Chen Yinke

Chen Yinke (1890–1969) was a modern Chinese historian, scholar of classical literature, and linguist. His ancestral home was Xiushui, Jiangxi, and he was born in Changsha, Hunan. He taught successively at the Institute of Chinese Studies of Tsinghua University, National Southwestern Associated University, Lingnan University, and Sun Yat-sen University. He was versed in several Eastern languages and scripts, and his scholarship focused especially on the history of the Sui and Tang dynasties and on Buddhist history, with attention to the critical examination of historical sources and the tracing of institutional origins. His representative works, A Brief Study of the Origins of Sui-Tang Institutions and A Study of Tang Political History, are known for their meticulous textual research and have had a profound influence on the study of medieval institutions and political change. His later work, The Biography of Liu Rushi, integrates historical and literary scholarship. The library holds 43 of his works, covering categories such as history, biography, essays, and classic works, showing the enduring circulation of his writings in both academic and general reading.