Qiu Xigui (; (13 July 1935 – 8 May 2025) was a Chinese historian,
palaeographer, and professor of
Fudan University
Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...
. His book ''Chinese Writing'' is considered the "single most influential study of Chinese palaeography".
Early life and education
Qiu Xigui was born in July 1935 in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, of
Ningbo ancestry. In 1952, he was admitted to the history department of
Fudan University
Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...
and was interested in pre-
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...
Chinese history. Under the influence of the renowned
oracle bone expert
Hu Houxuan, he took interest in the oracle bones and
Chinese bronze inscriptions
Chinese bronze inscriptions, also referred to as bronze script or bronzeware script, comprise Chinese writing made in several styles on ritual bronzes mainly during the Late Shang dynasty () and Western Zhou dynasty (771 BC). Types of bron ...
. After graduating in 1956, he became a graduate student of oracle bones and
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...
history, studying under Professor Hu. The same year, Hu was transferred to the Institute of History 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 ...
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 ...
, and Qiu followed Hu to the institute.
Career
After finishing his graduate studies in 1960, Qiu was assigned to be a teaching assistant in the Department of Chinese of
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 ...
(PKU). From 1964 to 1966, Qiu, like many other intellectuals, was
sent down to the countryside to be "reeducated by peasants" as part of Mao's
Socialist Education Movement. He was sent to
Jiangling County,
Hubei
Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...
and
Yanqing County, Beijing. During the subsequent
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
, he worked as a labourer at a farm in
Jiangxi
; Gan: )
, translit_lang1_type2 =
, translit_lang1_info2 =
, translit_lang1_type3 =
, translit_lang1_info3 =
, image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg
, mapsize = 275px
, map_caption = Location ...
province from 1969 to 1971.
[
In 1972, Qiu participated in the study of ]Han dynasty
The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...
documents excavated from Mawangdui
Mawangdui () is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle-shaped hills and contained the tombs of three people from the Changsha Kingdom during the western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD): the Chancellor Li ...
, under the leadership of Zhu Dexi. From 1974 to 1976, he worked under Zhu at the Wenwu (Cultural Relics) Publishing House, where they researched the Yinqueshan Han Slips and other excavated bamboo and wooden slips
Bamboo and wooden strips ( zh, s=简牍, t=簡牘, first=t, p=jiǎndú) are long, narrow strips of wood or bamboo, each typically holding a single column of several dozen brush-written characters. They were the main media for writing documents ...
. He became an associate professor at PKU in 1978 and a full professor in 1983.[
From 1982 to 1983, Qiu taught Chinese palaeography at ]University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
as a visiting scholar. From February to July 1998, he gave lectures on palaeography and ancient literature at the Chinese department of National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
.[ In November 2000, he was awarded an ]honorary doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
by the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
.
In 2005, Qiu returned to his alma mater Fudan University to lead its Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Palaeography.[
Qiu died in Shanghai on 8 May 2025, at the age of 89.
]
Publications
Much of Qiu's research findings were published in his 1988 book "Chinese Writing" ().[ According to American sinologist Edward L. Shaughnessy, the book is the "single most influential study of Chinese palaeography", and "universally acclaimed to be the definitive overview" of the field.][ It was translated into English by Gilbert L. Mattos and Jerry Norman, two leading Western scholars of Chinese linguistics, and published in 2000 under the title ''Chinese Writing''.][
As of 2002, Qiu had published about 300 academic papers, some of which were included in his 1992 book "Collected Papers on Palaeography" ().][ In 2012, the ''Collected Works of Qiu Xigui'' (), comprising six volumes and three million characters, was published by Fudan University Press.]
References
External links
Center for Research on Chinese Excavated Classics and Palaeography at Fudan University
Qiu Xigui's interview with Cao Feng
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qiu, Xigui
1935 births
2025 deaths
Educators from Shanghai
Historians of China
Chinese palaeographers
Fudan University alumni
Academic staff of Fudan University
Academic staff of Peking University
Historians from Shanghai
20th-century Chinese historians
21st-century Chinese historians