On April 28, 2012, colleagues and friends congratulated Dr Isabella S. Gurevich, a senior researcher at the Department of Far Eastern Studies, the IOM RAS, with her Jubilee.

In 1956, she graduated from the Faculty of Oriental Studies, Leningrad State University, the major of Chinese philology and, in 1957, was admitted to work at the Group for Description of Dunhuang Collection kept at the Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies (now the IOM RAS). In 1965, the authors of 2-volumed catalogue of Dunhuang collection, including Dr I. Gurevich, were given a special award from the French Academy of Inscriptions and Humanities. In 1962, she joined the Group for Description of Chinese Block Prints, their work resulted in the 3-volumed catalogue published in 1973. Simultaneously, she carried out her research projects on the history of Chinese Grammar. In 1964, she defended her PhD dissertation, Grammatical Features of the Chinese Language during the 3rd through 5th Century: According to Chinese Translations of Buddhist Literature [Грамматические особенности китайского языка III—V вв. (по переводам на китайский язык буддийской литературы)]. Fundamental linguistic training, talent for learning and understanding of language structure, tenacity, inexhaustible diligence and profound studies of sources allowed Dr I. Gurevich to become a great expert in the history of Chinese. Her works on historical grammar of Liu Chao and T’ang periods are recognized worldwide. Dr I. Gurevich has published more than 100 academic papers, including nine monographs. Her recent monograph, Historical Grammar Of the Chinese Language. The Language Of the Prose In Baihua Of the Song-Yuan Period (Pinghua) [Историческая грамматика китайского языка: язык прозы на байхуа периода Сун-Юань (пинхуа)], contains analysis of the transition of Chinese literary language from classical Chinese to vernacular. In this work, she used methods of comparative-historical linguistics that allowed her to define character of changes in structure of language during the Song-Yuan Period.

Dr I. Gurevuch was invited to deliver lectures in many universities such as Pennsylvania University, the USA (1994), Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic (2003), LanDa University, Lanzhou, China (2004).

The entire academic life of Dr Isabella S. Gurevich has been connected with our Institute. All her colleagues and friends wish her solid health, infinite vital energy and new scholarly discoveries.

the IOM's Director, Prof Dr Irina F. Popova