Xu Lin (November 13, 1922 - August 9, 2005, zh, 徐琳) was a Chinese linguist who was focused on the study of minority languages. The establishment of the modern linguistics of the

Bai language Bai (Bai: ; ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in China, primarily in Yunnan Province, by the Bai people. The language has over a million speakers and is divided into three or four main dialects. Bai syllables are always open, with a rich set ...

and the modern linguistics of the

Lisu language Lisu ( Fraser alphabet: , or ; Latin: ; Lisu syllabary: ; zh, c=傈僳语, p=Lìsùyǔ; , ) is a tonal Tibeto-Burman language spoken in Yunnan (Southwestern China), Northern Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand and a small part of India. Along with ...

was her primary contribution.

Biography

Xu Lin was born into a Bai family in

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

on November 13, 1922. She was initially from Qiaohou,

Jianchuan County Jianchuan County (; Bai: ), historically known as Yidu (; Bai: ) is a county in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture located in the western part of Yunnan Province, China. The county is about southwest of Lijiang and north of Dali. The histo ...

(now

Eryuan County Eryuan (; Bai: ) is a county in the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture located in northwestern Yunnan Province, China. It borders Heqing County to the east, Dali City Dali City (, Bai: or ) is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomo ...

). She enrolled in Kunhua Girls' High School ( zh, 云南省立昆华女中) in Yunnan in 1935. In 1938, she ceased her academic pursuits and enlisted in the Political Department of the 58th Army to engage in anti-Japanese publicity. In the second year of her degree, she enrolled in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at

Huachung University Huachung University () was a Christian university in Wuhan, in China's Yangtze valley, originally called Boone University, was founded by the union of several Christian universities in 1924 and renamed Huachung in 1929. The university expanded unti ...

in 1942. She was subsequently relocated to the Department of Literature and History at

Yunnan University Yunnan University (YNU; zh, s=云南大学, p=, labels=no) is a provincial public university in Kunming, Yunnan, China. It is affiliated with the province of Yunnan, and co-funded by the Yunnan Provincial People's Government and the Ministry o ...

in 1948. She matriculated from the department in 1950 and was subsequently appointed as an assistant editor at the editorial office of the Yunnan People's Broadcasting Station. Upon graduation in 1950, she was appointed as the assistant editor and chief of the literary and educational team in the editorial department of Yunnan People's Broadcasting Station. In 1951, Xu relocated to the Institute of Languages of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( zh, 中国科学院语言研究所) to pursue employment. In 1956, the Institute of Ethnic Minority Languages of the Chinese Academy of Sciences ( zh, 中国科学院少数民族语言研究所) was established. She served as an assistant researcher, associate researcher, and researcher there. In June 1980 and April 1981, she participated in academic exchanges at the Institute of Asian and African Languages and Cultures of the

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies , often referred to as TUFS, is a specialist National university, national research university in Fuchū, Tokyo, Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. TUFS is primarily devoted to foreign language, international relations, international affairs and area studies. ...

. She retired in 1987, but she continued to engage in academic activities. She served as the honorary director of the Chinese Minority Ancient Scripts Research Society ( zh, 中国少数民族古文字研究会) and the executive director of the Chinese Minority Linguistics Society. She was married to fellow linguist Fu Maoji. She died on August 9, 2005, at the age of 82.

Books

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References

{{Authority control 1922 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Chinese non-fiction writers 20th-century Chinese women writers 20th-century Chinese linguists Chinese women archaeologists People from Kunming Women linguists Yunnan University alumni