10 Facts About Shi Jinbo

Shi Jinbo was born in Gaobeidian City, Hebei in 1940.

Shi Jinbo graduated in 1962, and encouraged by Wang Jingru, his advisor for his Master's degree, who believed that the extinct Tangut language was related to the Yi language, Shi applied to study Tangut language as a postgraduate at the Institute of Ethnology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Shi Jinbo returned to Beijing in 1972, and resumed the study of Tangut in his spare time, compiling a Tangut dictionary on his own.

Shi Jinbo managed to get permission to access the Tangut materials held at the Beijing Library, and for three months he was able to engage in private research at the library.

In 1974 Shi Jinbo published his first article on Tangut literature.

In 1975 Shi Jinbo rejoined the Institute of Ethnology, and during 1975 and 1976 he and Bai Bin carried out extensive fieldwork at Western Xia sites.

Shi Jinbo then worked on a translation and study of the Tangut rime dictionary, the Sea of Characters, which was published in 1983.

Shi Jinbo has not restricted himself to linguistic research, but has made important contributions to the understanding of Tangut history and culture.

Shi Jinbo has published studies on the history of printing in China, with particular emphasis on printing during the Western Xia.

Shi Jinbo is currently a Professor and Fellow emeritus of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Minzu University of China, Director of the Centre for Tangut Cultural Studies, and a part-time professor at Ningxia University.