Yuan Xingpei


Yuan Xingpei is a Chinese scholar, educator, author, and political leader, known for his public service and publications on Chinese literature, particularly for his studies of Six Dynasties period poet Tao Yuanming. Yuan has been a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University since 1957.

Life and career

Yuan was born in 1936 in Jinan. He attended Peking University as an undergraduate student, graduating in 1957 from the school's Department of Chinese Language and Literature with a B.A. degree. The department hired him as an instructor immediately following his graduation, where he has remained ever since.
In addition to his teaching and publications on Chinese literature, Yuan has served in various areas of Chinese politics. Yuan has been a member of the China Democratic League since 1987, and has served as its vice-chairman since 1997. He served on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1998 to 2003.

Selected works