Li Ling ( zh, c=李零; born 12 June 1948) is a Chinese

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Biography

Li Ling was born in

Xingtai Xingtai ( zh, s= , t=邢臺, p=Xíngtái , w=Hsing2-tʻai2), formerly known as Xingzhou and Shunde, is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of and administers 4 districts, 2 coun ...

Hebei Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...

in 1948. His original family home was located in

Wuxiang County Wuxiang County () is a county in the southeast of Shanxi province, China. It is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Changzhi Changzhi ( zh, s=长治) is a prefecture-level city in the southeast of Shanxi Pro ...

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

, and Ling grew up in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. He worked in Shanxi and

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...

for 7 years as a

sent-down youth The sent-down, rusticated, or educated youth (), also known as the ''zhiqing'', were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the People' ...

after graduation from high school. He came back to Beijing in 1975, and was enrolled into the Institute of Archaeology (IA) of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

(the institute later became part of the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese state research institute and think tank. It is a ministry-level institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The CASS is the highest academic institution and c ...

, CASS), working on the research of inscriptions on bronze under the supervision of Zhang Zhengliang. He graduated with a master's degree in History in 1982. He joined the Bangxi Branch of Archaeological Team of IA CASS between 1982 and 1983. In the Research Center for Agricultural Economy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he researched the history of pre- Qin agricultural institutions. Since 1985 he has been professor of Department of Chinese Language and Literature,

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

Works

Li Ling's research and teaching concentrate on

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

and silk manuscripts, ''

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the late Spring and Autumn period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is compos ...

'', Fangshu, ''

Zuo zhuan The ''Zuo Zhuan'' ( zh, t=左傳, w=Tso Chuan; ), often translated as ''The Zuo Tradition'' or as ''The Commentary of Zuo'', is an ancient Chinese narrative history traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle the '' ...

'', and the history of ancient China. His major academic works include: # #Research on the ancient manuscript of The Art of War, Peking University Press 1995 (《孙子古本研究》,北京大学出版社 1995) . #Research on

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

of Wu, China Book Press 1997. (《吴孙子发微》,中华书局 1997) . #Research on China Fangshu,

Oriental Press The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

2000. (《中国方术考》,东方出版社 2000) . #Research on China Fangshu Vol. II, Oriental Press 2000. (《中国方术续考》，东方出版社 2000) . #Research on

Guodian Chu Slips The Guodian Chu Slips () were unearthed in October 1993 in Tomb no. 1 of the Guodian tombs in Jingmen, Hubei Province and dated to the latter half of the Warring States period. Scott Cook completed a study and translation of all the manuscript of ...

, Peking University Press 2002. (《郭店楚简校读记》，北京大学出版社 2002) .

External links

Department of Chinese Language and LiteraturePeking University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Ling Chinese sinologists 1948 births Living people Chinese archaeologists Academic staff of Peking University People from Xingtai Educators from Hebei Historians from Hebei Chinese epigraphers 20th-century Chinese historians 21st-century Chinese historians