Professor Li Fang-Kuei
(1902-1987)
Content | The LFK Society
Content | Prof. Li Fang-Kuei
- On the Works of the Late Professor Li Fang-Kuei
- Seminal Works of Professor Li Fang-Kuei
- About Professor Li Fang-Kuei
- To His Memory
Message from the President of
Li Fang-Kuei Society of Chinese Linguistics
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
On October 1, 2003 the Li Fang-Kuei Society for Chinese Linguistics was founded
with the primary goal of promoting and advancing academic and scholarly activities
in the areas of Chinese descriptive, comparative, and historical dialectology
in particular, and in Chinese historical linguistics and Sino-Tibetan linguistics
in general. In pursuit of this goal, the Society’s planned activities include
supporting (1) research subsidies for scholars and students in Chinese linguistics,
including grants in support of linguistic field work and travel
grants for graduate students wishing to attend conferences connected with the
field; (2) scholarships for graduate students and postdoctoral fellowships
for young scholars in Chinese linguistics; (3) interchange of scholarly ideas
in a global context through seminars, workshops and co-operation among various
international research institutions; (4) the institution of a visiting scholar’s
program; and (5) dissemination of research results through publications,
in particular through a new journal entitled the Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics.
The Society is a non-profit corporation whose financial foundation rests on
contributions from scholars and interested parties such as yourself, who
wish to honor the memory of Professor Li Fang-kuei by promoting the work and
activities outlined above. To this end, speaking on behalf of the directors
of the Society, I invite you to consider supporting
our common scholarly and academic endeavors through whatever financial contributions
you feel able to make, and also by contributing the fruits of your current
research to the Bulletin
of Chinese Linguisitics. We also invite you to familiarize yourself
with the various grant programs and other sources of financial support offered
by the Society, and to apply for any of them which
you deem appropriate in your individual cases.
On behalf of all of us working for the promotion of the Society and its goals,
and with hopes of hearing from you whenever you feel able to contact us, I
remain
Very truly yours,
W. South Coblin
President, 2008-2014
The Second Decade of the
Li Fang-Kuei Society of Chinese Linguistics
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As the Li Fang-Kuei Society for Chinese Linguistics (henceforth LFK Society), which was founded in 2003 to commemorate
and honor the monumental contributions of the late Professor Li Fang-Kuei to Chinese, Tibetan, Tai and American Indian
linguistics, enters the second decade, we continue to develop activities that enhance the goals and visions of our Society.
In appreciation of the support and of service rendered to the LFK Society by our friends and colleagues from all over
the world for excellent reviews of the Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics (henceforth BCL, the flagship journal of LFK Society
for dissemination of research results) and to the various LFK Award Committees, we set up in 2019 an Award for Excellent
Reviewer. It is due to these reviewers that we can maintain the high academic standards of BCL and the LFK Society.
Professor Li Fang-Kuei was not only an open-minded great scholar breaking new paths wherever he stepped, but a true gentleman,
a 君子學者 , kind and generous toward fellow and younger scholars. He attended to the upbringing of subsequent generations of
young researchers during his life. Following his example, we have implemented two more activities in the spirit of enhancing
our support for budding young scholars, encouraging them to continue the Li Fang-Kuei tradition of dedication to excellence
and integrity in scholarship.
In 2013, we initiated the Li Fang-Kuei Society Young Scholars Symposium on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary Celebration of
the Establishment of the LFK Society, focusing on the theme of historical, comparative and typological studies across varieties
of Chinese, Tibeto-Burman and Tai-Kadai languages, with the vision of bringing up scholars modeled after Professor Li Fang-Kuei,
stimulating interaction and interchange of ideas in a friendly atmosphere. Nineteen promising young scholars from various parts of
the world participated in this symposium. A Second Symposium was held in 2018 in remembrance of the 30th Anniversary of the
passing of Professor Li Fang-Kuei, with the theme of Legacy and Innovation, and with a special forum on Archaic Chinese, the
reconstruction of which has Professor Li Fang-Kuei as the authority. A Third Symposium will take place in 2022.
The tradition of fine scholarship cannot be sustained unless it can continue from one generation to the next. Nurturing the
next generation of young scholars is one of the visions of the LFK Society, and nurturing it through the Young Scholars Symposia
uniquely defines that goal to bring about that vision.
In 2019, we started a project called Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics Forum with the goal of encouraging young scholars to
take charge of friendly discussions and debate of controversial but meaningful academic topics concentrating on historical,
comparative and typological studies, thereby broadening the mind and cultivating tolerance of diverse opinions. Five talented
young scholars were selected as Forum Editors. The First Forum will be launched in the year of 2020, followed by the Second Forum in 2021.
With your generous support, the torch of fine scholarship and new discovery in the Li Fang-Kuei tradition will transmit
from generation to generation! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Anne O. Yue-Hashimoto 余靄芹
Third President of the
Li Fang-Kuei Society for Chinese Linguistics