Yuan was born in 1936 in Jinan. He attended Peking University as an undergraduate student, graduating in 1957 from the school's Department of Chinese Language and Literature with a B.A. degree. The department hired him as an instructor immediately following his graduation, where he has remained ever since.[2]
In addition to his teaching and publications on Chinese literature, Yuan has served in various areas of Chinese politics. Yuan has been a member of the China Democratic League since 1987, and has served as its vice-chairman since 1997. He served on the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 1998 to 2003.[3]
Selected works
(in Mandarin Chinese) Yuan, Xingpei, ed.-in-chief (1963). Wei-Jin Nanbeichao wenxue shi cankao ziliao 魏晋南北朝文学史参考资料 [Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties Literary History Reference Materials]. Beijing: Zhonghua shuju.
(in Mandarin Chinese) — — — and Hou Zhongyi 侯中义 (1981). Zhongguo wenyan xiaoshuo shumu 中国文言小说书目 [Index of Classical Chinese Fiction]. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe.
(in Mandarin Chinese) — — — (1987). Zhongguo shige yishu yanjiu 中国诗歌艺术研究 [Studies on the Artistics of Chinese Poetry]. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe; revised edition (1996).
(in Mandarin Chinese) — — — (1997). Tao Yuanming yanjiu 陶渊明研究 [Studies on Tao Yuanming]. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe.
(in Mandarin Chinese) — — —, ed.-in-chief (1999). Zhongguo wenxue shi 中国文学史 [History of Chinese Literature], 4 vols. Beijing: Gaodeng jiaoyu chubanshe.
(in Mandarin Chinese) — — —, et al., eds.-in chief (2006). Zhongguo wenming shi 中国文明史 [History of Chinese Civilization], 4 vols. Beijing: Beijing daxue chubanshe. English edition (2012), English text edited by David R. Knechtges, The History of Chinese Civilization, 4 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1107013094
