Bai Shouyi

Bai Shouyi was born in Kaifeng, Henan, China in 1909. He was a son of a Hui merchant and became literate in Arabic from his mother and aunt. He studied at the Kaifeng Islamic Normal School and later at the Beijing Normal University, where he majored in history. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1936 and became a professor at the Central University of Nationalities in 1952. He was also a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He devoted his life to the study of Chinese history and culture, especially the history and culture of the Hui people, one of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. He wrote more than 30 books and over 300 articles on various topics, such as the history of Islam in China, the history of the Yuan dynasty, the history of the Ming dynasty, the history of the Qing dynasty, the history of the Republic of China, the history of the People's Republic of China, the history of Chinese ethnic relations, the history of Chinese archaeology, and the history of Chinese historiography. He was regarded as one of the most influential and prolific historians of China in the 20th century. He also advocated for the recognition and respect of the Hui people and other ethnic minorities in China, and for the promotion of national unity and harmony. He died in Beijing at the age of 91 in 2000.