description Mei Tsu-lin Overview
Mei Tsu-lin (1933–2023) was a Chinese-American linguist who specialized in the historical phonology and grammar of Chinese and related Sino-Tibetan languages. He held a long-standing faculty position at Cornell University, where he served as the Hu Shih Chair Professor of Chinese Thought from 1994 to 2001. His scholarly contributions include influential research on the reconstruction of Old Chinese phonology, the documentation of dialectal evidence, and collaborative work on Sino-Tibetan linguistic relationships with colleagues such as Jerry Norman.
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What was Mei Tsu-lin's most influential contribution to Chinese historical linguistics?
Mei Tsu-lin was best known for applying comparative and historical linguistic methods to the study of Chinese grammar and phonology, helping bridge Western linguistic methodology with traditional Chinese philology. His research on Old Chinese and Middle Chinese grammatical reconstruction appeared in major journals including the Journal of Chinese Linguistics.
How long was Mei Tsu-lin at Cornell University?
Mei Tsu-lin spent a significant portion of his academic career at Cornell University, where he held the prestigious Hu Shih Chair from 1994 to 2001. He was affiliated with Cornell's Department of Asian Studies and mentored generations of scholars in Chinese linguistics over a career spanning decades.
Did Mei Tsu-lin work with or alongside other prominent Chinese linguists?
Mei Tsu-lin worked within the tradition of Chinese historical linguistics and was a contemporary of scholars like Wang Li, one of the most important Chinese linguists of the twentieth century. His position at Cornell also placed him in dialogue with American structuralist and later generative linguistic traditions.
Where can I find Mei Tsu-lin's published academic papers and books?
Mei Tsu-lin's research appeared in journals such as the Journal of Chinese Linguistics and in publications from Cornell's East Asia Program. Many of his most cited works concern Old Chinese phonology and historical syntax, and some remain available through academic databases like JSTOR.
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