The English and Hindi editions of renowned Chinese author and historian Ji Xianlin's biography titled "Ji Xianlin: A Critical Biography," were released Saturday at New Delhi-based Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

India bestowed Ji one of his highest civilian awards "Padma Bhushan" in 2008. His biography reconstructs the academic, professional and personal journey of the doyen of Indology, Buddhism, and Orientalism in China.

Professor B.R. Deepak at JNU's Center of Chinese and Southeast Asian Studies, School of Language Literature and Culture Studies, translated the book in both languages.

The Hindi version has been published by Prakashan Sansthan and the English-version of the biography is being published by the Pentagon Press LLP.

Prof. Deepak was trained in Chinese history and the India-China relations at Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Some of his translation works from Chinese to Hindi and English include "The Analects of Confucius," "My Life with Kotnis," and "Chinese Poetry: 1100 BC to 1400 AD," for which he was awarded the Special Book Prize of China in 2011.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Prof. Deepak said that Ji Xianlin virtually tapped the entire repository of 24 histories as far as the data pertaining to India or South Asia is concerned.

(Cover: File photo of Chinese writer Ji Xianlin in April, 2000. /VCG Photo)