runs through his veins throughout this journey, whether it is his path breaking textual research on the dissemination of paper and silk from China to India or the sugar from India to China, or the Indian Literature in China and translation of Ramayana, Panchtantra, Shanakuntla etc. from Sanskrit, or the reminiscences of his visits to India, one and all have been supplemented with credible primary sources from historical records. It is not easy to weave a tapestry of the life and works of a person as versatile as Ji Xianlin, but the authors have done a remarkable job in mirroring Ji Xianlin's journey through the Qing, Republican and the People's Republic. I believe this tapestry will be woven uninterrupted, for Ji Xianlin remains a link between the past and the future.
