Ren Jiyu, a life for the cause and a heart for the motherland

Ren Jiyu, China's well-known philosopher, scholar in religious studies, historian and honorary director of the National Library, died of illness at 4:30 am on the morning of July 11 at the age of 93 at a Beijing hospital.

Ren Jiyu, a life for the cause and a heart for the  motherland

Keeping a low profile, Ren Jiyu had insisted on not publishing his complete works and the commemorative anthology of works compiled by his students, and requested that everything be handled in a simple way after his death, despite the fact that his academic accomplishments have had a far-reaching impact on contemporary China. Ren worked every Monday and Thursday in the National Library until February this year.

Today, Ren Jiyu has left us, but many of his excellent deeds are shown to the public by his friends and his younger generation.

The establishment of China Religions Institute and China Atheism Institute

Among the titles Ren Jiyu assumed, two seemed contradictory. One is the President of China Religions Institute and the other the Secretary General of China Atheism Institute; both of which were established by him. Du Jiwen, an expert on the history of Buddhism in China, who had been in contact with Ren Jiyu since the 1960’s, said that the two institutes set up by Ren rightly represent his two important academic contributions.