Gao Lingwen

Gao Lingwen was a famous scholar and writer from the city of Tianjin, China. He was the founder and principal of the first modern high school of Tianjin, the Bell Tower Middle School, and the elder brother of China's acting President Gao Lingwei, of the Beiyang Government. He was a pioneer in the fields of historical linguistics, historical geography, and cultural anthropology, and made significant contributions to the study of ancient Chinese history and civilization. He was also a prolific writer who published many books and articles on various topics, such as the origins of Chinese writing, the development of Chinese philosophy, the history of Buddhism in China, and the impact of Western culture on China. He was a staunch advocate of democracy and human rights, and opposed the authoritarian regimes of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. He was also a mentor and friend to many influential Chinese scholars, such as Hu Shih, Chen Yinke, and Qian Mu. He died of a heart attack in Taipei in 1945, at the age of 83. He was widely respected and admired by his contemporaries and later generations, and is regarded as one of the most influential Chinese intellectuals of the 20th century.